Wimbledon is all about heritage, all-white dress code, freshly cut grass, strawberries and cream, and much more. However, there is another factor that adds to the beauty of the SW19: The hydrangeas.

However, this time around, this integral part of the heritage might not be able to cope with the climate that made them famous. They are the identity of the Championships since the 1920s. The head gardener at the tournament, Martyn Falconer, has confirmed the iconic flowers could be completely removed if the heat continues. 

It is a decision Falconer is clearly reluctant to make. More than 5,000 hydrangeas currently line the 42-acre grounds, forming the backbone of the “tennis in an English country garden” look that has become almost as recognizable as the tennis played beneath it. But the plant’s water demands are increasingly at odds with the reality of London summers. 

“Hydrangeas are very iconic for Wimbledon. If you look back at the photos in the archive from the 1920s, you see them,” Falconer said. “It’s my favourite plant, but we are looking to see if we can find something that will give you the same wow as a hydrangea.” Even a significant investment in a new irrigation system has not been enough to guarantee their long-term future on site.

Falconer is in charge of a team of 25 members and has had a unique insight into the changes in the ground’s planting priorities over many years of serving at the All England Club. Petunias, which were once mass-planted with geraniums and other annual bedding plants, are already reduced in significant numbers. Around 19,000 petunias still feature across more than 200 hanging baskets and various show court displays, but they now stand as the lone survivor of what was once a much larger rotation. 

“When I joined Wimbledon, we were planting thousands and thousands of petunias and geraniums, and all sorts of annual bedding plants. It was the ‘to-do’ thing in the late 1990s and early 2000s, but we have completely changed that, and petunias are the only ones we really use,” Falconer explained. That earlier shift was driven largely by changing tastes. This next one is being forced by the climate itself.

The flowers, though, are not the only ones feeling the strain of a warming SW19. Wimbledon 2026 has already had to invoke its own heat rule, allowing players to request a 10-minute break once the Wet Bulb Globe Temperature hits 30.1 °C. Qualifying at Roehampton was suspended for over an hour after a power outage, understood to be linked to the extreme heat, knocked out the electronic line calling system during a red weather warning, as London recorded its hottest June day on record. 

In fact, players have been complaining about the heatwave, with the most striking comment by 2025 Australian Open winner Madison Keys. 

“I just feel like every year during Wimbledon there’s a heat wave, and everyone tells me that they ‘don’t need air conditioning,’” she told Bounces by Ben Rothenberg. “We, in fact, need air conditioning that week!” 

However, the magnitude of the challenge is not lost on Falconer, who now has to reshuffle the club’s planting policy while not losing its ‘Wimbledon’ identity that makes it instantly recognizable on a TV screen around the world. This is not just about making it look pretty; it’s about preserving the heritage and incorporating it into the tournament’s visual identity, into shots across Henman Hill and the show courts that are broadcast annually.

Wimbledon rules out Mediterranean look as robots enter the strawberry fields

Some solutions have already been rejected. To ensure Henman Hill maintains its aesthetic appeal, the Hill Project is launching a new initiative next year to test plants that are more resilient to heat. However, they have not selected all drought-resistant choices. 

Organizers have already ruled out rosemary and olive trees, both being suitable for dry conditions, as they would be too Mediterranean, in contrast to the distinctly English character that Wimbledon is built on. 

Falconer has been explicit that this is no longer a matter of reacting to the odd, unusually hot fortnight. “We are starting to look at a strategy for the whole site because the heat isn’t just a one-off,” he said. “Hot spells are now more normal than abnormal. What we need to do is still produce tennis in an English garden, and that’s my job to think about.” 

Alongside the search for new varieties, Wimbledon will also be installing peat-free compost in all its hanging baskets next year as part of a wider sustainability initiative. That same pressure is being felt elsewhere in Wimbledon’s supply chain. 

The tournament’s exclusive strawberry supplier in Kent, Hugh Lowe Farms, is exploring harvesting robots as rising labor costs make the traditional hand-picking model harder to sustain. A team of 30 pickers will still gather around 40 tonnes of strawberries by hand over the coming fortnight. 

The owner, Marion Regan, says she is open to new technology, with her farm already trialing robots developed alongside British firm Dogtooth capable of picking up to 440lbs of strawberries a day. Wimbledon’s oldest traditions are subtly being tested here, from the flower beds to the fruit bowl, in a climate that no longer follows the old rules.