Frank P. Matthews Wins HTA New Plant Award for Apple Legacy™

Frank P. Matthews is proud to announce its success at the HTA National Plant Show, held at Stoneleigh last week. The company was awarded Best in Category in the tree category for its outstanding new variety, Apple (Malus domestica) Legacy™.

The HTA New Plant Awards recognise excellence across the horticultural industry and are widely regarded as a leading platform for discovering the next best-selling plants for garden centres. Winning this award highlights the quality, innovation, and growing appeal of Frank P. Matthews’ fruit tree range.

Steph Dunn James of Frank P Matthews Trees commented; “We were delighted to win Best New Tree for Apple Legacy at the HTA National Plant Show in the New Plant Awards. It’s always wonderful to see our hard work recognised by the judges and wider industry, but just as importantly, the show gave us a fantastic opportunity to catch up with existing customers and meet new ones. The atmosphere was brilliant throughout, and it was great to spend time talking trees, sharing ideas and, of course, enjoying a few ice creams along the way!”

A Special Anniversary Tree

Apple Legacy™ is particularly meaningful for the nursery. Not only is it a brand-new apple variety, but it also serves as a commemorative tree marking Frank P. Matthews’ 125th anniversary. Alongside celebrating this milestone, the tree also supports the valuable work of the National Garden Scheme, reinforcing the company’s ongoing commitment to horticulture and community initiatives.

Judges comments: In a category with several new varieties contending for the best, the judges chose Malus ‘Legacy’ for its ease of growing and exceptional storage feature. It’s parent ‘Pinova’ is grown and very highly rated by Alan Down in his own garden. He said that if Legacy proved to be as good as Pinova then it should be recommended to be grown by every amateur grower! The easy and long storage feature alone warrants growing Legacy and the fact that it will hang on the tree until January is sure to be valued. Crisp, juicy, great flavour, good disease resistance and regular cropping, this is an apple that is sure to become mainstream.

Additional Award Success

In addition to the category win, other new introductions from Frank P. Matthews were recognised with Silver Merit awards, including:

• Malus ‘Julia’ – produces scented pink-to-white blossom followed by abundant bright red fruits, offering long-lasting seasonal interest and strong garden performance
• Prunus ‘Winter’s Kiss’ – a new winter flowering cherry unique for its bright pink flowers, with a long flowering season from December to March.

These accolades further demonstrate the nursery’s dedication to breeding and supplying high-quality, innovative trees for gardens and landscapes.

Who Judges the HTA New Plant Awards? The awards are organised by the Horticultural Trades Association (HTA), which appoints a panel of expert judges. These include specialists from: Commercial growers, Garden centre retailers, Horticultural educators and Garden media professionals

Learn more about the HTA: https://hta.org.uk/about-us

Where to Buy These New Varieties: The new season stock, including Apple Legacy™, Malus ‘Julia’, and Prunus ‘Winter’s Kiss’, will be available from early August through: The Frank P. Matthews webshop, our onsite Tree Shop and stockists nationwide