Despite the challenges for UK horticulture transitioning to peat free with no government legislation, the RHS will continue leading the charge, whilst also ensuring it supports growers to increase the range of peat-free plants to maintain biodiverse UK gardens for climate adaptation and resilience.
UK horticulture is leading the world in the move to peat-free and is growing more peat-free plants than ever. The RHS has invested £2.5 million of charitable funds into peat free research, hosts annual peat free conferences, and has spent over 150,000 hours researching peat free growing and supporting the industry.
Today there are 115 commercially viable 100% peat-free UK growers, from small national collection holders to large scale businesses, which can be found on the RHS peat-free nursery finder https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/peat/peat-free-nursery-finder. Hundreds more nurseries are in the final stages of transitioning and are almost 100% peat-free.
However, without Government legislation, major barriers remain: complex international supply chains, around 60% of young plants are sourced abroad and often still grown in peat, limited shared knowledge, and costly new equipment. Without action, Government is missing a major opportunity to support industry to increase peat-free domestic production and grow the sector.
The RHS strongly advocates plant diversity as vital for climate adaptation and resilience, healthy urban ecosystems, wildlife, food security, the environment and wellbeing, and will continue supporting growers through the final hurdles of transitioning, while calling for Government support.
Following its annual peat-free policy review, the RHS Shows peat-free policy remains: No New Peat* or 100% Peat-Free Plants. The exemption for nursery peat starter plants for sale remains unchanged. From 2027, a tightly controlled dispensation to extend the existing peat starter plants exemption will apply, only for exceptional circumstances, to support peat-free plant diversity, while maintaining the critical transition to peat free.
Clare Matterson CBE, RHS Director General, says: “Horticulture is leading the move to peat-free, with major investment across the sector. At the RHS, all retail operations and all five gardens are no new peat plants.
“We know challenges remain, but our Shows Policy stands. The fail-safe will help recognise vital plant diversity, while supporting wider peat-free choice for people and planet.”
Any dispensation will be tightly limited to exceptional circumstances. The RHS may consider extending its peat starter plants dispensation, with plants grown on in peat-free media, only where exhibitors or growers can show they have exhausted all other options and full compliance is outside their control, such as; significant pest or disease outbreak or biosecurity issue affecting stock, extreme weather events affecting production (flooding, drought, storm damage, heat stress) or because plants are part of a recognised conservation scheme to re-establish populations in the natural environment.
Clare finishes: “We’re already linking designers with peat-free growers for 2027 Chelsea gardens, so we expect any dispensation requests to be rare. It is there to recognise all important plant diversity, while supporting more peat-free choice across the UK.
“Growers and nurseries tell us they will increase both the number and diversity of peat-free plants each year. Our priorities are to support that transition and urge Government to set an achievable collaborative industry and government roadmap to ban peat. Without legislation, there is a real risk the industry could lose momentum.”
To support the industry to transition and highlight the challenges, the RHS has sent an open letter calling on the next Prime Minister to put people and planet first and take action on climate change by;
- Setting a clear, achievable roadmap with a date and timetable for legislation to ban the sale of peat for horticulture
- Funding peat-free research, knowledge transfer and infrastructure
- Providing clear peat-free labelling definitions for industry and consumers
