The HTA says weather outlook for August and September is dry despite a chance of storms in the next few days. Parts of the country face hosepipe bans within weeks.  Read more

With plastic waste at the top of consumers sustainability concerns, Johnsons of Whixley and Porters Fuchsias, in conjunction with Modiform, are pursuing separate avenues to reduce the number of plastic plant pots going into landfill. Read more

All nursery exhibitors to the HTA National Plant Show, that takes place on 19 and 20 June at Stoneleigh Park in Warwickshire, have signed up to the industry responsible sourcing statement demonstrating their commitment to plant health and biosecurity. Read more

In 2018 Hale Events supported Final Straw Cornwall at their Expowest Cornwall trade show. Final Straw Cornwall is a campaign to rid Cornwall of single use plastic straws and raise awareness of the damage single use plastics are causing to our environment. Read more

One of Europe’s largest garden centre has installed a 250 kWp solar PV array on the rooftop of its new building, which is now open to the general public. Bridgford Garden Centre, in Nottingham, now features the latest technology including underfloor heating and rainwater harvesting and is now also being powered by 925 solar panels. Read more

The HTA has created a 30-day action plan to raise awareness of the threat of Xylella fastidiosa and the potential devastation it poses to the horticultural industry. Read more

The Plant Health Coordinator at one of the UK’s leading nurseries has contributed to a study published this month (April, 2018) in a leading scientific journal. Read more

The National Trust will phase out selling single use plastics by 2022 and is investigating the alternatives for single use plastics in its plant nurseries and plant sales areas. Read more

The Met Office has warned it will get colder at the weekend and there is the potential for some significant snowfall in places, particularly in the South East of England, by Sunday. Read more

2017 started with a flourish but lost momentum and settled to be an OK year. Suppliers worried about Brexit, the living wage, higher costs and Wyevale. Retailers and growers worried about Xylella. Takeover activity reached new peaks among suppliers, but no major garden centres changed hands. The industry said goodbye to some old friends. Read our review – (open to non-subscribers). Read more

With growing signs that Government is sympathetic to supporting ornamental horticulture, the HTA’s Raoul Curtis-Machin told a Parliamentary committee that growers could reduce plant imports and improve bio-security if given the right backing. Read more

New EU measures for plants at high-risk of carrying Xylella include preventing their movement anywhere in the EU except from sites which have been officially inspected. Read more

As the deadline nears, the EU has delayed the decision on whether to re-licence glyphosate. France and Italy threaten to vote against the weight of science as friction between Monsanto and the EU grows. Read more

Dobbies got no help from the Police when uninvited travellers pitched their vans in the car park of Peterborough Garden Centre last Wednesday. Read more

The HTA describes the massive impact on the plant trade across all business sectors in the event of an outbreak of Xylella fastidiosa in the UK. What should UK businesses be doing? Read more

The three flowers most visited by bees were viper’s-bugloss, teasel and toadflax, according to data from the Blooms for Bees app, created by Coventry University scientists. Read more

The chief executive of Britain’s leading manufacturer of timber products for the garden has issued a stark warning that the country needs to dramatically increase its level of softwood tree planting to avoid a long-term shortage. Read more

The Met Office says, the warm and dry weather is here to stay until at least the end of June and… we could be looking at similar conditions continuing into the start of July. Read more

One of the UK's leading nurseries has this month (June, 2018) announced it will be attending the Horticultural Trades Association (HTA) National Plant Show and will be focusing on Biosecurity during the event.  Read more

“Once we leave the EU we will have the chance to … take swifter, more targeted action against serious threats like Xylella,” says Gove launching a strategy to protect England’s trees. Read more

National press highlights re-appearance of the oak processionary moth and the Spanish slug. Gardenforum looks into their threat and their spread. Read more

A Met Office study into long term weather changes predicts wetter winters.  In contrast summers could be 50% drier in the North and Scotland with more extreme weather events by 2100. Read more

Herefordshire-based Allensmore Nurseries have won the coveted LEAF Accreditation following their investments in sustainable production methods and facilities, and rigorous inspections across their business to ensure compliance with the exacting standards required to achieve the marque. Read more

Having warned of a risk of snow for Easter, the Metoffice now says for the majority of the country and for the majority of the time, this is not so. Read more

The Met Office warns there is an increased risk, later this month, of prolonged cold conditions over the UK with an easterly wind and significant snow, having detected Sudden Stratospheric Warming above the North Pole. Read more

The EU has finally lifted the threat to glyphosate by licencing it for a further 5 years. The herbicide is the active ingredient in Roundup and many other systemic weedkillers used in the garden. Read more

MEPs say the EU should draw up plans to phase out glyphosate by 2020, starting with a complete ban on household use. Read more

Scotts Miracle-Gro called on the ASA (Advertising Standards Agency) to find that two adverts for Safelawn by Westland were misleading. Their complaint was not upheld. Read more

“Xylella is the biggest, scariest threat in my 30 years in the industry…  There is no messing about with this, we must protect our industry,” says an HTA panelist. An outbreak means no plant movements within 10k for 5 years. Read more

FOE draws commitment from garden centre groups not to sell flowering plants grown with neonicotinoids as EFSA draws near to decision on a permanent ban. Read more