THE BEGONIA BOAT IS NOW SAILING!

To those fans of our Illumination and other tuberous Begonias we have now passed the last order week for delivery.

As I am sure you know there is a long germination profile on tuberous begonia meaning that we really have to plan in advance when producing them for you. Remember, the last three seasons have seen a significant increase in Begonia sales.

So take the time to review our Garden Begonia section in the new YP catalogue, you will find them on pages 86 to 89, and also the seed raised semperflorens types on page 9. These are still available from week 13 to 18, as they have a shorter grow profile than tuberous types.

To See Our Catalogue Selection Click Here

COME ALONG TO A BEGONIA BASH!

Young Plants Limited in partnership with Cranbrook Plants of Cambridgeshire are pleased to invite you to a Begonia Bash™ this summer.

Held in a variety of locations, the Begonia Bash™ will be a garden party to celebrate the brilliant Begonia. These plants have proven to be fantastic garden plants over the years, and their star is now in the ascendance. These interesting and informative shows will demonstrate how to unlock the true potential of the Begonia.

Begonias can do just about anything, anywhere in the garden, and make really good subjects in the garden centre & on the growing bench.

There will be a whole host of them on show, both traditional and new varieties , along with future introductions, proving them to be a truly versatile plant.

Most begonia just simply enjoy being in the garden and will like being just where you choose to put them! However if its plants for a specific container or place, then there is a begonia for every situation.

Come and see for yourself.

The first Begonia Bash™ of the year will be held at Cranbrook Plants in Somersham, Cambridgeshire in the third week of June. Aimed more at the consumer, this event is open to any and all. A comprehensive collection of Begonia will be displayed in a variety of containers to show how easy begonia are to grow and how large a colour range there is available at retail.

The second major event will be during the 3 weeks of Young Plants Limited Open Days between the 19th July and the 6th August. This event will be focussed on the needs of wholesalers, retailers and nurserymen who want to see a major collection of begonia, showing what is available on the market in a variety of situations, from pots, through baskets & containers, to the garden. Also included will be a number of exciting future introductions and possible new varieties for viewing & discussion.

Throughout the year there will also be ‘satellite’ Begonia Bash™ parties at selected garden centres and trade shows. If you would like to hold a mini Begonia Bash™ please contact Young Plants Ltd to source material, both young plants & flowering material. We will do our best to help you out.

In addition Young Plants Limited will be bringing a ‘roadshow’ version to the HTA Trade Show at Stoneleigh on June 24th.

So, come along to a Begonia Bash™ and have a look at how the begonia is shaping up to be the 'must have' plant for the garden and enjoy a bit of a garden party atmosphere!

We look forward to seeing you in the summer…

For more info or to book your place, click here

Young Plants Ltd Open Days

Our Trial Gardens will be open weeks 29, 30 and 31. July 19th to August 6th 2010. Invitations will be sent out later this year, but if you would like to book a visit please contact us at our usual address or phone number or e-mail sales@young-plants.co.uk

More information...

Celebrity Fuchsia® Charity Donations on the Rise

Since the launch of the Celebrity Fuchsia® series 5 years ago, Young Plants Ltd have seen the series grow not only in size but also in strength. The donations that Young Plants Ltd have been able to make to charities have also risen considerably, as each individual fuchsia has shown increases in sales over the previous 12 month period.

Each fuchsia in the Celebrity Fuchsia® range is named after a British celebrity, and each celebrity has nominated a charity of their choice to benefit from sales of their fuchsia.

Charitable donations have risen to nearly £3,000 in the 2009 season, bringing the total raised so far to £10,000!

The most successful variety over time has been ‘Gary Rhodes, raising over £1,700 for his chosen charity ‘Head First’ an organisation which supports research into head injuries & illness. However the most popular variety in the past 12 months has been shared between two very different celebrities, ‘Ant and Dec’ and ‘Joanna Lumley’.

‘Ant and Dec’ chose the Variety Club’s Sunshine Coaches to donate their £1,000 to and the evergreen Joanna Lumley’s charity Barnardos benefited from another £1,000. Indeed, Ms Lumley has written her personal thanks for the donations, and has been gracious enough to pose with her fuchsia at Chelsea Flower Show, not one, but twice!

Celebrity Fuchsia® are an exclusive series to Young Plants Ltd, with 13 varieties being offered in total. As well as the ones mentioned above, other varieties include Sir David Jason, Jonny Wilkinson, Ronnie Barker, Sir David Attenborough, Sir Ian Botham and Sir Steve Redgrave. So, for 2010 Young Plants Ltd would very much like to donate even more to charity through sales of the Celebrity Fuchsia® series, building on their considerable success so far.

To view the Celebrity Fuchsia® Range click here

FANTASTIC FOUR OAKS!

Four Oaks Show Report, September 2009

This year’s Four Oaks Show proved to be a really great one for Young Plants Ltd. The stand was always packed with visitors, and our sales representatives were kept busy showing both established and new customers our product range.

The show this year could definitely be described as buoyant and business was brisk. There appeared to be no evidence of the economic downturn, and the show overall saw a further 188 first time exhibitors and a continuous stream of visitors.

Our new bi-annual catalogue was available, and many new varieties were on display.

Star of the show was Jonny Wilkinson’s signed rugby shirt which was on display following a successful competition run by Wylam Nurseries in Northumberland. Local children were invited to grow the best ‘Jonny Wilkinson’ Fuchsia from Young Plants’ Celebrity Fuchsia® range. The winner received a signed Jonny Wilkinson rugby shirt, with runners up prizes all donated by the man himself

Particularly striking against the black and pink background were the fabulous Grand Idol ivy geraniums from Fides and the beautifully compact and floriferous MoJo® Fuchsias.

Begonia Carmina attracted many favourable comments with its fantastic bright red pendulous flowers. As did the beautiful blooms of Dahlia Hypnotica, a taller garden dahlia and a new release for 2010.

There were many entries from Young Plants Ltd into the ‘new Products’ competition, including: Gazania Sunbather – a range of brightly coloured cutting raised Gazania, which are all double. This means that even in the most dull weather the blooms to not close up

Fuchsia MoJo® - A lovely series of British bred fuchsia, which are the perfect choice for 10cm and pack production. The plants are compact, upright, well branched and exceedingly floriferous and come in a range of nine colours. Begonia Carmina – a stunning cascading garden begonia in just the right shade of red. Carmina is British bred and extremely tolerant of just about anything the weather can throw at it. Still flowering in November outside Young Plant’s offices, it grows beautifully in baskets, pots, tubs and even in the ground!

Begonia Tropical Desire – a lovely pale yellow garden begonia. Upright and free flowering, the blooms contrast beautifully against the darker foliage. Great for 1Lt pot sales.

Calibrachoa Celebration tricolour – A great concept available in a large plug size. Three well matched colours are combined for instant effect in one plug. Looking stunning in pots, baskets and containers the 3 available colour combinations mean savings on time and money for the grower, and instant impact for the consumer.

Viola Velocity – A new development in cutting raised viola. Velocity is semi-trailing and ideal for use in hanging baskets and as a ground cover plant. Initially compact its great to start off in packs and smaller pots. 5 attractive colours are available.

Geranium Master Idols – an extra vigorous series for 1Lt pots or larger, Master Idols come in 6 colours and have very large flower heads, are semi-double and exhibit good weather tolerance.

Whitehill Display Gardens Report

The following report was written by Andrew Eames, horticultural journalist, following his visit to Young Plants Limited Open Day’s in week 30.

Click here to read the full report...

Get Your Seeds from Young Plants

Since the first of August 2009 Young Plants have been firmly involved in the seed business with the development of their Whitehill Seed Company bringing the strength of Goldsmith and Floranova seeds to all of their existing plug plant customers.

‘Ordering seed from us could not be easier’, said Alex Newey, M.D of Young Plants, ’all orders received by lunch time are being sent out directly to the grower from the supplier subject to availability by the following morning, the turn around times are fast and the fact that we are dealing directly with the seed producers means that all product is supplied fresh’.

Details of the Whitehill Seed Company range are available in the 2010/2011 Young Plants catalogue, or from the download section of Young Plants website.

Young Plants goes from Strength to Strength

Young Plants Ltd managing director Alex Newey announced the appointment of 3 new sales people taking its team of representatives from 5 to 8, further strengthening their position in the UK Market place.

The three men, formerly of Florelite, are Peter van der Geer, Chris Campbell and Rob Aveyard, a team who are well known by many U.K growers and they bring with them a wealth of experience and knowledge which will be invaluable to Young Plants Ltd as they head into what is planned to be another period of growth.

Alex Newey made the appointments to coincide with the Launch of the 2010/2011 Young Plants Ltd catalogue and the companies open days. Giving many customers an excellent opportunity to meet the new team during the three weeks of the Young Plants Ltd show garden in Stratford on Avon.