HortWeek editor Matthew Appleby, senior reporter Rachael Forsyth and technical editor Sally Drury share their top horticulture stories of 2025.

JUMP TO...

00:00:43 - horticulture and peat-free

00:04:10 - developments in Biodiversity Net Gain

00:07:26 - remote mowers, new technology and implications

00:13:13 - loss of horticulture colleges and new learning options

00:17:54 - the impact of drought in 2025 going into 2026

00:21:30 - how horticulture is turning to battery-powered kit

00:26:20 - diversity, inclustion and equity in horticulture

00:30:34 - border inspections - imports, exports and an SPS agreement for 2026

00:36:42 - what are the team looking forward to in 2026?

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.

Podcast presenters: Matthew Appleby, Rachael Forsyth and Sally Drury

Podcast producer: Christina Taylor

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The Garden Trust's Linden Groves is campaigning against a proposal to end the organisation's role as a planning statutory consultee.

She robustly contests the proposal to remove the statutory consultee role and disagrees that it would improve the planning system. Instead, precious parks and gardens, hard won over many centuries, would be lost to communities both now and in future.

“We are passionate about the role that the UK’s world-famous historic parks and gardens can play in supporting positive economic growth and healthy cohesive societies, and eager to continue helping this in our role as statutory consultee. We encourage supporters to respond to the consultation and will publish our response as soon as possible.”

In March, the Government decided to ditch planning consultancy from bodies including The Gardens Trust, to speed up the planning system. “We are seeking views on reforming the role of statutory consultees in the planning system in England,” it said. The consultation closes at 11:59pm on 13 January 2026.

• The consultation can be accessed here.

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Tony Kirkham has a mission, one that will resonate with many arborists across the UK: "I'd like to get rid of the term 'tree planting'".

The former Kew arboretum head says: "Our success rate of establishing trees isn't good in this country... I'd sooner see less trees planted and established rather than planting big numbers that fail to establish."

In his conversation with HortWeek editor Matthew Appleby, Kirkham gives his thoughts on the "exotics" versus "natives" debate and reveals his "top future trees" which include his favourite "hard-working trees".

On pest and disease threats to trees, Kirkham issues a stark warning. Experts say it is a case of "not if but when" Xylella enters the UK, and Kirkham says, with more than 400 host plants identified so far: "I think every woody plant is vulnerable. We really need to crank up our biosecurity."

Other than Xylella, his the top concern is plane wilt, which "is spread by arborists" via tools, machinery, PPE and clothing, and which is "coming towards us pretty quick...we need to keep that out at ALL costs".

He also talks about how arborists can handle the rising frequency and intensity of storms, recalling how he got Kew back up and running in the wake of the storm of 1987 that brought down so many trees that he considered "old friends".

But despite the devastation that took three years to clear, he now says it is "the best thing that could have happened" - getting rid of unsafe trees, giving the Kew team a chance to replant and refresh the arboretum, revolutionising tree-planting practice.

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.