Members update

‘New Horizons for Horticulture’ Save the date! The 2025 BOA Technical Conference is due to take place on 5th February 2025 at the National Farmers Union NFU Conference Centre, Stoneleigh with a pre-conference dinner taking place on 4th February 2025 at the Woodland Grange Hotel, Leamington Spa. As in previous years, this conference will provide…

The third Open Day of the Poinsettia Growers Group in the UK will be taking place on Thursday 21st November 2024 at Bridge Farm Group, Spalding, Lincolnshire, PE12 6RN. Its aim is to provide a focal point whereby growers and the allied trades can meet to view and discuss relevant aspects of poinsettia production and wider…

Another chapter closed on the 4th of April 2024 the interment of Harry Kitchener’s ashes was held at the Arbory Trust green burial site, Barton Camb. The attached notes provided by Vanessa, the officiant at the side of the grave are beautifully thoughtful, with the poem on page 4 – Woodland Burial by Pam Ayres…

After college Harry was employed by the then NAAS as a trainee Horticultural adviser, NAAS then morphed into ADAS and Harry moved into the new advisory service. As with all advisers, there were a series of moves to different offices and Harry was seconded to the Channel Island Advisory service- this was a common arrangement…

SAVE THE DATE! The British Ornamentals Association Conference is back for 2024! Taking place on Wednesday 31st January at the NFU Conference Centre, Stoneleigh with a pre-conference dinner at the nearby Woodland Grange Hotel on Tuesday 30th January. See the speaker line up as below. BOA Members receive a reduced ticket price. Please contact info@britishornamentals.org…

Happy PlantsA fresh approach to annual plantsFavoured grower of garden centres nationwide.Based on the North West Coast, owned and operated by the Porter Family, since 1985. Through our friendly branding, easy to understand care information and product range designed to perform even in novice hands, our team are on a mission to help nurture, enthuse…

All of the reports and briefing notes for The Bedding and Pot Plant Centre are now completed and available to view on the AHDB website. Links to the individual briefing notes can be found below. BPPC Briefing Note – EAMUs for the production of ornamentals 2023.pdf (windows.net) BPPC Briefing Note – Hand held equipment for…

Previous monitoring of specific crops has helped considerably in understanding how and when to feed your plants. The poinsettia scheme has been very successful in monitoring nutrient levels and building up a database of results. While it was useful to find normal nutrient levels perhaps what was most interesting was comparing your results against others.We…

Please find attached the results of the recent BOA Fuel Surcharge Survey for your reference. Many thanks to all those who took part. Should you have any queries regarding the survey results please don’t hesitate to contact us. BOA-Fuel-Survey-Results-220720Download

10 -12.30 onlineThe main focus of the meeting will be on progressing the technical groups.AgendaCrop ProtectionAn update on the DEFRA EAMU proposal. Create a working group to produce a list of essential pesticides ready for the DEFRA proposal, other associations already have this in place. We intend to plan future EAMU proposals with HTA.EnergyDetails of…

The new BOA Technical Committee Propagation Subgroup are interested if you have any evidence you would like to share as part of a proposal to request a peat exemption for propagation. The BOA believe there is a strong case for exemptions, we need to show where and why exemptions are needed. We are currently looking…

Ending the retail sale of peat in horticulture in England and Wales consultation is available online and it is vital your views are heard.Please have your say, every opinion counts Please note that DEFRA has asked for as many individual responses as possible. A BOA response on behalf of our members only counts as one…

With many poinsettia crops at or near pinching, now is the time to set up graphical tracking. Graphical tracking allows growers to monitor growth against pre-set growth curves and adjust growing regimes to suit to ensure crops meet target specifications Finished poinsettia at Pinetops Nursery, Lymington One tool that can be used is the AHDB…

BOA is delighted to announce that, following a management committee meeting,Derek Jarman has been co-opted as a member of the committee and will become chairmandesignate. His position will be confirmed at the AGM in January next. Derek Jarman Chairman elect Derek has been a Director of Hayloft Plants Ltd since 2007. Hayloft is a multichannel…

Funded R&D for Ornamental Horticulture Agreed Statement approved 21st June 2021 “Following recent meetings with representatives of the GBLG, BOA management committee resolved this week to confirm its support for the group in its discussions with DEFRA regarding new proposals for near-market R&D in horticulture.”“The BOA confirms that it will continue to lobby for cooperatively…

Join Peter Seabrook in the Floral Fantasia garden at RHS Hyde Hall in Essex for a guided tour of the 270 commercial varieties of pansies and violas that are flowering now. This trial is a continuation of the commercial planting from Meadow Croft Garden Centre that has been producing these plants for many years and…

Floral Fantasia The new display area at the RHS Hyde Hall garden in Essex has been a popular visit destination in these post-lockdown days.One of the attractions has been the colourful display of ‘Floral Fantasia’ which is incorporating the work of breeders of new pot and bedding plants. This year some of the plants have…

A review is being carried out 10 years after the founding of AHDB in 2008 after the amalgamation of several commodity boards including the Horticultural Development Council (HDC). This is a rather long report (73 pages) which has a focus on the levy and accountability to levy payers. The executive summary is included below for…

BOA Technical Committee Meeting Minutes National Centre for Food Manufacturing, Holbeach 13 January 2016 Present: Howard Braime, Martin McPherson, Debbie Wilson (AHDB), Wayne Brough (AHDB), Harry Kitchener, Lyndon Mason, Caroline Shove, Amy Gray (NFU), Ewan MacMillan, Simon Davenport, Fay Richardson, Andrew Fuller, Russ Woodcock, Simon Pearson Graeme Edwards, Nigel Crosby, Mike Smith (Chair), Neil Bragg,…