Vitax - one of the UK’s leading manufacturers of garden and horticulture products - has appointed a new Irish distributor as part of its strategy to grow its presence across Ireland. Read more - members only

B&Q is to test the lifespan of different formulations of compost in response to Which? Gardening’s campaign to date bags. Read more - members only

Taylors Bulbs have announced a £200k investment in a new packing line and a further £160k investment in a 1400 tonne cold store facility both primarily for the supply of seed potatoes. Read more - members only

Believing that good buyers have not been given the recognition they deserve, Glee is asking you to nominate people or teams that might qualify as the country’s best buyers for awards being introduced at the show. Read more - members only

After an extensive review of the Solus brands Scotts says that Chapelwood has a significant future but it will exit the remaining brands at the earliest opportunity. Read more - members only

Peter Williams steps down after 10 years as finance director at William Sinclair.  The company has appointed turnaround specialist, Sheryl Tye, as interim CFO. Read more - members only

Kelkay completes its new plant and head office with an investment of £1 million in machinery to secure its market leading position, says its managing director. Read more - members only

As peat consumption looks to have gone up again, two new tools will demonstrate the industry's commitment to producing growing media that is fit for purpose and sourced with environmental consideration at heart. Read more - members only

William Sinclair has announced the departure of Peter Rush as chief executive with immediate effect.  He is replaced by a turnaround specialist after a poor start to the spring.

Scotts Miracle-Gro is spending £7.5m this spring and summer on TV campaigns to drive customers in store.  The advertising will start to air week commencing 30th March. Read more - members only

The growing presence of online retailers was clear at the Garden Press Event with two established sites and two newcomers, one launched at the show and one being mysterious about its launch plans. Read more - members only

The country’s gardening press converge on the Barbican on Thursday to get fresh ideas to write about this spring.  What will catch their interest at the Garden Press Event? Read more - members only

Sunshine Garden Centre and Van Hage are the best GCA outdoor living retailers.  Cowell’s and Bents are the best for plants. Read more - members only

Vitax has bought the shares of Organico Ltd, the manufacturer of 6x and Groworganic.  The deal was announced today.  See more… Read more - members only

The GCA has named 13 regional winners in their annual Christmas display competition.  To see where to go to see the best displays. Read more - members only

A Which? Member has drawn attention to Tesco’s packaging of plant feed and weedkiller which look remarkably alike. Read more - members only

Costs incurred during the commissioning of Ellesmere Port have led to a significant requirement to raise funds in the next few weeks.  The company is in discussion with third parties and major stakeholders.   Read more - members only

Stewart Group raises £11m to build stocks and invest in the latest, more efficient, pot making machines. Read more - members only

There has been a transformation at Hillier's garden centres in the last 18 months. Seven have a new look and feel and there is a new confidence in Hillier’s plant heritage. Read more - members only

Reports are circulating the trade, as yet unconfirmed, that Scotts Miracle-Gro has told its staff that all but one of the Solus brands are to be withdrawn from the market. Read more - members only

G Plants has moved into new offices and warehousing covering 50,000 ft.² in Blackburn as part of a £600,000 expansion plan.  It is looking to recruit new sales personnel. Read more - members only

Stax called together over 200 suppliers to hear about a new multi-Channel trade centre, a new website and an autumn marketing campaign. Read more - members only

Toolbank’s distribution agreement with Crest Garden has given it a platform to dig into the garden market. Garden centre buyers are being invited to register for the distributor’s spring trade shows. Read more - members only

B&Q highlights the new horticultural buying team it has assembled over the last year under Stephen Pitcher, director of seasonal. Read more - members only

A new website for Westland, Showa’s bio-degradable gardening gloves, Eden Project seeds, a 10,000 strong Facebook community of Garden Goddesses and Hozelock’s electric weed killer were some of the innovations on show at the Garden Press event. Read more - members only

Continuing a campaign started last year DLF Trifolium accuses some competitors of continuing to cut corners by bulking out their lawn seed blends with unsuitable low grade seeds. Read more - members only

February looks set to be sunnier and slightly colder than average  Although drier, snow showers will often feature in the forecast.  Read more - members only

The latest figures from the GCA show 2014 was the best year for 4 years with December beating May as the biggest sales month of the year. Read more - members only

2014 has been dominated by the repositioning of the major gardening goods distributors following the demise of Solus.  The weather for once provided a good news story and towards the end of the year there was a flurry of activity from Wyevale as it picked up eight long established independent garden centres.  See the full review – which is open to all… Read more - open to all

Guy Hands tells the Evening Standard, that Terra Firma has moved Wyevale from being plant- and horticultural-based to more like a leisure company. Read more - members only