This letter was sent to OnTheWight by the well-known and respected plant expert Jan Wyers. To assist you in finding your MEPs, OnTheWight has gathered all of their contact details together at the bottom of the article – Ed.
I wonder if OnTheWight readers are aware that the European Commission is looking to combine 12 existing EU directives on the production and marketing of plant reproductive material (which includes everything from seeds to young plants) into a single, simpler regulation?
If either continuing to be able to pick from a wide selection of plants to grown in your garden, or stopping the potential closure of Island (and other) Nurseries and growers is important to you, please act before the end of November.
These proposed changes require that any plant marketed as a cultivar or variety needs to have an Officially Recognised Description. These descriptions will be 1 to 2 pages long for each plant and will possibly cost £200 or £300 for nurseries to register them.
Currently around 2,000 plants have a description that complies with this proposed directive. That leaves over 70,000 plants that do not conform to the proposed new rules.
I think this is like using a sledge hammer to crack a very small seed. Most people selling plants will replace a wrongly labelled plant without a problem, those that don’t tend to get a bad reputation.
Many of the smaller nurseries will not be able to sustain a huge range of plants as this will be too expensive. The only thing that will be growing will be those out of work. This is tragic.
Our gardens will never be the same again and we will be very limited in our choice of plants.
Plant Heritage have more information on their website, that was written by Mercy, including template letters that can be sent.
Please write to your MEP before December if you would like to have your say on this.
Huge thanks
Jan Wyers
Image: Andy Wyers
