Vive la résistance

Advances in breeding mean many plant varieties withstand pests and diseases better than ever

Once upon a time, a gardener had to be a defence line – armed and ready with a battery of pesticides in a never-ending war against slugs, bugs and disease. But not any more.

Thanks to advances in breeding, plants these days should pretty much defend themselves.

This suits the low-maintenance gardener, who doesn’t have the time for attacking aphids and the like, as well as the organically minded. To cater for both, plant breeders have been focusing on creating pest- and disease-resistant versions of popular plants.

Roses: these plants were once thought of as high-maintenance, but most of the varieties introduced in the past 10 years are less trouble. “In the early 1990s, we realised there wouldn’t be a future for the rose unless it could resist disease,” says Gareth Fryer of Fryer’s rose nursery in Cheshire. “People were so sick of black spot, they weren’t buying roses, so all the breeders had to make health their priority.”
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