Autumn 2024Order now for delivery from week commencing 14th October for pot grown trees or December for bare-root or mixed tree orders.
Orange Pippin Trees UK logo

The 'Plant Healthy' scheme

"Plant Healthy" is a certification scheme for plant growers intended to help with UK biosecurity.

Biosecurity encompasses procedures for maintaining the health of plants growing in the UK. The main threat to UK plant health is considered to be uncontrolled propagation of infected plant material, either originating in the UK or imported from abroad. This is what happened in the 1950s when fireblight was accidentally imported into the UK from North America. The latest threat comes from a bacterial disease called Xylella fastidiosa which is native to the Americas, but has recently been found infecting olive trees in southern Europe. Although this disease has not yet been found in the UK, the threat of it is a major driver in the need to improve UK biosecurity.

The Plant Healthy scheme is overseen by a steering group which includes the main actors in the UK horticulture industry, such as Defra and the RHS. It is primarily aimed at growers of ornamental plants, and retailers and garden centres and other supply chain partners involved in re-selling them.

If you have a project which requires certified plants we can provide various certifications, including Planth Healthy and Plant Passports.

Note that the Plant Healthy scheme should not be seen as a substitute for proper phytosanitary inspection of UK plant nurseries by Defra.

You can find out more about Plant Healthy here.