Latest News - Industry News
FlowerTrials® 2026: What to expect
02 June 2026One week until FlowerTrials®! The first two trolleys of plants have made it to Lisse, Ross from WFM Print has delivered our posters and...
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FlowerTrials® to display at The Garden Press Event
12 February 2026For the first time, the trade show, FlowerTrials®, is attending the Garden Press Event on the 17th February in London to encourage the UK...
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New plants: The anatomy of a winning variety
04 December 2025Breeding a new plant is part science, part passion with a big chunk of patience. To succeed in today’s crowded market, a variety must...
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Graham’s reflections on 40 years in horticulture
29 October 2025This month in the PFE office, we’re celebrating Graham’s 40th anniversary of working in horticulture! 25th October 1985 was the day Graham’s parents bought...
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PFE at FlowerTrials 2025: What’s in store
06 May 2025As we begin the count down to FlowerTrials® 2025, we’re busy at PFE HQ, getting everything in order ready for our first year of...
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New Hillier Geranium shortlisted for RHS Chelsea Plant of the Year
29 April 2025Brand new for this year, Hillier Nurseries’ Geranium x oxonianum Gold Nugget® (‘Hillger’) has been shortlisted for the RHS Chelsea Plant of the Year....
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Stop press: Plants For Europe to exhibit at FlowerTrials® ‘25!
06 February 2025The Plants for Europe team is delighted to announce that we will be representing plant breeders at FlowerTrials® this year! Where plants meet...
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Master breeder, Rick Grazzini, wins big at Cultivate ‘24!
23 July 2024Our client and good friend, Rick Grazzini, has won not one but two awards at Greenhouse Grower’s annual Evening of Excellence Awards in Columbus,...
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PBRs and Defra’s latest EPR Update
28 March 2024Plants for Europe has today read the latest update from Defra on the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) guidelines for packaging in the UK. Following...
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The deadline for rights holders to ‘claim’ UK PBRs is looming
05 December 2023UK authority, APHA, has said 8,000-10,000 UK PBRs have not been claimed, ahead of end of year deadline. Did you know that holders...
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Trade Fair Aalsmeer and IFTF 2023: Our takeaways
16 November 2023Well, Graham is back in the office, fresh from his trip to Aalsmeer and IFTF earlier this month. Providing a great opportunity to meet...
Read MoreUK based breeder agent ProVaR to close in 2019
14 December 2018Our competitor, UK-based plant breeder agent ProVaR, has announced that it will cease trading in 2019, only managing portfolio varieties until 30 June 2019....
Read MoreBrexit update
30 September 2016There have beenæfew tangible examples of progress in the Brexit process since the referendum on June 23rd – we seem to be getting more...
Read MoreAfter the Brexit Referendum
27 June 2016Plants For Europe actively campaigned for a Remain vote in last week’s referendum on the UK’s membership of the EU. We cannot deny that...
Read MorePossible implications of Brexit (in the UK and in other countries)
03 May 2016INTRODUCTION The United Kingdom will hold a referendum on continued membership of the European Union on June 23rd. All registered voters in the UK...
Read MoreNagoya Protocol
02 March 2016The Nagoya Protocol is in the news and not in a good way. You can read the article here. Breeders and growers must ensure...
Read MoreNew regulations and advice for Xylella
15 January 2016APHA, the UK Animal and Plant Health Agency, has issued new guidance to professionals in horticulture (growers, retailers, landscapers, designers – in fact, anyone...
Read MoreProtective measures against pests of plants
16 April 2014You may have seen media coverage of the new EU proposal covering protective measures againsts pests of plants. We have serious reservations regarding this...
Read MoreEuropean Union Plant Reproductive Material regulation – new update
15 April 2014This post should be read in conjunction with the related preceding posts, which you can find below. Following on from the last update, the...
Read MoreNew update on the European Commission’s PRM regulation proposal
24 March 2014Today, the British stakeholder group that has been working on the European Commission’s proposal for a regulation on plant reproductive material (PRM) met virtually....
Read MoreFurther update on the European Commission PRM regulation proposals
18 March 2014There has been much in the news recently about developments in Brussels regarding the European Commission’s proposed regulation on plant reproductive material (PRM). The...
Read MoreUpdate on proposed EC PRM Regulation – not all good news?
06 February 2014A quick update on the progress of the European Commissionäó»s Plant Reproductive Material Regulation. A vast number of amendments to the Regulation have been...
Read MoreA sorry tale
06 August 2013Today I had a conversation with a gentleman who has developed a new plant variety. He is not a professional grower or breeder, so...
Read MoreDon’t be stupid!
19 July 2013Some days, we’re just astonished by the stupidity of people in our industry. What sort of idiot sends out 9cm plants of green Euphorbia...
Read MoreIs accepting a fixed-price deal for a new plant a good idea?
23 May 2012In recent weeks, we’ve seen several advertisements (from one major British garden retailer in particular) suggesting that breeders/finders of new plants could “earn £500...
Read MoreOur Australian friends
20 July 2011Plants For Europe works closely with similar businesses around the world so that we can offer a worldwide service to our breeder clients and...
Read MoreSouthern Growers Exhibition
29 October 2010On Wednesday 10 November, Graham will be visiting the Southern Growers Exhibition at Roundstone Nurseries, near Chichester. This is PFE’s “local” show and is...
Read MoreFour Oaks
03 September 2010Graham will be at the Four Oaks Trade Show in Cheshire on Wednesday 8th September only. If you wish to meet him there, please...
Read MoreCPVO seeks new President
14 July 2010That’s quite a job! The full job specification can be found by clicking here. We shall watch this closely to see who is appointed...
Read MoreAwards at the National Plant Show
01 July 2010We were impressed by the new HTA National Plant Show at Stoneleigh Park this week. It got a large proportion of the UK’s major...
Read MoreWeek 24 Flower Trials
08 June 2010Graham will be at the Week 24 Flower Trials next week. You’d be silly not to be there! His itinerary looks something like this:...
Read MorePFE uses LinkedIn
22 March 2010You may have heard about social networking on the internet – you may even be a social networker yourself already. We take a dim...
Read MoreSouthern Growers Exhibition
11 November 2009Congratulations to Paul Roman and the rest of the organization team at the revamped Southern Growers Exhibition held today at Roundstone Nursery. By my...
Read MorePlant DNA “barcode” in the news
29 July 2009The BBC is reporting that scientists have agreed on a system for DNA barcodes for plants. They see applications in monitoring the trade in...
Read MoreCPVO and Taiwanese authorities sign agreement
06 March 2009It’s interesting to see that the CPVO is happy to work with nations outside of UPOV. Taiwan is currently not a member, but judging...
Read MoreCIOPORA conference and AGM 2008
14 April 2008Last week, I attended the 2008 CIOPORA conference and AGM held just outside Geneva, Switzerland. CIOPORA is the international community of breeders of asexually...
Read MoreEU PVR now open to all
14 January 2008The European Union regulation covering who is entitled to apply for European Plant Variety Rights has been amended. Previously, applicants had to be either...
Read MoreBreeding of a different sort
18 December 2007I am sure that all of our customers and friends will join us in sending congratulations to Chris Sargent of PMA who has recently...
Read MorePlant health cost-sharing study published
22 November 2007You may recall that I wrote in March that DEFRA had commissioned a study into responsibility and cost-sharing for plant health with particular reference...
Read MoreNon-native species – DEFRA consultation requires response
22 November 2007I’ve written here about non-native and invasive species before. DEFRA has just published a consultation on the review of schedule 9 to the Wildlife...
Read MoreTurkey joins UPOV
19 October 2007Turkey will become the 65th member of UPOV on November 18th. This means that there is an effective system in place in that country...
Read More“Invasive” species revisited
20 March 2007If you are interested or concerned by invasive plants (either as a person concerned for the environment or a person concerned for the free...
Read MoreDEFRA begins consultation on plant health “responsibility and cost sharing”
14 March 2007Plant health restrictions related to importing and exporting plants are an important consideration for breeders of new plants. The free movement of their varieties...
Read MoreNew Vice-President of the CPVO
01 March 2007Carlos Pereira Godinho has been appointed as the new Vice-President of the CPVO – see the press release here.
Read MorePublic consultation on The Invasive Non-Native Species Framework Strategy for Great Britain
28 February 2007The GB Non-Native Species Secretariat (who knew?) is conducting a public consultation on its new invasive non-native species framework strategy. There are two long...
Read MoreEU legislation on penalties for pirating
27 February 2007The European Union is currently considering legislation that would set EU-wide minimum penalties for pirating and counterfeiting, including prison sentences and substantial fines (see...
Read MoreCPVO launches EU PVR case law database
05 February 2007The CPVO has launched an online database of case law related to EU Plant Variety Rights. It can be found by clicking here. The...
Read MoreEU enlargement and PVRs
14 December 2006From 1st January, the European Union will expand to include Bulgaria and Romania. With effect from that date, EU Plant Variety Rights will cover...
Read MoreSpodoptera
13 December 2006DEFRA appears to be issuing a whole bunch of new pest information sheets at the moment, some of which are very relevant to anyone...
Read MoreUK PVR consultation
11 December 2006DEFRA is conducting a consultation aimed at improving regulation in the UK. Included in the scope of the consultation are UK Plant Variety Rights,...
Read MoreThrips palmi
01 December 2006Thrips palmi is a pest that can be present on a wide range of plants. It is a notifiable pest in the UK and,...
Read MoreAdvantages and disadvantages of a weak US Dollar
30 November 2006You may have noticed news stories (like this one on BBC News) about the weak US Dollar which has now reached its lowest level...
Read MoreCPVO announces new cooperation with Japanese PVR authorities
30 November 2006The CPVO has announced that it has signed a memorandum with its Japanese counterpart to exchange examination reports for a limited range of new...
Read MoreWider European issues
11 November 2006One area that PFE monitors is that of the broader economic and political climate in Europe. Of particular interest are matters relating to the...
Read MoreMorocco joins UPOV
06 October 2006Morocco has become the 62nd member of UPOV. Morocco already has a cut flower industry that takes advantage of the local climate to produce...
Read MoreNew UK PBR fees
09 July 2006New fees for UK Plant Breeder’s Rights become effective on 1st September 2006. Full details can be found by clicking here (PDF file –...
Read MoreCPVO considers enforcement of Community PVR a “shared responsibility”
19 May 2006Following the recent CPVO-organised seminar in Poland on enforcement of breeders’ rights, the CPVO has issued a press release which includes the following statement:...
Read MoreCPVO changes address, website and email
04 May 2006The Community Plant Variety Office is changing its postal, email and website addresses with effect from Tuesday 9 May 2006: OCVV / CPVO 3,...
Read MoreIceland joins UPOV
18 April 2006UPOV has announced that Iceland has become its 61st member. Click here to read the UPOV press release. Iceland is not a major market...
Read MoreCPVO President writes on Essentially Derived Varieties
11 April 2006The CPVO President, Bart Kiewiet, has written a short article on Essentially Derived Varieties (EDVs). The article can be found by clicking here (PDF...
Read MoreCPVO announces reduction in annual maintenance fees for EU-PVR
12 July 2005In a long-anticipated move, the Community Plant Varieties Office (CPVO), the body that administers plant variety rights applications and grants across the EU, has...
Read MoreDEFRA announces new Code Of Practice on non-native plants
10 March 2005The UK Government department DEFRA (the Department for the Environment, Food and Regional Affairs) has introduced a Code of Practice for the importation, propagation...
Read MoreCPVO intends to increase technical verification inspections
24 November 2004Following a recent meeting at the Community Plant Varieties Office (CPVO – the body which administers EU Plant Variety Rights), the CPVO made clear...
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