Award of Garden Merit AGM What, Where & Why

Award of Garden Merit AGM What, Where & Why

Whorled Tickseed (Coreopsis verticillata) 'Zagreb' RHS/AGM

Buy AGM plants & varieties they have been tested by the RHS!

The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) is the UK’s leading gardening charity. It conducts a lot of testing and trials of plants. It has key gardens open to the public (free to members) at Harlow Carr, Wisley, Hyde Hall and Rosemore. Plants that pass the trials are awarded AGM (Award of Garden Merit) status and you often see the Trophy Cup mark on plant labels to recognise this.

Why have an AGM System

The purpose of the award is to highlight the best plants available to the gardener.

  • It must be of outstanding excellence for ordinary garden decoration or use
  • It must be available
  • It must be of good constitution
  • It must not require highly specialist growing conditions or care
  • It must not be particularly susceptible to any pest or disease
  • It must not be subject to an unreasonable degree of reversion in its vegetative or floral characteristics

Dianthus - pink
Dianthus Haytor White AGM

What is Included in an Award of Garden Merit

  • Plants of all kinds can be considered for the AGM, including fruit and vegetables. An AGM plant may be cultivated for use or decoration. It can be hardy throughout the British Isles, or suitable only for cultivation under heated glass.
  • Every AGM plant has a hardiness rating for example H1 needs a heated greenhouse whilst H4 would be hardy. I like to collect plants with this award as I know the results will be down to me as a gardener not to the breeder of some untested variety.

    • Book Cover

    ‘Plant finder’ is published by the RHS. This book contains over 73,000 plants and where to buy them. Whatever plant you are looking for you should find it in here.
    Handy contact details with maps for over 750 nurseries help you locate your plants and buy them. Plus, having the correct botanical names ensures you find the right one every time.

    There are over 6000 plants with the Award of Garden Merit and they all get recognition in this book.

    At your garden centre or plant retailer look out for the agm symbol on the label.

    Credit
    Whorled Tickseed (Coreopsis verticillata) ‘Zagreb’ RHS/AGM by cliff1066â„¢ CC BY 2.0

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