Phlox paniculata Becky Towe awarded AGM

Phlox paniculata Becky Towe, an excellent variegated summer-flowering phlox variety, has been granted an Award of Garden Merit (AGM) by the Royal Horticultural Society after garden trials at the RHS Garden at Wisley.

Becky Towe was selected by the late June Towe, keen gardener and plantsperson, as a mutation from the well-known variety Windsor. She named it in honour of her dog, Becky.

The RHS only grants the AGM after an extensive garden trial in controlled conditions, in this case held in Portsmouth Field at the RHS Garden Wisley. The trial is judged by an expert panel including RHS staff and authoritative growers, nurserymen and experts from outside the Society. Judging is also an ongoing process over the three year period of the trial and reflects the performance of the plants in the trial as well as the panel’s knowledge of the candidate varieties from their own experience.

The Phlox trial consisted of 135 varieties of Phlox paniculata, Phlox maculata and Phlox x arendsii. Only 41 varieties were awarded AGM after the trial and, of those, only two have variegated foliage.

Growers interested in adding this variety to their catalogue should contact us. We have availability of young plants from clean stock via one of our licensed propagators in the Netherlands.