What does a National Plant Collection® holder do when they’re looking for a plant to add to their collection but it’s nowhere to be found? Introducing the Wish List.
Paeonia 'Lady Ley'
Many National Plant Collection Holders are looking for plants to safeguard in their collections that they haven't yet tracked down. They will have found plant names in an old catalogue or RHS plant finder, or even historical information about a plant breeder, but are struggling to find current stock of the plant.
The Wish List will alert other Plant Heritage Members and the wider public to the plants that existing Collection Holders are searching for, in the hope that somewhere out there their missing plant exists. The full list will be published on Plant Heritage's website for Valentine's Day.
RHS Hyde Hall have included Colchicum doerfleri ‘Valentine’ on their Wish List. The plant has a Threatened Plants Programme conservation status of Critical in Cultivation (which means we have not yet found it alive), so it would be a hugely rewarding moment for the team, and for plant conservation, if we can find the plant thanks to the Wish List. Jeannette Jones from the RHS says: “It would be good to add Colchicum doerfleri ‘Valentine’ to our overall collection. As we have a Collection of autumn-flowering Colchicum, it would be a delightful change to see one flowering in early spring.”
National Collection Holder Caroline Stone has added varieties with suitably romantic names to the Wish List for her collection of Paeonia lactiflora cultivars (bred by Kelway & Son). These include Paeonia lactiflora ‘Desire’ (from the 1945 Kelway’s catalogue), Paeonia lactiflora ‘Cupid’ (from the 1889 catalogue) and Paeonia lactiflora ‘Wings of Love’ (from the 1945 catalogue). The romantic theme continues with Paeonia lactiflora ‘Pure Love’ and Paeonia lactiflora ‘Queen of Hearts’.
Caroline is particularly keen to find Paeonia lactiflora ‘Lady Ley’, described in the 1937 catalogue as being “Soft pale rosy-pink, large golden centre; charming; large petals, tulip shaped.” This fragrant, early flowerer was launched in 1912, remaining in the catalogue until the early 2000s. Caroline was alerted to the plant by a former owner, and photographs were sent to help with identification. Unfortunately, the new house owners had built an extension and the plant was lost! She’s hoping that the Wish List helps her track down this variety elsewhere.