“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 - members only

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

Manufacturers dispute research findings that neonicotinoids damage bees' ability to reproduce. Read more - members only

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

Met Office forecasters expect the current ‘colder-than-average’ conditions to remain, with a colder plunge anticipated across the UK next week.

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

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 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

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

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

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, 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