Plant health authorities are urging palm growers, importers and retailers to be on the lookout for Red palm weevil, a threat to palm trees, which was identified in the UK for the first time in October 2016. Read more

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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