Suttons grow award-winning Sedum peat-free
Sales of Sedum ‘Atlantis’ - winner of the RHS Chelsea Flower Show new plant award for 2019 - are phenomenal, according to Gavin Shaw of Suttons. An unusually showy sedum delivering real impact, it is being grown in Levington Advance Sustain peat-free growing media and is very much a plant for our times. “Its compactness suits small gardens, while its tolerance to heat, cold, drought and wet conditions make it ideally suited to the UK’s increasing unpredictable weather,” Gavin explains.
Gavin Shaw - Suttons
“From a retailer point of view, Sedum Atlantis is easy to transport due to its compact size and offers instant shelf-appeal with its variegated foliage before flowering. We expect it is going to be popular in living walls due to its size and season-round appeal.”
Bred by American Dave McKenzie of Hortec, and exclusive in the UK to Suttons, the Sedum Atlantis plugs are produced in the Netherlands and grown on by Gavin and his team in Devon. With an eye for a winner, this latest RHS award comes just two year after Suttons’ earlier success - Morus ‘Charlotte Russe’ -scooped Chelsea Plant of the Year 2017.
At two high-intensity sites − totaling 10-acres nestling in the hills overlooking the sea near Paignton in Devon − Sutton produce close to a million perennials, shrubs, vegetable plants and bedding in 9cm, 2 and 3litre pots.
“While in the past Suttons used a peat-based mix, following the management buy-out four years ago we switched to a Levington Advance peat-reduced mix incorporating bark and Fibagro woodfibre,” says Gavin. “Taking it a step further, since early spring everything has been potted in Levington Advance Sustain Peat Free mixes, containing pine bark, Fibagro and coir.
“The move has been driven by the company’s culture, rather than customer demand. Our ethos is to do what we believe is right for the environment.
“Phasing in peat-free gradually, we are getting used to it - understanding how it works and adapting our water management accordingly. We have several different Levington Sustain mixes, of different coarseness, to suit different pot sizes. All have the H2Gro granules incorporated to help with the water management. Six months on from starting to use Levington Advance Sustain Peat free mixes, and they are performing well.”
Gavin has worked with Stuart Gammage, (formerly from Notcutts Nurseries and now an ICL technical area sales manager) over many years. Last year Stuart analysed a water sample from the Devon site. Taking in to account the results, the growing media and the crops being grown, Stuart employed ICL’s AngelaWeb programme to calculate a precision nutrition programme for Suttons comprising Osmocote CalMag plus Osmocote Exact HighK with 5-6 or 8-9 month longevity depending on the crop. Also incorporated is the ICL Micromax Premium to supply the ultimate trace element package for the crops. If plants remain on site longer than programmed, the team then uses Osmocote tablets to topdress at the start of the following season.
“Osmocote is very reliable,” says Gavin. “I’ve used it over many years and it has an excellent reputation, it does exactly what I want it to do. All in all ICL provide a very good service – they do what they say they are going to do.”