‘Beware beasties in your baggage’

What does this target mean?

‘Global trade and the movement of people has tripled in the last decade. This has led to an increased movement of insects, pathogens and plants from their native habitats to new regions across the globe. New threats to plant health and the environment are constantly emerging. Imported plant products in particular are the main pathway of entry for unwanted invasive pests and diseases.

‘Going biosecurity neutral is about minimising the risk of entry of these unwanted pests, diseases and other invasive species into the UK in order to protect our gardens, countryside and cultivated landscapes. We also want to engage and educate the UK’s gardening community on what biosecurity means and what they can do to help reduce biosecurity risks.’

What is the RHS already doing to meet this target?

‘We already have biosecurity measures in place in our RHS Gardens. The RHS has a dedicated biosecurity team and follows six plant health principles that guide plant-based activities across the Society. Our practices include:

• The development of plant health policies, procedures and the provision of training to promote good biosecurity practice within the Society’s plant-related activities
• Banning nine plant groups, identified by Defra as being particularly susceptible to diseases caused by the highly damaging pathogen Xylella fastidiosa, from being exhibited at RHS Shows or used in our gardens, unless UK sourced and grown
• Routine surveillance, monitoring and inspection for pests and diseases in the RHS Gardens, Plant Centres and Shows
• Holding imported plants and semi-mature trees for a period of time in isolation (plant reception) prior to planting in RHS gardens
• Provision of pest, disease and biosecurity training and advice to RHS members and the wider public
• Teach and train RHS staff and students in biosecurity and plant health practices
• Continuing to engage with policymakers, in co-ordination with the industry, to advocate for and ensure the sustainability of horticulture in the UK’

What will the RHS do next to meet this target?

'We will deliver an ‘RHS Planet-Friendly Gardening Campaign’ to enable the UK’s 30 million gardeners - and anyone who’s interested - to take plant health and biosecurity actions in their community, schools, workplaces and home. The aim is to engage, educate and raise public awareness around plant health and biosecurity risks in order to drive cultural change around plant health and biosecurity.

'We will also improve the RHS’s resilience to biosecurity risks. Principally this will be by increasing our preparedness for potential interceptions of unwanted organisms, and by looking at new control and management methods.'

Why should gardeners care about this?

‘Maintaining healthy gardens and plants ensures that their climate-biodiversity and human health benefits are maximised. There are now more than 1,000 pests and diseases on the UK plant health risk register. Some introduced plant pest and diseases, for example ash dieback, box-tree moth and horse chestnut leaf miner, have spread widely in the UK and are causing significant changes to our landscapes and horticultural practices.

‘Control and management of new damaging pests and diseases and other organisms can be significant, for example, the total economic cost of ash dieback in Britain is estimated to be around £15 billion. The cost to survey and eradicate a recent outbreak of the highly damaging Asian longhorn beetle was £1.9 million, and the management of invasive species cost the UK economy at least £2.2 billion every year.

‘By changing the way we buy and move plants, our nation’s 30 million gardeners could make a massive difference to reduce the risks of introducing or spreading destructive plant pests. This means understanding and implementing good biosecurity practices, and helping to monitor and report any suspect damaging pests and diseases and other invasive species.'