In This Issue
Fermoys and Le Friquet are the Garden Centres of the Year at Blue Diamond
Briers team joins Smart Garden Products
After Red Nose Day it's time to Go Green for Garden Re-Leaf Day
Pruning made simple with GARDENA’s new range of loppers
Looking forward to Mother's Day and Garden Re-Leaf
Mezu Silk Flowers – Cultivating A Business
Dobbies director to address GIMA Day Conference in April
Taylor Made Designs will make your staff look & feel great
Garden product suppliers hear export case studies
Charity shop and garden centre takings slump to £3 because of road closure
Horticulture to benefit from DCF’s investment in students
Extinction threat to beneficial UK slug
Haskins at West End raises £1,400 for hospice.
Darlac donates tools to assist injured service personnel
Squire’s employees really make a difference
Get your own copy of GTN Xtra
New app will match up buyers and sellers at Glee
Young veg plants rush through the tills
Application to redevelop Squires Garden Centre, Windsor, withdrawn
Wild Bird Care down by 25%
Aldi wins approval to build on Malmesbury Garden Centre site
Growing activity up on both 2018 amd 2017
GIMA Awards entry now open
Propagation lights up garden product sales
Blooming Marvellous! £37K boost for national garden tourism group
Bumper week for young Veg Plants
Kingston Landscape Group Ltd takes home the Supreme Winner title at the APL Awards 2019
Buyers from Germany, Sweden, The Netherlands, Lithuania and Dubai seek new garden and pet products at event
The best of last week's
Shaw Trust buy two centres from Hillview
Jane Lawler joins GCA’s team of inspectors
Plant buyers in positive mood at Classiflora
Plant sales lead the way – up 456% compared to last year
Bestsellers Top 50 charts every week
Buy your subscription to GTN Bestsellers
All the latest news from the world of garden centre catering
CEOs of Jamie’s Italian & Las Iguanas join Commercial Kitchen’s stellar Keynote line-up
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Email neil.pope@tgcmc.co.uk, or trevor.pfeiffer@tgcmc.co.uk or call the GTN News team on 01733 775700






Extinction threat to beneficial UK slug

The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) is calling on gardeners to help locate a beneficial garden slug that could be on the verge of extinction in the UK.

 

The Yellow Cellar Slug, which feeds on decaying rather than live plant material and has been found in UK gardens for more than 130 years, is thought to be being usurped by the Green Cellar Slug. Since its arrival in the 70s, Yellow Cellar Slug numbers have dropped sharply.

 

Above: Yellow Cellar Slug (left) and the suspected usurper, the Green Cellar Slug.

 

As slugs return to gardens this spring, the charity is keen to know more about the two species’ interactions and any commonality in the places they frequent, with a view to understanding what it might mean for the future of our gardens and how they can be encouraged and protected.

 

While both slugs have large, green-yellow, patterned bodies, the Yellow Cellar Slug has a long yellow stripe running along the centre of its tail. As slugs are nocturnal, people are being asked to don torches and step out into their gardens after dark in the hope of recording them.

 

The RHS is asking gardenrs to:

  • Take photographs showing the top view of each slug
  • Match your slug to the ID guide on the RHS website to see what species you have
  • Keep a note of how long you spent searching and how many of these slugs you found
  • Also note if you find these slugs on a plant and what type of plant it is
  • Record your findings on the RHS’ iRecord page

Imogen Cavadino, Research Assistant at the Royal Horticultural Society, said: “Of the 44 species of slug known to exist in the UK only nine are serious pests. Most are important composters and feed on fungi, lichens and algae. Slugs are also a valuable part of the garden ecosystem because they serve as an important food source for birds, hedgehogs and other garden visitors. A garden without slugs and snails would certainly be a different place and understanding the prevalence of some species is important in protecting them for the future.”

 

For more information about slugs and snails in gardens and to take part in the study, click here

 

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