ENGLISHInternational jury elects 10 new perennials in ISU trial
ISU AWARD sees unusually high volume of applications
10 newly-introduced perennial varieties were selected for the ISU Award by a panel of experts at the ISU Congress in Horgen/Switzerland on 10 August. Applications for 170 new perennials had been submitted, after having been planted and evaluated for around two years in the gardens of the Zurich University of Applied Science in Wädenswil. These prerequisites enable the Trial Commission to make informed judgements that are based on both expert evaluations over an adequate period of observation combined with their own impressions during the awards selection. It was apparent that the assessments of the 11 experts were quite unanimous: all of the elected perennials received more than half of the possible number of votes. ISU Awards for newly-introduced perennials were given to the following cultivars:
- Phlox amplifolia 'Shemeneto'
- Brunnera macrophylla 'Caucasian Carpet'
- Kniphofia 'Papaya Popsicle' PBR
- Miscanthus sinensis var. condensatus 'Luc André Lepage'
- Molinia 'Les Ponts de Cé'
- Panicum virgatum 'Buffalo Green' PBR
- Rodgersia henricii 'Cherry Blush' ®
- Echinacea 'Meditation White' ®
- Veronica longifolia 'Marietta' ®
- Anemone 'Fantasy Pocahontas'
Photos and descriptions of the perennials can be viewed on the ISU website at www.isu-perennials.org under the “Awards” link.
At the meeting, the members of the Commission also discussed the criteria for future applications. In order to guarantee a higher level of availability for elected plants, perennials that have not been on the market for more than seven years can now be admitted for evaluation as new introductions (previously five years).
In the past, an average of 50 new introductions was in the running for the ISU Award. This is now the second time that such an unusually large number of perennials has been elected – in the Netherlands in 2012 there were as many as 200. So in view of this trend, the President of the ISU Trial Commission, Jan Spruyt, can also expect numerous submissions at the next Congress in England in 2016. The evaluations and elections, however, will be handled by his successor, Xavier Allemann from Switzerland. After 12 years of working for the ISU, six of which as Chairman, Jan Spruyt has headed up his last meeting, with his usual vigour, in Wädenswil.
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