Hardiness Colour Coding System

WE USE 3 DIFFERENT COLOURED LABELS TO GIVE AN INSTANT INDICATION OF A PLANT'S FROST HARDINESS. (Think of Traffic Lights)

IF IT HAS A GREEN TRAFFIC LIGHT
Hardy anywhere in Britain below approximately 1,000 ft (300 m)

IF IT HAS AN AMBER TRAFFIC LIGHT
Hardy in the Home Counties if sensibly sited (avoiding severe frost pockets, for example). Many Amber Labelled Plants are from cuttings from well-established plants that have survived many harsh winters in the South-East.

IF IT HAS A RED TRAFFIC LIGHT
Hardy in Atlantic Seaboard gardens, The Channel Islands, gardens in Central London (and other large cities) and conservatories.

This is only meant as a guide; there are some plants with red labels that would only survive in extremely favoured spots such as The Isles of Scilly or coastal south-west Ireland. We're always on hand to give advice about plants and their frost hardiness.

General Point about Plant Hardiness: The commonly held belief that it's better to 'plant small' is perfectly true with herbaceous plants, but not necessarily true with woody plants. They need some 'wood' on them to survive severe cold - so plants of marginal hardiness in very cold areas should really be planted LARGER, rather than smaller, wherever possible.