George Russell (1857–1951) was born in Stillington and lived in

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

, England. He is most notable for his work developing the Russell Hybrid Lupins. A gardener by occupation, he began experimenting with Lupins in his fifties, after being inspired by the sight of a vase of the flowers at the home of one of his employers. Over more than twenty years, he used natural

pollination Pollination is the transfer of pollen from an anther of a plant to the stigma of a plant, later enabling fertilisation and the production of seeds, most often by an animal or by wind. Pollinating agents can be animals such as insects, birds ...

by bumble-bees to develop hybrids with flower spikes that were larger and more colourful than the original

Lupinus polyphyllus ''Lupinus polyphyllus'', the large-leaved lupine, big-leaved lupine, many-leaved lupine, blue-pod lupine, or, primarily in cultivation, garden lupin, is a species of lupine (lupin) native to western North America from southern Alaska and Britis ...

. He was 79 when he first exhibited at

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

, and the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr (Nort ...

awarded him the

Veitch Memorial Medal The Veitch Memorial Medal is an international prize issued annually by the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). Goal The prize is awarded to "persons of any nationality who have made an outstanding contribution to the advancement and improvement o ...

in 1937 for his achievements. In 2013, when the RHS held a vote to determine their 'plant of the centenary', Russell Hybrid Lupins were selected as the top plant to have debuted during the period 1933-1942 and voted second overall. Some of the Lupins created by Russell were named after his friends and neighbours. These include the 'Mrs Micklethwaite', for the employer who originally inspired his work, and the 'Mrs Noel Terry' named after Kathleen Terry of the

Terry's Terry's is a British chocolate and confectionery maker, formerly based in York, England, until 2005, and re-established in 2019 as Terry's Chocolate Co and based in London. The company was founded in 1767. The company's headquarters and fact ...

chocolate-manufacturing family. At one time there were 152 named varieties but in the years after Russell's death many of these were either lost to

Cucumber mosaic virus ''Cucumber mosaic virus'' (CMV) is a plant pathogenic virus in the family ''Bromoviridae''. This virus has a worldwide distribution and a very wide host range, having the reputation of the widest host range of any known plant virus. It can be tra ...

or allowed to self-sow enabling them to revert to their original colours. Selective List of Russell Hybrid Lupins (with colours if known) *Bluejacket : blue and white * Catherine of York * Gallery White * Gallery Yellow * Helen of York * Joan of York * Masterpiece * Manhattan Lights * Mrs Micklethwaite * Mrs Noel Terry : pink * My Castle * Nellie B. Allen : salmon pink * Noble Maiden * Purple Swirl * The Chatelaine * The Governor * Thundercloud : purple and mauve

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Russell, George 1857 births 1951 deaths People from Hambleton District English horticulturists Lupinus Veitch Memorial Medal recipients