Alasdair GlenThe Cactus & Succulent Society

Born 1982

Parents

National Cactus and Succulent SocietyCactus and Succulent Society of Great Britain

Membership - September 2015

Junior 37 (+85%)

Senior 1028 (+3.9%)

Full 1507 (- 0.9%)

Associate 204 (-3.3%)Journal circulation to subscribers 2572

14% of membership live abroad

79 have switched from Full to Seniorand

52 have switched back from Senior to Full!

UK and Ireland members distributed over

18 Zones and about 80 branches

bcss.org.uk→ branch/zone websites

Principal activitiesConservation

ResearchPublishing

National items(Show, Convention, Website, Forum etc)

Local activities(Meetings, Shows, Demos, Conventions)

Year Pages Subs (Full)

2004 208 £15

2014 310 £152016 £15

Out and About

Identity

Quality

Uniformity

Plant Abuse!

PROBLEMS WE WOULD LIKE TO SHARE

Irresponsible journalismRenewal rates in first two years are unsatisfactorySuccession of Officials

(National and Local)

Renewals in first two years

Replacement of Local Officials

Marketing Officer

Working with Patrons

Barry NewmanThe National Vegetable Society

The National Vegetable Society

• Established 1960

• Achieved charitable status in 2001

• Governance by a Board of Trustees meeting

quarterly

• Management by 5 regions covering Great

Britain, Northern Ireland and the Channel

Islands supporting 35 district and county

associations

• Current membership of 3000 including 400

affiliated horticultural societies

“Advancing knowledge, study and the culture of vegetables”

The National Vegetable Society

Fit for Purpose in 2016?

• Continue to offer value for money to our members

• Continue to invest in modern communications to

reach a wider audience

• Seek to introduce Direct Debit

• Widen our appeal by demonstrating we are a

‘Growing’ not just a ‘Showing’ society

• Promote our expertise to the media and actively

improve our public relations

• Strengthen our current partnerships and seek new

ones

• Enjoy what we do and enthuse others to do the

same

Any Questions?

The Threatened Plants Project

and Plant Guardian Scheme

Jayanthi Nadarajan (Threatened Plants Project Manager)

Lucy Pitman (Threatened Plants Project Researcher)

TPP@plantheritage.org.uk

Primula x kewensis Primula juliae Primula allionii 'Fanfare' Primula malacoides ‘Prima Lilac’

Plant Heritage (NCCPG)• Founded in 1978

• Over 4,000 members in 35 local Groups

• ~630 National Plant Collections: (historic, horticultural, reference)

The Threatened Plants Project (TPP)

The Plant Guardians scheme

• Started in 2009. A ‘red list’ for cultivars grown in the UK. The project involves assessing the cultivar for rarity, and then requesting specialist growers to assess its worthiness for conservation.

• 2006 : « Growing Heritage » Conference,

• 2008 : RHS Survey on plant conservation [122 respondents (breeders, wholesalers, retailers…)].

• Results :

91% rate endangered species conservation as high priority

83% rate endangered cultivars conservation as high priority

50% grow or have grown “old” cultivars

Background to TPP

International Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020, made of 20 « Aichi

targets » First mention of cultivated plant conservation

Target 13 :

« By 2020, the loss of genetic diversity of cultivated plants and farmed and

domesticated animals and of wild relatives, including other socio-economically as well

as culturally valuable species is maintained and strategies have been developed and

implemented for minimizing genetic erosion and safeguarding their genetic diversity. »

•Horticultural merit: garden value, resilience, breeding use, awards

•Economic value: edible/medicinal, indirect use

•Heritage importance: historical, old, cultural

Why conserve cultivars?

• There are cultivars in more than 1,428 genera in

British horticulture (plus cacti, orchids and annuals)

• 111,329 cultivars in ‘New Data Import’ from RHS

• 46,000 (~40%) cultivars no longer listed

The scale of the problem

'Golden Splendour'

Primula auricula (> 7K cultivars)

'Karen Cordrey' 'C.W. Needham'

1. Changes in fashion: each period has its preferences, from

Victorian fern craze to 18th century rose gardens.

2. Loss of gardens: ongoing large gardens or private

properties impact of the two World Wars

3. Climate change or instability

(e.g. theft, pests and diseases)

4. Difficulties of propagation or cultivation: loss

of associated skills

5. Cultivars not always easier

than species often don’t

come true from seed can

be sterile or inbred 28

Why are they threatened?

The Lost Gardens of

Heligan, Cornwall

• Dianthus ‘Souvenir de la Malmaison’

came from France in the 1860s.

• 20 cultivars were produced, only 5 still

exist.

• Micropropagation is the only way to

produce virus-free plants.

The process of TPP

1. Which are the cultivars?

2. Are they rare?Number of individuals left in cultivation, distribution range, date last

recorded, number of nurseries : ● > 30 each year : widely available > LCic (Least Concern in cultivation)

● > 1 each year : available > NTic (Near Threatened in cultivation)

review in 5 years

● < 1 each year : last listed > THRic (Threatened in cultivation)

immediate action

3. Can they be found?For all the cultivars listed as THR and not new…

Number of gardens, private or public collections holding the cultivar alive

● ≥ 3 sites : VUic (Vulnerable in cultivation)

● 1 or 2 sites : ENic (Endangered in cultivation)

• 0 sites : CRic (Critical in cultivation)

4. Are they worthy of conserving? For each genus : we request experts to comment on:

i. Horticultural merit

ii. Economic value

iii. Heritage importance

Progress and success so far • 381 genera assessed – 33% (73,621 cultivars) are threatened

• First draft of Threatened list published 2014 (website), now 145 genera.

• Gardens:

• Rediscovered 15 THR plants at Dunskey Estate and 14 at

Broughton House & Garden (Dumfries & Galloway).

• Advice on historical collection of Devon origin apples

(40 THR plants).

• Collection holders:

• In 2015 Wisley have been prioritising their THR cultivars for propagation (after

a TPP Report February 2014), including four Agapanthus only surviving at Wisley.

• Aucuba ‘Wykehurst’, a variegated cultivar new to Plant Finder 1998 but last

listed 2003, was to be propagated by the National Trust this year (following a

TPP Report in July 2013).

• Specialist societies:

• Clematis 'Shropshire Blue' and C. ‘WilheminaTull’ were found through a TPP

article in 2014’s British Clematis Society yearbook, ‘Old Friends, Where Are You

Now?’, (413 THR cultivars).

• Rhododendron, Camellia & Magnolia Group- initiating conservation efforts for

THR cultivars.

39%12%16%

33%

Cultivar Threatened Assessment from the New

RHS Data (Total cultivars = 111,328)

CULTIVARS WITHNO INFORMATION

LEAST CONCERN

NEARTHREATENED

THREATENED

The future• 2015 to try direct

manipulation of all-genera data

(new imports from RHS, new

plant lists from NPCs)

• Working towards UK and

Ireland significant genera

• Working towards online

database by 2020

• Encourage conservation of

threatened plants through

other conservation schemes

(Plant Exchange and Plant

Guardian)

UK Significant

Genera (20)

NCP Genera (391)

TPP Genera (381)

1

149 156

217

4114

1428*

Data presented until up to September 2015*Total genera as listed in the ‘New data

import’ from RHS

Genera overlays between TPP, NCP and UK significant genera

Plant Guardians

A Plant Conservation Schemefor Members

What is a Plant Guardian?

• Any member of Plant Heritage who looks after a Threatened plant

• The Plant Guardian can look after one or more plants but it should be their own plant

• Plants can be a species, hybrid or cultivar

What is the scheme for?

• To record and conserve small numbers of plants from 1 upwards

• To be a backup for National Plant Collections® and• Act as a resource for historic planting

• To encourage members to use the Plant Exchange and to better understand the processes of conservation

How the scheme can attract new members

• Members of the public can be encouraged to join to protect and conserve plants in their own garden

• They can be offered help and information from Group members on identification or propagation and cultivation

• Or buy a red label plant at a plant sale, join Plant Heritage and register as a Plant Guardian

• Have access to the annual Plant Exchange

Plant Guardians in 2015

• 65 Plant Guardians

• 546 plants registered • 372 plants of Threatened status• 137 Near Threatened status

• In all areas of the UK• All lists are updated annually

Roy PriorThe Nerine & Amaryllid SocietySuccess In Challenging Times

The Nerine & Amaryllid Society