Having had its UK Sourced & Grown Assurance Scheme (UKSG) application renewed, Wyevale Nurseries believes an increasing demand for UK provenance will result in reduced imports and cut the risk from foreign pests and diseases.

The nursery applied for inclusion in the joint Woodland Trust and Grown in Britain scheme and will be able to offer those trees for sale under a verified UK Sourced and Grown label. 

Chris King, assistant production manager at the firm’s transplants division, said: “The scheme guarantees our buyers that trees in our stock marked with the UKSG badge are raised from seeds sourced only from the UK and grown in the UK for their entire lifespan.

“Being part of the scheme allows our customers to come to us and source full traceable UK provenance stock. This is particularly important in not only sustaining our own business but reducing the requirements for imports, by creating more demand for UK provenance stock.

“This reduction in imports supports our industry, while minimising the risk from foreign pest and diseases, which can have a devastating impact on our landscape.

“We are not prohibited from selling non-UK stock, but being a part of the scheme ensures our buyers know exactly what they are buying.”

The Woodland Trust Development Team focused on the company’s ability to trace where stock had come from, supplying seed certificates where needed and supplying the majority of its stock as genuinely British sown and grown.

 “The scheme adds further protection for British trees, complementing the range of measures already in place at borders, and across the UK, which safeguard our biosecurity,” Chris added.

Photograph: Ray Jenkins, transplants division director, with British sown and grown Crataegus monogyna.