RHS Chilli Plants AGM

http://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/RHS-Publications/Plant-bulletins/Chilli-Peppers

About half way down the RHS page above , is a link to the review and AGM (award of garden merit )awards ( 2008 ) , it may have been linked on here before. I am a great fan of the RHS AGM awards , if I see the little award cup on a plant label that's normally - a buy me moment. I will be chosing my 2013 chillies from this list

 

I thought the RHS Chillies would be popular common varieties ? The ones I am growing for 2013 seeds are still available ,Fuego F1 , Hungarian Wax , Sante Fe.
Which brings me to a question.......I have read that Chillies are famously promiscuous , they very easily cross pollinate with each other. So how on earth do they keep all these varieties true

 

I would describe plants awarded the RHS's AGM slightly differently along the lines of "Varieties that have performed particularly well in trials" - which might be different to being commonly grown.

As Shiney says AGM is unlikely to have been awarded to any plants bred recently.

A chum of mine grows a lot of "New varieties". His opinion is that the breeding of newly released varieties is very precise. After a few years it gets handed over to larger outfits who are less rigorous, and thus the "quality" of the crosses deteriorates.

Well, that's his view at least! Me: when I find a variety I like I stick to it