Plant growers have started pulling out of next year’s Chelsea Flower Show in an escalating row over a ban on peat compost.
If rules aren’t eased, most of next year’s plants will have to be grown in sustainable compost that growers say is hard to come by
The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) has said the vast majority of plants presented at the show next May must be grown in peat-free compost because of environmental concerns.
But two companies that have supplied plants to many gold-winning Chelsea show gardens in the past have now withdrawn, warning that a horticultural supply chain does not yet exist for them to guarantee a top-quality supply of peat-free plants. Others are expected to follow, and many growers have raised concerns that it will be tough to comply with the new rules.
Michael Buck, head of horticulture at Creepers Nursery, which supplied three award-winning show gardens at Chelsea this year, said: “It’s like banning petrol cars and saying everyone has to be driving electric vehicles — but saying it has to happen next year without putting in place the infrastructure. We understand that peat bogs need to be protected, but it has to be a phased transition.”
The RHS, along with the National Trust, the Peat Free Partnership and the Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh, sent an open letter addressed to “the next prime minister” requesting a timescale for peat to be phased out nationally so charitable organisations are not left to attempt to change things themselves.
Environmentalists have long warned that digging up peatland for use in gardens was devastating for wildlife and a huge source of carbon emissions. Yet several deadlines to phase out peat have come and gone and a huge proportion of the plants sold in garden centres are still grown in peat.
Most peat compost is imported from peatlands in Ireland and eastern Europe, but some is still dug from lowland peat sites in the UK. Gardeners have traditionally preferred this because it holds moisture well, promotes good root runs particularly for seedlings — and is light enough to carry in large bags. Most peat-free composts are made from composted bark, sawdust, wood or paper waste.
A voluntary plan was agreed in 2011 to phase out peat compost before 2020. That failed and in 2021 the Conservative government announced that sale of bagged peat for use in gardening, as well as plants grown in peat, would be banned by 2024.
In March 2023, ministers shifted the ban on peat for professional use back to 2026, after the industry said it would be too hard to hit the target, but even that date was missed.
Labour insisted legislation to phase out peat was still on the cards, but has not set out a timetable to pass it into law.
Clare Matterson, RHS director-general, said: “We remain committed to supporting industry, but we simply cannot do it alone. With the right government action, the UK has an opportunity to show real leadership: helping horticulture complete the transition, protecting peatlands and demonstrating how biodiverse green spaces can support both planet and people.”
The letter, which has also been signed by the award-winning garden designers Sarah Eberle and Tom Stuart-Smith, the TV gardener Jason Williams and the garden writer Kate Bradbury, said: “Industry tells us it is struggling without clear government guidance and support, and that complex supply chains make it extremely challenging to guarantee every plant is peat-free, particularly where imports are involved.”
It added: “The consequences are already being felt. Despite allowing legacy peat to support the transition, two growers have withdrawn from RHS Chelsea 2027 and others have raised concerns about compliance.”
Creepers, which grows its plants at a nursery in the New Forest, said it was taking a one year “pause” from Chelsea to work out how to meet its rules the following
year. Buck said a key challenge was sourcing seedlings that had not been propagated in peat. “We used 26 suppliers for 2026 and although many had reduced their peat, only three were fully peat-free. There’s no incentive for these guys to take the leap and change their processes.”
A second nursery, How Green in Kent, said it was taking “a well-earned break” after 15 years of supplying show gardens at Chelsea. Its director, Simon Sutcliffe, told HortWeek magazine he was committed to going peat-free but said: “The timeline for Chelsea is too tight.”
The RHS introduced a ban on plants grown in peat at this year’s Chelsea Flower Show, but “legacy” plants propagated before January 1, 2026, were allowed — a rule that enabled the inclusion of many peat-grown plants, including those planted the previous year.
Next year, however, the date for legacy plants will remain unchanged, meaning only peat-grown trees and shrubs that have taken more than 17 months to grow will be allowed.
Lizzy Carlyle, head of climate and environment at the National Trust, which also signed the letter, said: “The lack of government regulation is damaging to the environment since peat continues to be extracted. But it is also deeply unhelpful for the growers in our supply chain who need certainty.”
A spokesman for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, said: “We are committed to protecting our precious peatlands across the country and this government has pledged to legislate for a ban on the sale of peat and peat-containing products. We continue to work alongside the horticultural sector to support progress on the peat free transition.”