In This Issue
Xylella fastidiosa: how Italy has tackled the problem
Gardman reports £1.5m loss - but earnings soar by 50%
Durston Garden Products HOLD prices for 2018
Christmas provides an October sales boost
Edwin Meijer reveals lessons learned from Canada trip
Young GCA delegates experience garden centre retailing Canadian style
RHS move National Gardening Week to later spring date
Which new plants really stand out?
Yobs smash up community garden centre - causing thousands of pounds worth of damage
Elho makes 'grow your own' available to everyone
Wildlife website redesigned with customers in mind
Shoplifting costs retailers £800m a year says research
Get your own copy of GTN Xtra
Pot sales soar as gardeners get set for Autumn
Sales of festive products gather momentum
Cyclamen back on top of Bestsellers chart
Poppy-related Wild Bird Care products sell well
For peat’s sake – a conversation on compost
TV and Radio 4 gardening expert to launch gardening school at Tong GC
Revolution in 'on-demand' product labelling
Garden centres to benefit from generous PR discounts
The best of last week's
"Xylella is the most serious situation I have come across in 32 years in the industry"
Supplier rebates to exceed £1.5m for Choice members
Coolings buys Potted Garden Nursery at Maidstone
Scotts fail with claim that Westland Safelawn advertising was misleading
Bestsellers Top 50 charts every week
Buy your subscription to GTN Bestsellers
All the latest news from the world of garden centre catering
Stylish new Café Bar opens at Squire’s in Shepperton
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"Xylella is the most serious situation I have come across in 32 years in the industry"



The potentially catastrophic consequences for the UK’s horticultural industry of an outbreak of the bacterial plant disease Xylella fastidiosa (Xf) were spelled out in a stark warning to growers and retailers at last week’s HTA Futures Conference.

 

During a panel debate, Hillview Garden Centres CEO Boyd Douglas-Davies (right) described it as the most serious situation he had come across in his 32 years in the industry. It was a wake-up call that had resulted in his businesses starting to take plant health more seriously.

 

The disease has already devastated horticulture in southern Italy and has spread to Corsica, southern France and Spain. There is no known control and severely affected plants can die within three years. Thousands of plants on those regions have already been destroyed.

 

In the event of an outbreak in the UK, an exclusion zone of 10km would be imposed for five years. It has been likened to “foot and mouth” in horticulture, affecting growers, retailers and consumers alike.

 

Dan Munro (second left) from the UK’s Animal and Plant Healthy Agency said the disease was sure to spread and spread, with new cold-hardy strains posing a threat to the UK should it reach our shores. It could even be brought on the boot of a holidaymaker.

 

Douglas-Davies urged the industry not to wait for official action or it could be too late. “We have to act now as individual companies and be far ahead of the industry as a whole, which can only keep up with the slowest member. There is no time to wait for official bodies to do their bit,” he said.

 

The HTA’s Raoul Curtis-Machin (left) said businesses should take extra care in sourcing their plants and urged British growers to start growing more of their own material to ensure bio-security.  He suggested the HTA could support calls for some kind of official compensation scheme for businesses caught up in an outbreak.

 

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stefano sogni
The disease has not "already devastated horticulture in southern Italy" but is confiend to 800 hectars in a very circumscribed area and it has been confined there since its outbreak.