Wimbledon's most quintessential flowers could become a distant memory as climate change forces the court to adopt desert-worthy plants.
Delicate blooms like hydrangeas and petunias may be the first to go as Wimbledon bosses begin planning for ever-hotter summers.
But alternatives such as rosemary and olive trees have been ruled out as “too Mediterranean” as bosses seek to retain Wimbledon's “tennis in an English country garden” feel.
For decades, over 5,000 hydrangeas have wowed spectators in the classic centrepiece of the tennis tournament.
But head gardener Martyn Falconer says his team of 25 gardeners have been ordered to future-proof the floral displays, The Mail on Sunday reports.
He told the newspaper: "Hydrangeas are very iconic for Wimbledon. If you look back at the photos in the archive from the 1920s, you see them.
"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.
"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."
This year’s championships look set to be played again in hot temperatures, including a potential heatwave.
Wimbledon has around 19,000 petunias in over 200 hanging baskets, but these also may be lost as gardeners re-plan.
The tennis court's "climate-resilient" scheme will launch next year at the court's Henman Hill, which will be named "The Hill Project".
Among the first measures, Wimbledon will carry out a slow transition to peat-free soil in its hanging baskets next year.
Wimbledon Championships 2026 will be played over 14 days from Monday, June 29, to Sunday, July 12.
The Championships begins with two days of Gentlemen's and Ladies' Singles matches before Gentlemen's and Ladies' Doubles start on Wednesday, and Mixed Doubles on Friday.
