The largest international collaboration at this year’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2026 has been awarded an RHS Gold Medal, bringing together leading orchid conservationists, scientists and growers from the UK, China and the USA to spotlight the urgent need to protect one of the world’s most threatened plant families. 

Led by Orchid Conservation Chelsea (OCC) in partnership with Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Chicago Botanic Gardens and GrowTropicals, the award-winning exhibits celebrated the extraordinary beauty, cultural importance and conservation of Chinese orchids. This year marks Orchid Conservation Chelsea’s third consecutive Gold Medal win following successes in 2023, 2025 and now 2026. 

At the heart of the display, The Orchids of China – Beauty & Conservation introduced visitors to rare and remarkable species seldom seen in the UK, including orchids from Shanghai Chenshan Botanical Garden. The exhibits highlighted the global importance of orchid conservation at a time when habitat loss, climate change and illegal plant collection continue to threaten wild populations worldwide. 

Orchids are the largest family of vascular plants on Earth, with more than 31,000 known species and nearly 50 native to the UK alone. Many rely on highly specialised relationships with fungi and pollinators, making them critical indicators of ecosystem health and especially vulnerable to environmental change. 

A standout moment of the Show saw Cymbidium faberi Guanding receive the first Chelsea-given RHS Award of Merit on OCC’s sister exhibit, The Chinese Scholar’s Study, which celebrated the orchids that inspired Confucian culture for centuries. The award recognised the exceptional quality and historic significance of this treasured Chinese species. 

More than 60 scientists, botanists and conservation specialists contributed to the displays and the public-facing “Genius Bar,” sharing expertise on orchid conservation, biodiversity and pollinator protection with visitors throughout Show week. 

After the Show, the plants will join the UK’s National Plant Collection* of Cymbidiums in Sussex. This is one of six National Plant Collections looked after by The Mathers Foundation, and other plants from the Foundation’s 20,000 orchids were also on display at the exhibit. The Mathers Foundation specialises in ex situ conservation of both orchid species and hybrids and has taken responsibility for ten major collections since it was founded in 2019.

Essex Wildlife Trust is one of 21 Global Partners, aiming to raise awareness about orchid conservation.