The Police declined to help when travellers pitched camp on Dobbies’ car park
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 - members only
The Police declined to help when travellers pitched camp on Dobbies’ car park
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 - members only
HTA warns Xylella fastidiosa is a threat to the UK Horticulture industry
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 - members only
How will the election result impact the garden sector?
Do we face opening the UK market to imports from the US? LOFA members fear exchange rate volatility. The HTA is concerned about retaining the relationship it has built with Government on ways to promote plant health and cut plant imports. Read more - members only
HTA warns of GMOs in Petunias
Following reports of genetically modified petunias being sold in Finland, the HTA has alerted the UK authorities to their existence in the UK supply chain. Read more - members only
Call for vigilance for the red palm weevil
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 - members only
Defra plant health chief backs industry initiatives
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
2017 likely to be cooler than 2016
2016 is likely to break the global temperature record but 2017 is likely to be cooler says the Met Office. Read more - members only
Xylella found in Germany
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
Emergency summit to address Vine Weevil threat
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
Brexit pushes glyphosate decision off the agenda
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 fails again to re-licence glyphosate
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 warns of booming slug population
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
Glyphosate: don’t renew its authorisation, urge MEPs
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
We’d have to comply with new EU regs even if the UK votes ‘No’
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
Government bureaucracy could lead to nurseries dumping trees says HTA
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
FOE delivers petition calling for permanent ban on bee harming pesticides
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 - members only
Will new report lead to permanent ban of Neonics?
Manufacturers dispute research findings that neonicotinoids damage bees' ability to reproduce. Read more - members only
Mail says ‘insect-friendly’ plants are laced with pesticides that poison bees
The Daily Mail says that ‘insect-friendly’ plants sold in garden centres and supermarkets are laced with chemicals that could be killing bees. Read more - members only
Wintry weather to return next week
Met Office forecasters expect the current ‘colder-than-average’ conditions to remain, with a colder plunge anticipated across the UK next week.
Read more - members onlyLettuce news from Cardwell goes viral
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 - a year of change
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
Obama flatworm found in Oxfordshire garden centre
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
How will the climate have changed by 2050?
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
Stay of execution for glyphosate - UPDATED
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
EU deadlock on proposal for limited extension to glyphosate licence
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
Garden Centres are the target of ‘brandalism’ protests against glyphosate
Activists seeking to ban glyphosate have started a campaign of ‘brandalism’ at garden centres that stock Roundup. Read more - members only
MEPs vote for ban on glyphosate for public use
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
Grower calls for quarantine system to prevent Xylella entering the UK
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
An outbreak of Xylella would mean a 5 year ban on plant movements
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
The UK is on high alert for Xylella
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