Plants form the backbone of our gardens, filling our pots, our planters and our borders with their glorious flowers and fabulous foliage. Us gardeners have a limitless range of plants to choose from to enhance our plots, but we always want more. Fortunately, the plant breeders and nurseries are always striving to find something new and exciting to tempt us. Every year at RHS Chelsea there’s a hotly contested competition that celebrates exceptional new plants and highlights the latest breakthroughs and the emerging trends in garden plant breeding. There’s a short list of contenders and one plant becomes the winner of RHS Chelsea New Plant of the Year 2025. Here are five of our favourites from the show.
Philadelphus ‘Petite Perfume Pink’- WINNER of RHS Chelsea New Plant of the Year
If you are familiar with the fabulous scent of the mock orange shrub (Philadelphus) you will know that usually the flowers are white. This new cultivar, is the first genuinely pink flowered philadelphus (see also main image). The highly fragrant flowers fade to a soft pink with a rich pink centre. It’s also a compact variety and would grow in a pot or container and needs little pruning. It’s a worthy winner, ticking the boxes that make this a great choice for smaller gardens and patio planters. See also main image. Breeder – Alan Postill. Plantipp BV® introducer to the industry.
Salvia ‘Peach Melba’
This two-tone ornamental sage is a stunner, with bicolour flowers in a peachy pink and a fuchsia magenta mix. It’s extraordinary. It’s a prolific flowerer from spring until the autumn with masses of flowers that are rich in nectar to feed our pollinators.
If you love salvias, this one is a must-have. It’s hardy, semi-evergreen with richly aromatic leaves. It’s a neat and compact form that’s perfect for pots and containers or plant it mid-border for a display of brilliant blooms. Breeder – Stuart Roycroft. New World Plants introducer to the industry.
Clematis ‘Elpis’
This one’s a beauty (see main image), combining an abundance of rich red flowers and healthy green foliage. The creamy yellow anthers create a contrasting and striking flower centre and make this a stunning new cultivar. It’s a compact grower and flowers mid-summer and then repeats again in September. Ideal for pots and planters and a real stunner. Breeder – Raymond Evison
Miscanthus sinensis ‘Lady in Red’
Ornamental grasses can transform a border with their whispering fronds and spectacular flower spikes. This new form of red elephant grass, offers a striking grace and beauty with its startling purple green foliage that changes to rusty red hues through the autumn and winter, topped with silver flower plumes in late summer that stand through the winter. Stunning. Breeder: Krzystof Slowinski.
See RHS website here for images.
Prunus ‘Crystal Falls’
In plant breeding terms this is the first winter-flowering ornamental cherry with a weeping habit. In fact, it is so pendulous that it’s ideal for even small gardens in pots and containers. It flowers from mid-December for 2-3 months with double, pure white, star-shaped scented winter flowers. A real beauty. Breeder – Ken Tobutt.
See RHS website here for images.
