Snow for Easter? UPDATED
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
Snow for Easter? UPDATED
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
Met Office warns of prolonged cold and snow
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
EU licences glyphosate for a further 5 years
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
MEP’s call for complete ban on household use of glyphosate
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 challenges Westland’s SafeLawn adverts and loses
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
Businesses hit by Xylella would not be insured
“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 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
Will new report lead to permanent ban of Neonics?
Manufacturers dispute research findings that neonicotinoids damage bees' ability to reproduce. Read more
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
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 moreLettuce 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
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
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
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
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
Disruptive snow expected again in some areas
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
A round-up of 2017, a year dominated by Brexit and Xylella
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
Westminster hears the case for supporting UK ornamental growers
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
EU to strengthen movement controls on plants susceptible to Xylella
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
Glyphosate - Will science or politics sway the EU?
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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