Climadapt: Everything you need to know
Climate resilient plants for sustainable landscapes
Greenwood Plants has introduced Climadapt, an innovative range of climate resilient plants curated to help solve the challenges posed by both present and future urban climates. As urban environments experience more extreme and unpredictable weather, from prolonged drought and heat to intense rainfall and colder extremes, traditional planting schemes may struggle to survive. The Climadapt range has been created to address these issues by offering plants that are bred and selected to perform in the future climate.
Greenwood has been working with expert breeders with decades of horticultural experience to create the Climadapt range, with plants to support resilient, nature based solutions for the urban environment. Each plant has been chosen to help landscapes adapt to future climatic conditions while continuing to deliver reliable performance in real world settings. When integrated from design through to delivery, Climadapt plants support greener, more sustainable spaces and help improve the adaptive capacity of urban environments as they respond to more frequent extreme weather events.
Why is the Climadapt range needed?
In the UK, we are already beginning to see the effects of global warming on our climate. We are experiencing warmer average temperatures, more extreme periods of drought, and less predictable winter weather, including prolonged periods of heavy rainfall, and increased storm activity. Research by the Crowther Lab in Switzerland suggests that by 2050, London’s climate could resemble that of present-day Barcelona, a city almost 1,000 km closer to the equator. The study indicates London may experience an average temperature increase of around 5.9°C, alongside more frequent extreme weather events such as heatwaves and drought. If these trends continue, many native plant species may struggle to adapt to the speed of change, leading to declines in plant diversity and a reduction in the overall health and resilience of green spaces. When designing planting schemes in the present day, if we are to ensure its long-term survival, attention must be given to what the climate is expected to be in 20-30 years’ time. This is why it is important to consider the possibility that many of our native species, even when planted now, may struggle to adapt and survive in our rapidly changing climate.
Climadapt plants have been bred and selected by expert plant breeders to carry traits that are particularly well suited to planting with the future climate in mind, such as enhanced drought tolerance, greater airborne pollution capture, more effective urban cooling, and more.
Meet the partners
To create the Climadapt range, Greenwood has partnered with Pinnacle Plants International, an innovative global horticultural business with decades of experience in growing, breeding, and research. Pinnacle Plants has an extensive network of expert, specialist plant breeders, through which they have collated and developed their URBAFLORA® plants. Pinnacle Plants Managing Director, Kevin Hobbs, has been in horticulture for over 40 years, and has a wide range of horticultural experience, having written several books, and worked in a variety of different roles. His knowledge of plants, as well as his industry experience has been pivotal in our collaboration and in curating the Climadapt range. Alongside Kevin, Dr Nadeesha Lewke Bandara works as Research, Development and Propagation Specialist, and has worked for the last few years to help produce the range.
Managing Director Kevin Hobbs and Research, Development and Propagation Specialist Dr Nadeesha Lewke Bandara
The Climadapt plants
Climadapt has launched with nine plants, each selected for its ability to perform in challenging environments while supporting ecosystem services such as soil health, water resilience, biodiversity, urban cooling and phytoremediation. The initial range includes a mix of groundcover plants, climbers, shrubs and trees to support a wide range of landscape applications.
Agave URBAFLORA® ‘Hale and Hardy’
As a succulent Genus more commonly planted in arid regions, Agave is not typically favoured in the UK climate. ‘Hale and Hardy’, however, has been specifically bred and selected for its cold-tolerance, being able to withstand temperatures as low as -10°C. Being able to survive in the current UK winters, as well as future UK summers, this plant serves as a suitable evergreen choice to provide structure to a planting scheme. Perfect for xeriscaping schemes, It thrives in free-draining and low-nutrient soils, including shallow substrates and containers, conserves water efficiently, and requires little to no maintenance. Over time, the plant forms a substantial presence without spreading aggressively. Mature plants may flower after around 10 years, producing a vertical flower spike that adds dramatic seasonal interest.
Cotoneaster URBAFLORA® ‘Urban Carpet’
‘Urban Carpet’ is a perfect evergreen groundcover plant for urban planting schemes. Being a denser growing variety of Cotoneaster, it helps to provide a thick carpet of greenery, helping to provide a cooling effect via transpiration, help with soil stability, as well as boosting biodiversity through its foliage and berries. It acts as an air purifier, being able to capture airborne pollution through its leaves, as well as reduce noise pollution thanks to its dense growth habit. ‘Urban Carpet’ is perfectly suited to urban planting schemes, thanks to its quick establishment, fast growth, and ability to spread across surfaces to provide adequate green coverage.
Agave URBAFLORA® ‘Hale and Hardy’
Cotoneaster URBAFLORA® ‘Urban Carpet’
Cotoneaster URBAFLORA® ‘Urban Runner’
A variety of Cotoneaster selected for its larger leaf size, which helps to provide additional urban cooling and air purification thanks to its surface area. Additionally, ‘Urban Runner’ has corrugated leaf undersides, which help increase the overall surface area of the leaf, and further enhance its pollution capture properties. It provides soil stabilisation, reduces soil water loss, and creates habitats for invertebrates while attracting pollinators. This particular variety has a fast-growing, spreading habit, making it perfect for providing quick groundcover in urban environments, whilst it produces almost no berries, making it less invasive and will not attract birds, which in certain situations, such as near airports or on rooftops, is desired.
Disporopsis URBAFLORA® ‘Shade Runner’
This variety is an evergreen groundcover developed for shaded spaces and understorey planting. It forms a dense, low carpet of rounded, glossy green leaves, reaching around 30 cm in height. It is valued for its shade adaptation and strong performance in low-light areas. It stabilises soil, reduces water loss from the ground surface, and helps suppress weeds by forming tight foliage cover. In spring, it produces pendulous, creamy-white, bell-shaped flowers which are followed by purple-blue berries, offering seasonal interest and attracting pollinators. In the Climadapt range, this plant is the perfect solution for planting in dense urban areas, where access to sunlight through tall buildings is limited, or other planting has otherwise restricted ground-level.
Hedera Algerian ‘BELLECOUR®’
Already well established in the French amenity market, ‘BELLECOUR®’ is a unique ivy in that it does not produce the gripping hairs on its aerial roots, meaning that it doesn’t climb. Not only does it make this variety less invasive than others such as Hedera helix, but it means that the plant becomes a resilient, fast-growing groundcover plant. Regularly used on embankments, road intermediaries, and smaller functional spaces, ‘BELLECOUR®’ is particularly drought tolerant, which makes it low maintenance and perfect for spaces not regularly tended. Its leaves are larger than the native variety, making it suitable for urban cooling, pollution capture, and groundcover. Not only that, but the moisture held in its leaves can make ‘BELLECOUR®’ effective at preventing fire spread in hot, dry summers, when compared to grass or wildflowers.
Cotoneaster URBAFLORA® ‘Urban Runner’
Disporopsis URBAFLORA® ‘Shade Runner’
Hedera Algerian ‘BELLECOUR®’
Hedera Algerian ‘BELLECOUR®’
Hydrangea anomala URBAFLORA® ‘Terra Firma’
This variety is a semi-evergreen climbing hydrangea, unique thanks to its striking pink leaf undersides in autumn and winter. As it retains its leaves throughout the colder months, it means that the plant provides better shelter for wildlife, screening for noise pollution, and give year round colour to an urban planting scheme. It helps reduce soil water loss, suppresses weeds, and helps stabilise soil, making it ideal for sustainable planting schemes. Suitable for a wide range of soils and gradients, it thrives in full sun or shade and is perfect for green roofs and vertical greening projects. Quick to cover surfaces, it forms a dense carpet and will climb when given support.
Lonicera URBAFLORA® ‘Precipice’
A lower growing Lonicera variety with a much denser growth habit. This particular variety can form a dense groundcover spread, making it perfect for providing year-round green coverage thanks to its evergreen foliage. Known for its sweetly scented golden-yellow tubular flowers, this plant is highly attractive to pollinators and occasionally produces small black berries. Its self-rooting stems make it ideal for soil stabilisation and establishment on vertical surfaces. It thrives in full sun or shade and is perfect for green walls and roofs. It densely covers surfaces, and will eventually develop some vertical growth.
Hydrangea anomala URBAFLORA® ‘Terra Firma’
Lonicera URBAFLORA® ‘Precipice’
Quercus URBAFLORA® ‘Grace’
An English and Iranian oak hybrid, this variety has been selected specifically due to its drought tolerant properties, which make it ideally suited to be planted with the future climate in mind. In addition to drought tolerance, this tree can also stand up to periods of flooding once established, making it perfect for planting with more extreme future climates in mind. It features larger, ornate leaves compared to native oak varieties, which makes it ideal for creating shade in cities, providing cooling, and capturing airborne pollution. It thrives in sun or part shade and develops a neat upright habit, reaching up to 18 metres in height. Its dense wood contributes to carbon storage, making it a sustainable choice for urban greening projects.
Rubus URBAFLORA® ‘Happy Wanderer’
A bramble variety with soft bristles (prickles) and larger leaves, making it more appealing to amenity planting compared to native bramble varieties. In addition, it thrives in full sun or shade and suits a wide range of soil types, excluding persistently wet conditions. It is perfect for slopes, green walls, and roofs, and when planted in soil, its extension growth will cover hard surfaces. Not only does it help suppress weeds, it can help to improve soil health thanks to its soil stabilisation properties. It very rarely produces fruit, making it less invasive than traditional varieties, whilst still being fast growing and able establish quickly. Semi-evergreen leaves, and considered a top performer among amenity plants when it comes to airborne particulate capture, thanks to its larger leaf morphology.
Quercus URBAFLORA® ‘Grace’
Quercus URBAFLORA® ‘Grace’
The launch of Climadapt marks the start of a wider programme of plant innovation. The current range will be available for delivery from Summer 2026, with further varieties already in development and planned for release in early 2027. As climate pressures continue to evolve, the Climadapt range will expand to offer designers, specifiers and landscapers a growing toolkit of resilient, future focused plants. Climadapt was previously unveiled to the industry at a major European horticultural trade event, introducing the range to an international audience and setting the direction for its continued development. Through Climadapt, Greenwood Plants aims to support a shift in how planting is specified and delivered. By focusing on resilience, function and long term performance, the range reflects a commitment to landscapes that are greener, stronger and better prepared for the challenges ahead.
To learn more, visit the climadapt website here.