'The Mysterious Joint Rock Committee'

[Maggi Young]

........ I have often wondered what the process is of submitting a plant to the Joint Rock.  can anyone enlighten me?

I will try to help .... RE : "Joint Rock", the joint RHS, AGS, SRGC plant Committee.... here  is an article : "The Mysterious Joint Rock Committee"  from the Rock Garden journal of the SRGC from 1990 by Lyn Bezzant (who was at that time the SRGC Secretary to the committee) This may be helpful to those who know little about it....

'The Mysterious Joint Rock Committee '   by Lyn Bezzant -
CLICK HERE FOR ARTICLE
   
You can discover from the Show Schedules  those shows at which the Joint Rock will meet.  At those shows, plants which will be submitted to the committee are usually also entered in the show, though I believe that is not necessarily a prerequisite.  The show secretary will provide a form for you to fill in the details of your plant and there is also a card which tells the JRGPC secretary which class the plant is in, so it may be retrieved from the show bench to be taken to the committee room for assessment at the appointed time. Care is usually taken to keep the plants from the benches- and the viewing audience, for as short a time as possible. After the committee has reached its conclusions, a card stating that an award is pending will be placed with the plant, back on the show bench - that's in in a nutshell,  read Lyn's article - it is some years old and some minor changes have been made to the make up of what is still referred to as "joint rock" but  the article is still  relevant.

The current Scottish Secretary of the committee is  Carole Bainbridge - also the SRGC President. 

[Alan_b]

Thank very much indeed, Maggi.

[fermi de Sousa]

I felt very privileged to be allowed to attend a "Joint Rock" when I first visited Scotland in 2007and found the process fascinating,
cheers
fermi

[David Nicholson]

Someone on these pages suggested it might be seen as "....... an ego trip for the horticultural glitterati" Wonder who that was?

[Maggi Young]

The article was very interesting as these organizations and awards are often referred to on the forum and in the Bishop book.  As someone on the outside looking in, I find it very confusing especially when acronyms are used.  Are all the awards mentioned in the article still in use and where does an AGM fit into the scheme?

You can read more about the AGM - Award of Garden Merit - on the RHS website ( https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/trials-awards )
In the past the various committees of the RHS could make that award when a plant was well-known to be og good constitution in a garden setting - but now such awards are made after trials in the likes of Wisley or Harlow Carr. Not ideal since the conditions there are not typical of all climates in the UK - which is where these awards are primarily aimed.
Over the last while "old" awards have been reviewed ( and then  confirmed or rescinded ) by circulation of lists to committees to vote for the best plants.  Preponderance of southern opinions  is, again, not always helpful to growers in  more rigorous climates!

[Maggi Young]

The RHS have  produced a list of the rock garden and alpine plants which have been given the accolade of Award of Garden Merit.

 You can download it in pdf form from this link http://files.srgc.net/general/RockAlpineAGMsSept2015.pdf 

[Maggi Young]

See photos from Twitter of plants  which have  been given awards  by  the  RHS Joint  Rock Garden Plant  Committee .... http://www.srgc.net/forum/index.php?topic=16989.0