News from Cardwell garden centre that the supermarket shortage of lettuce and courgette has created a surge in demand for seed has gone viral. Read more - members only

2016 saw second tier garden centre chains and independents invest as Wyevale consolidated. Homebase and Argos are sold. The HTA moved offices and moved to become the lead association for all gardening related businesses. Glyphosate, Xylella and the weather made frequent headlines. Scotts and Bayer looked for a way out of distributing consumer garden chemicals. Read our review – open to all. Read more - open to all

Buglife reports that an invasive flatworm from Brazil that is already a threat to agriculture across France and is spreading rapidly through Europe has arrived in the UK.  Read more - members only

The HTA conference heard that 50% or gardens would need irrigation by 2050 as summers get warmer and drier and growing seasons will be longer. Read more - members only

EU grants an 18 month extension for glyphosate based products as the Health Commissioner expresses concern that that member states could not accept EU commission proposals. Read more - members only

Earlier today a specialist EU committee refused to back even a limited extension to the licence for glyphosate, the main active ingredient in weedkillers such as Roundup, Resolva and Deadfast, which expires at the end of the month. Read more - members only

Activists seeking to ban glyphosate have started a campaign of ‘brandalism’ at garden centres that stock Roundup. Read more - members only

In a non-binding resolution that sends a clear message to The European Commission, MEP’s have voted to extend the glyphosate licence for 7 years only and with conditions that ban it for public use. Read more - members only

The MD of Barcham Trees warns, "Xylella is not in the UK yet, but if plant material keeps coming across from the continent without any thought to bio-security it is only a matter of time before this menace becomes a reality.” Read more - members only

The HTA plant conference was told that many parts of the industry are ignorant of the threat from Xylella. An outbreak would mean a 5 year ban on the movement of plants for businesses within 10K. Read more - members only

Xylella fastidiosa has the potential to have huge implications for the UK horticultural trade. Landscapers, designers, retailers and anyone directly importing plants are now subject to the same stringent measures as growers and suppliers. Read more - members only

2015 was an eventful year in the garden sector. Here is a round-up of some of the most important stories on Gardenforum throughout the year. This article is open to non-members. Read more - open to all

Wiseweather predicts a cooler spell at the end of next week in an otherwise mild month. Read more - members only

Large English retailers, including some garden centres, will be forced to charge their customers 5p from today (Oct 5) for plastic carrier bags, unless… Read more - members only

Bayer is replacing Thiacloprid in its insecticides, although it is not one of the banned neonicotinoid class. Read more - members only

Defra plant health chief, Nicola Spence, outlined the pest and disease threats, explained what the Government does and backed the HTA’s new plant health management pilot. Read more - members only

2016 is likely to break the global temperature record but 2017 is likely to be cooler says the Met Office. Read more - members only

The HTA and leading nurseries are to pilot a Plant Health Management System as the potentially devastating Xylella disease is found in Germany Read more - members only

An emergency summit aiming to find an industry-led solution to the threat of vine weevil will hear from BASF the UK’s only producers of nematodes. Read more - members only

The EU has until Thursday to decide whether or not to re-licence glyphosate. But discussions on Brexit has pushed it off the EU Commissioners’ agenda. Read more - members only

EU committee again fails to renew glyphosate licence despite revised proposals. If not approved member states will have to withdraw authorisation of the weedkiller.   Read more - members only

Wyevale gets nationwide publicity for warning that gardeners face an increase in super-sized ‘sleepless’ slugs after an unseasonably mild winter. Read more - members only

The Environment Committee of MEP’s says The European Commission should not renew the approval of glyphosate on the EU market for another 15 years, without any restrictions. Read more - members only

If the UK leaves the EU, it would still have to comply with the new plant health regulations being introduced later this year, says MEP as she outlines the timetable for the new legislation. Read more - members only

Growers are angry that their efforts to convince government to take a simple, common sense approach to tree planting grants are falling on deaf ears. Read more - members only

Anyone using perfumed sprays and scented candles around the home will be buying houseplants if they watched the second in this series of ‘Trust me I’m a Doctor’ on BBC2, last night. Read more - members only

The latest ruling by EFSA concludes glyphosate is unlikely to pose a carcinogenic hazard to humans. Will this decision end the campaign against glyphosate? Read more - members only

Having classified glyphosate as being “probably carcinogenic to humans” the IARC has now classified processed meats such as bacon, sausages and burgers in the higher classification, “carcinogenic to humans”. Read more - members only

Westland Horticulture has run into trouble with conservationists over the continuing extraction of peat at an archaeological site at Mayne Bog in Coole, Co Westmeath after a Bronze Age oak road was discovered in 2005. Read more - members only

Local newspapers across the country have picked up a warning from Wyevale that homeowners can expect the ‘invasion’ of hungry wasps to continue for the next few weeks. Read more - members only