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While one aspect of the peat-free debate has sparked fierce argument, surprisingly little rigorous science exists to settle it. "Is peat-free growing media really more 'sustainable' than using peat? Alexander Sentinella is Growing Media Europe director of science, and his new study provides the first scientifically grounded dataset on the environmental impact of the main raw materials used in growing media in Europe. His main finding is that there is no single “sustainable” ingredient. He talks in detail about his research, developed with Wageningen University & Research and published in the Journal of Cleaner Production. In an age where nuance and scientific endeavour have been often downgraded, Sentinella explains that a reduction in peat content in growing media might not always mean an overall drop in carbon emissions. He says yield and plant growth quality matters just as much as the medium itself and a that a whole life, holistic approach is needed to assess environmental benefits. Sentinella adds that more research is needed to integrate the performance of many different kinds of plants in peat-free to give a more complete picture, and how valuable it would be for there to be more sharing of trial data being carried out by growers across the UK. His work is set to reach wider horticultural audiences this autumn. He will speak at the GB Poinsettia Association Conference on 19 November as well as the RHS Sustainable Horticulture and Peat-Free Conference on 26 November. Please send your thoughts on this topic to [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this special series, HortWeek columnist and garden industry consultant Neville Stein brings his Whatever Happened To... feature to the HortWeek podcast, exploring the stories and legacies of once-great horticulture businesses. In this episode Stein speaks to Richard Burt, sales director at Provender Nurseries, to take a deep dive into the precipitous rise, and ultimate demise of Coblands Nursery, once a towering presence in the UK amenity plant market. Coblands was a colossal operation with a massive geographical footprint stretching from Sevenoaks down to Tunbridge Wells and beyond, comprising a 20-acre cash-and-carry site and expansive nursery operations. The nursery capitalised on the golf course development boom, specializing in high-volume, low-value stock focused on trees, shrubs, and herbaceous plants. They supplied landscape projects, including Leeds Castle and the Crystal Palace dinosaur park. Burt joined Coblands as a student from Cannington College in 1993 and remained until 2007, finishing cash and carry manager. He describes a vibrant, youthful work culture that operated like a close-knit family business, where staff worked hard and socialised just as intensely. Stein and Burt discuss the numerous innovations, driven by frugality, brought about under the direction of the late Geoff Turner. The operational DNA of Coblands lives on at Provender Nurseries. Burt, along with around half a dozen former Coblands staff, transported and refined the Coblands cash-and-carry model. With this continuity in mind, the pair discuss lessons learned, what has changed in horticulture business since Coblands' hayday, and how some things, good and bad, remain the same. To find out more about this fascinating history, read Neville Stein's original article: Whatever Happened to... Coblands. Find dozens more horticulture business histories from the Whatever happened to... series HERE Podcast presenter: Neville Stein Podcast producer: Christina Taylor If you enjoyed this podcast do check out our huge archive of HortWeek Podcast interviews with an unrivalled selection of prominent and fascinating figures from all corners of the horticulture sector. Make sure you never miss a HortWeek podcast! Subscribe to or Follow HortWeek podcasts via Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your preferred podcast platform. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"Modern day plant hunter" Rod Richards or New World Plants has banked decades of experience in bringing plants to market and knowing what works. Richards tells the HortWeek Podcasts what makes a good plant introduction and reflects on some of his own successes, for instance Dicentra 'Gold Heart', Salvia 'Amistad' and Iberis 'Masterpiece' as well Geranium 'Black Beauty'. He gives his candid perspectives on peat, water, and what the industry needs from Monty Don's replacement. And he shares stories of antics from the good old days and discusses what he thinks has made New World Plants so successful. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This September, Northern Roots launched the first phase of what will become the UK's largest urban farm and eco-park, transforming 160 acres of underused land in Oldham into a visitor destination, community resource and living testbed for tackling some of the country's biggest social and environmental challenges. Anna Da Silva, chief executive of Northern Roots, outlines how the project is transforming an abandoned post-industrial site into a community-centric green asset delivering ecological, health, educational, and economic benefits. She talks about the transformation of the land, the goals they have for it, and explains how many years of "banging the drum" for green prescribing has led to the project: "I was the programme director at RHS Garden Bridgewater in the set-up phase of that project. So I very much pioneered the RHS's initial work on being social prescribing, gardening for well-being on that site as well." Vegetables for the cafe are grown "200 yards away" by celebrated local chef, Mary-Ellen McTague, with an offering designed and priced to cater for all comers. Da Silva explains how the project overcame initial challenges including vandalism by liaising with community organisations and encouraging people to feel ownership of the project and "help create" Northern Roots. And, pending funds being raised, she outlines her hopes and plans for the project in coming years including creating various biking and sports areas and a habitat bank which she hopes will leverage biodiversity net gain funding. "Critically, what we want it to be is a living, vibrant place where all sorts of different people come and come together and can ...grow their lives and help us grow. And I would hope, something that other places are coming to visit and seeing 'how could we have a thing like this in our place?'". Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jamie Butterworth has gained a higher media profile in recent years with stints on TV presenting for RHS Chelsea Flower Show and Gardeners' World. Despite his growing TV presence, Butterworth considers himself a gardener first and foremost, and by trade, a specialist grower of peat-free plants. The UK horticulture sector's transition to peat-free growing has been underway for decades. However, a persistent challenge has remained: many operations claiming to be "100% peat-free" have still been forced to import young plants and plugs grown in peat from overseas. Recent breakthroughs in the UK’s domestic peat-free plug sector have altered the landscape, sparking a movement demanding that peat-free should truly mean peat-free, from propagation to sale. Butterworth has fully embraced this shift. On this week's podcast, he opens up about the logistical and technical challenges of achieving 'true' peat-free status for his nursery, Form Plants - a commitment he has pledged to fulfill starting 1 September this year, as well as the hurdles facing the wider industry. Central to his strategy is bringing all propagation in-house. By doing so, Butterworth aims to: Gain total control over every stage of plant production.Reduce long-term costs by minimizing external dependencies.Break free from reliance on European supply chains, a goal he believes the broader UK horticultural industry should actively pursue.Looking back on what was supposed to be a "quiet" year, Butterworth reflects on navigating record-breaking summer heat and drought. Yet despite the environmental challenges, it has been a landmark year: his nursery, Form Plants, supplied greening projects for the UK Commonwealth Games, alongside personal milestones including a move to Cumbria and a new baby on the way. Podcast presenter: HortWeek editor Matthew Appleby Podcast producer: HortWeek digital content manager Christina Taylor Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As party conference season gets underway, and a new PM starts his tenure in earnest, HortWeek takes stock of where UK politicians stand on horticulture policy.  MP Ben Goldsborough, has been vocal on horticulture issues since winning the Parliamentary seat for South Norfolk for the Labour Party in 2024 and was recently elected to the EFRA Parliamentary committee. He has a horticulture pedigree, having worked on policy for the RHS, helping save RHS Wisley from being shut during lockdown but, because of that lockdown, missing out on perks like going to Chelsea Flower Show. After writing an opinion piece for HortWeek (Modern horticulture deserves a bigger place in Britain's food future: Labour MP says Government policy must back the UK fresh produce production), we asked him on to the HortWeek Podcast to find out where he stands on issues affecting the wider horticulture sector.  Goldsborough tells HortWeek editor Matt Appleby how he thinks the UK can balance between protecting domestic plants from pests and disease with the need to reduce trade friction for commercial growers. He give his views on how to address seasonal labour shortages and on ways to ensure green space, green infrastructure and private gardens are prioritised as Labour looks to meet its target to build 1.5 million new homes. As an MP in East Anglia, one of the driest regions in the UK, Goldsborough talks about the shortcomings of the Environment Agency and his belief that Water Boards are best placed to manage issues around water abstraction and long-term supply. For the retail and fresh produce sectors, Goldsborough raises the need for fair supply-chain terms when selling to big retailers and the need to eliminate 'flag washing'. And on peat-free, Goldsborough outlines his ideas on a way forward that can work for horticulture and the environment. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week HortWeek editor Matt Appleby and technical editor Sally Drury tackle the following topics: Four Oaks Trade Show: winning plants and productsPeat-free panel updateAnd HortWeek's plant-identification game which launched at Four Oaks and is taking the YPHA by storm, Hortle.life - how many can you score? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Diversification and multiple income streams is the name of the game for garden centres looking to future proof their businesses. One such income stream could be electric car charging and this week's guest on the HortWeek Podcast believes tapping this rapidly expanding market is the perfect way to "make existing space work harder commercially. ElectRoad is an independent electric vehicle charging network and infrastructure specialist and founder Richard Seppings believes “Ggrden centres already have the ingredients that make EV charging work: accessible car parks, customers who naturally spend time on site.  He explains how their business model differs from "traditional" Charge Point Operators by working "in partnership with retailers", enabling them to retain ownership of their charging infrastructure and customer relationship. Meanwhile ElectRoad manages installation, monitoring, maintenance, payment administration and 24-hour support. Seppings added that retailers should stop thinking about EV charging as a piece of infrastructure and start treating it as part of the wider retail proposition so that the car park "can become an income-generating asset in its own right." Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Brendan Howell, ICL's sales development manager for professional horticulture Ireland, speaks about the local horticulture market. its challenges, and what ICL offers to solve them. Howell is based in ICL’s expanding growing media factory in Portlaoise, County Laois, Ireland. He brings 18 years of experience in the professional horticulture market, having previously worked at Bord na Móna and offers key insights into the sector's recent hurdles. Howell highlights the widespread challenges Irish growers and manufacturers have navigated in recent years, including: Global and supply chain disruptions: Overcoming pandemic-related constraints, raw material shortages, and maintaining adequate factory inventories.Cost and operational pressures: Managing rising material and logistics expenses alongside ongoing labor shortages.Environmental and market Shifts: Addressing climate change impacts and alleviating growers' anxieties over supply reliability. ICL entered the Irish growing media market in 2021 following Bord na Móna’s exit. Since then, the company has introduced key product lines including Levington Advance, Solutions & Sustain, and Fibagro Advance, resulting in plant quality and consistency that Howell notes is now higher than ever. As climate volatility continues, Howell stresses the growing importance of advanced crop management solutions like H2Gro Liquid & Granular water management products, Osmoform, Osmocote, and Lalguard. To feature these innovations and demonstrate custom mix production, ICL is opening a new showroom at the Portlaoise facility to showcase its full range. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week HortWeek (Horticulture Week, Horticultural Trade Journal, GC & HTJ and Gardener's Chronicle) is celebrating its 185th birthday. HortWeek editor Matt Appleby (with the title since 2003) and technical editor Sally Drury (who joined in 1982) reflect on this long history, the landmark changes in the publication, but also the huge shifts in the horticulture industry that have happened since the periodical was founded in 1841, by gardener, Sir Joseph Paxton, botanist John Lindley, politician Charles Wentworth Dilke, and printer William Bradbury. Find tributes by some of the biggest names in horticulture, a timeline of key events from 1841 to today, and more reflections on horticulture and its history at https://www.hortweek.com/hortweek185. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Our guest on this week's HortWeek Podcast is CEO of one of the biggest players across both ornamentals and fruit production in the UK. Matt Jarrett, the group CEO at Greosn unpacks the group's rapid expansion, from his roots in the ornamental sector (Newey) and ethical labour (Proforce) to running a £400m powerhouse in the UK fruit and ornamental markets. Jarrett details Greosn’s recent acquisitions, including the Mansfield's group and Emery Fruit Farms which expanded its fruit portfolio to £95m and yielding around 10,000 tonnes of berries and 27,000 tonnes of apples annually. Diversification has given the firm year-round revenue streams, from hand-picking 800 million daffodil stems in Cornwall in the spring, to top fruit harvesting in autumn. Jarrett discusses the state of the UK's Seasonal Worker Scheme (SWS) where Government reductions in visa quotas threaten to hamper growth: "I worry slightly around the growth of the category... we're only as good as the labor that we can put on these businesses at this time." Of course, automation and other technologies offer opportunities for efficiencies. Jarrett discusses Greosn's £15 million CAPEX spend this year featuring AI flower forecasting, precision agronomy, UV robotics to combat mildew, and a new 15-line packhouse facility in Kent. Growth will also come from acquisitions, and Jarrett hints at upcoming acquisitions to take the business to a new financial landmark: "We've got a very clear strategy to really push the business and get to a sort of a billion by 2029." Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Richard Lawton and Neville Stein are celebrating a combined 100 years in horticulture this year and both are trustees of horticulture charity Perennial. They talk about changes in horticulture, challenges facing horticulturists now and the services Perennial offers horticulture in this moving podcast. Lawton, ex-Hillier, speaks about the challenges of seasonal work, physical injury, isolation and risk of financial hardship for those working in horticulture, and the support Perennial offers those in need and their families. HortWeek writer and industry consultant Stein tells a moving story of a horticulturist who did not know about Perennial and how it could have saved his llfe. The speak about industry partnerships and how fundraisers such as Plants for Perennial from Allensmore, Wyevale, Bransford and New Leaf have helped fund the charity's work. In 2025, Perennial undertook 19,753 preventative activities and programmes and helped 2,445 people with one-to-one services. They claimed 380,645 of benefits they were entitled to and £235,335 of debts were written off, which Perennial support. Perennial will be at Four Oaks trade show in Cheshire on 2 September, with Perennial director of services Helen Waddington, Garden Centre Association CEO Peter Burks, Grass Gains' Steve Harper (who is a new Perennial ambassador), David Salisbury (Farplants) and Nikki Burton (MD of Melcourt) lin a panel discussion sharing their insights into the impact partnering with Perennial has for their employees, businesses and the wider industry. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the latest HortWeek podcast, editor Matt Appleby speaks with Andy Mills, head gardener at Blenheim Palace. Since August 2022, Mills has led a 10-year restoration of Blenheim’s 90-acre gardens. He reveals how his team is balancing 300 years of horticultural heritage with the realities of a changing climate. The renovation has also thrown up unexpected surprises and discoveries. Partly due to a surprising lack of historical records, Andy has unearthed whole new garden areas by exploring neglected corners. One foray through the undergrowth revealed an ornate bridge and the long-forgotten Cascade Garden: "I came across a bowl... imagine like half the size of a tennis court, a beautiful ornate stone bowl. And then there was a couple of little grottoes like druid cells and a subterranean cave with a spring in it." Historical accuracy must now balance with climate resilience. Mills is actively adapting Blenheim’s planting for hotter, drier conditions replacing "thirsty fuchsias" with exotics like Agave, Astelia, and Hedychium. Similarly with trees, Mills is shifting to smaller, highly ornamental species like Paulownia and Catalpa. Perhaps the most controversial change has been Mills's decision to leaves 60 acres of grassland to grow long, which while reviving dormant wildflowers and boosting pollinators, has drawn questions from some visitors. "I love those conversations with people... they say, 'We're not used to this.' Well, you should be. This is what we gave to the world." Conversely, Mills is reversing years of unmanaged laurel growth that blocked key vistas, restoring the intended "English Versailles". Ultimately, Mills hopes this restoration shifts public perception. "We're known as Blenheim Palace and Gardens, not just Blenheim Palace," he states. "At the end of 10 years, that's where I'd like to be." Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week's episode Sue Payne, MD of Q&S Commercial Landscaping, and Alison Benjamin of Urban Bees explore the shift toward chemical-free landscaping and the vital role of sustainable, pollinator-friendly habitats in urban spaces, such as Battersea Power Station. Rather than viewing natural landscapes as "messy," they argue for a cultural shift toward embracing naturalistic designs. This approach involves replacing intensive, high-emission machinery and chemical weedkillers with skilled hand-gardening techniques. Benjamin debunks a common corporate sustainability myth: placing honeybee hives on rooftops. She explains that this practice does not aid biodiversity, as honeybees are managed livestock that compete with the UK's 250 wild bee species for food. True biodiversity comes from planting diverse forage. While chemical-free gardening is more labour-intensive, Payne highlights that it reduces material costs. Cultivating perennial plants and dividing them for self-population creates self-sustaining ecosystems that save money in the long run. Both guests emphasise the importance of "pollinating London together". By linking small green spaces, green roofs, and pocket gardens, cities can create continuous "pit stops" of forage and nesting sites for traveling insects. This could be scaled up nationwide. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

HortWeek editor Matt Appleby, A-Level student William Appleby and technical editor Sally Drury report on the essential horticulture stories of the week. Topics this week: Peat-free hits the national pressAre garden centres pricing themselves into slower plant sales?Matt's week on the road with word from Fruit Focus, Ball Colegrave's Summer Showcase, Floral Fantasia at Hyde Hall and the Green Italy launch.How drought and hosepipe bans are hitting horticultureDoes the absence of horticulture in schools' career advice signify a broken system? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.