Plant Healthy FAQs

Plant Healthy is a voluntary certification scheme designed to help businesses and organisations that trade, grow and handle plants and plant material minimise the risk of introducing and spreading notifiable plant pests and diseases.

The Scheme is based on the Plant Health Management Standard, a set of best-practice requirements for managing plant health and biosecurity developed by industry experts, government and NGOs.  

The Standard is used to build an effective pest and disease risk management system and demonstrate good biosecurity practices.

Plant Healthy members are independently audited against the Standard on application and annually thereafter to show that they have suitable biosecurity measures in place.

The Plant Healthy logo is a trusted quality mark that demonstrates a strong commitment to protecting plant health.  

Certain plant pests and diseases are notifiable, which means that they must be reported to the relevant plant health authority as they have the potential to cause significant damage to our trees, crops, gardens and wider countryside. It is the risk of significant damage that sets notifiable pests and diseases apart from the more familiar, everyday pests that can be found on plants and trees.

Notifiable pests include those that have arrived from abroad through trade or travel, or that get here by natural spread. Some notifiable pests and diseases are already present in a country and are being actively managed by plant health authorities.

The Asian longhorn beetle is an example of a notifiable pest. It is a large invasive species of longhorn beetle native to Asia. The larvae can feed and develop within the wood of broad-leaved trees including many of our common native species. Ash dieback is an example of a notifiable fungal disease which poses a significant threat to the UK's ash population.

Other types of plant pests and diseases may be considered annoying, but familiar. They’re usually widespread and have been around for a while – most people will be familiar with many of them such as aphids, black spot and powdery mildew.

It is essential for anyone to report suspected findings of notifiable pests and diseases to the plant health authorities to ensure effective control and management of them.

Biosecurity refers to the measures and practices that can be used to reduce the risk of introducing and/or spreading harmful organisms, including viruses, bacteria, and invasive species, to protect human, animal, and plant health.

Good plant health underpins the UK’s environment, economy and quality of life because plants and trees support:

• Our environment – capturing carbon, helping to meet net zero ambitions, and sustaining wildlife and biodiversity
• Our economy – including agriculture, horticulture, food production, flowers, and forestry
• Our society and wellbeing – through woodlands, parks and gardens, recreation, landscape amenity, and mental health benefits

However, the risks to plant health from notifiable pests and diseases are growing. For example, the number of new notifiable pests and diseases affecting trees alone in the UK has been doubling roughly every 11 years. These risks are increasing because:

• Global trade and travel create more pathways for pests and diseases to enter the UK
• Climate change makes it easier for new pests and diseases from other countries or regions to establish
• A wider range of plant species is being traded to adapt to changing conditions

Plant Healthy does not mean that the individual plants are certified, rather the certification applies to the business as a whole. This means there is a much lower risk that the plants you buy from these businesses will be carrying harmful pests or diseases which can damage our gardens and wider countryside. However, the individual plants themselves will still need routine care such as watering.

Businesses who are members of the Plant Healthy scheme use our logo to advertise to their customers that they are Plant Healthy certified. If you want to use a Plant Healthy certified business you can look at our map and directory. 

When you buy plants from a Plant Healthy business you are doing your bit to protect your garden and the wider environment from destructive plant pests and diseases.

In becoming Plant Healthy certified these businesses have demonstrated to an independent auditor that their business practices reduce the chances of introducing and spreading these pests and diseases which can have a huge impact on our green spaces. 

Plant Healthy is mainly aimed at reducing the risk of introducing or spreading those pests and diseases that can cause serious and lasting damage to crops and green spaces including to the economy and wider environment. These are called ‘notifiable pests and diseases’.

Everyone, including the public, has a role to play in trying to keep notifiable pests and diseases out of the country or from spreading further once they do arrive. You should keep an eye out for them as, if they are found, people are required to report them by law so that they can be eradicated or managed. The key message for these serious pests and diseases is “If you see this, don’t ignore it.”

Plant Healthy certification makes sure that businesses involved in growing, moving or selling plants have strong systems and processes in place to reduce the risks from notifiable plant pests and diseases, but these same systems do help them manage and control the more common pests and diseases too. 

There are several ways you can help reduce the risk of introducing or spreading destructive pests and diseases:

• Take extra care when buying plants – buy plants from a Plant Healthy certified business or another established and trusted supplier where you can see and choose your plants in person and ask questions. If you’re buying online, choose a seller on the Authorised Distance Plant Sellers list, which means they are legally registered to sell plants and issue plant passports.
• ‘Don’t risk it!’ Don’t bring plant material (plants, trees, fruit and seeds) back from trips abroad.
• ‘Keep it clean’ by cleaning boots, bikes and buggies before and after visiting woodlands and parks – pests and disease can be carried in soil and mud

Look out for signs of pests and diseases on your local trees – you can report these through TreeAlert. 

Plant Healthy grew out of a group of organisations covering horticulture, forestry and land management sectors, including trade bodies, government and environmental NGOs, which formed in 2018.

This Plant Health Alliance drafted the Plant Health Management Standard which was first published in 2019 and launched the associated Plant Healthy Certification Scheme in 2020 with the aim of encouraging good biosecurity practices across the plant supply chain.

Plant Healthy Limited was subsequently established as a registered charity that manages the Standard and the Certification Scheme.

An independent group of technical experts regularly reviews the PHMS. They make sure it:

• reflects the latest science and evidence
• matches current regulations
• stays practical and credible

This means that the Plant Healthy Certification Scheme is trusted and effective.

While government regulation sets the legal baseline and enforces that through inspections, the Plant Healthy scheme is voluntary and encourages organisations to go further and proactively manage notifiable plant pest and disease risks as part of their everyday activities.

Plant Healthy helps organisations to understand how notifiable pests and diseases can be introduced and spread and how they can put effective systems in place to prevent problems before they arise.

In short, Plant Healthy complements regulation rather than replacing it.  

Plant Healthy directly supports the GB Plant Biosecurity Strategy (2023–2028) by:

• strengthening the plant supply chain against the threats posed by notifiable pests and diseases
• encouraging industry-led responsibility
• improving awareness and collaboration

In order to meet the demand for plants – both in the number of plants and the range of species – we rely heavily on imports.  Although there are legal controls and risk-based inspections on imported plants, importers must still make smart choices about which plants they buy, where they buy them from, and what pest and disease problems to look out for. This decision-making process is central to the Plant Health Management Standard.

Growing more plants in the UK can help reduce the risk of bringing in new serious pests and diseases. However, plants grown in the UK can still catch and spread harmful pests and diseases that already exist here. For this reason, it is just as important to prevent these pests and diseases from spreading further within the country.

The Plant Healthy scheme aims to raise biosecurity standards across all parts of the plant supply chain. It helps tackle major pest and disease risks whether a business deals only with UK-grown plants, only imported plants, or a mixture of both.

Plant Healthy certification can help you:

• minimise the risk of costly notifiable pest and disease outbreaks
• protect the environment and your reputation
• demonstrate credibility and trust
• show customers and buyers that you take plant health seriously
• improve your internal plant biosecurity systems and efficiency
• meet growing public-sector and grant requirements

Good plant biosecurity is increasingly seen as part of good corporate responsibility, just like health and safety. Once certified you can use the Plant Healthy logo as a trusted mark to show your commitment to protecting plant health. 

Independent certification bodies carry out audits to check that applicants and existing members fully meet the requirements of the Plant Health Management Standard.

In turn, Plant Healthy Limited contracts a separate compliance specialist to ensure that the certification bodies are auditing and enforcing the Scheme rules fully and consistently.

Plant Healthy works hard to keep the scheme affordable and accessible by:

• charging membership fees based on turnover (starting from £40 per year)
• offering group schemes to share audit costs
• using half-day audits where possible
• providing templates, guidance, training, and one-to-one support

All businesses are offered one-to-one support at the outset to ensure they understand the content of the Plant Health Management Standard and the process for certification. 

Plant Healthy certification is for any organisation, anywhere, that grows, moves, sells, or manages plants and trees. This includes:

• Nurseries
• Garden centres and retailers
• Plant traders
• Landscapers and arborists
• Organisations managing large public or private gardens

The Plant Health Management Standard is not country-specific and so can be applied anywhere.  Certification depends on an independent audit by an approved certification body.

More details are available in the For the Trade and Profession page.

No, there is a single standard, the Plant Health Management Standard and independent audits are carried out against the requirements of that Standard.

The auditors do, however, recognise that the type and size of an organisation may have an impact on how the Standard is applied and they take this into account during their audits.

A Plant Passport is an official label for the movement of regulated plants and plant products. It demonstrates compliance with plant health requirements for the relevant plant or plant product. Guidance on UK Plant Passports can be found here.

Plant Healthy is about how responsibly an organisation manages plant health overall, ensuring that the systems behind those Plant Passports are robust.

Pest outbreaks can be extremely expensive and damaging to reputation. You can’t easily put a price on problems that never occur, but Plant Healthy provides a strong, expert-designed framework that provides a systematic approach to reducing risk.

Plant Healthy therefore complements Plant Passports.

The UK and Ireland Sourced and Grown Assurance Scheme (UKISG) is a voluntary biosecurity initiative for tree nurseries developed by the Woodland Trust. The UKISG assurance scheme is designed for tree nurseries in the UK and Ireland that supply trees grown without imports, including sourcing of propagation material, and so there is a strong focus on provenance traceability. However, this does not mean it only applies to native species, as there are many UK sources of non-native species too, including ornamental trees.

The Plant Healthy Certification Scheme is based on the Plant Health Management Standard (PHMS) which aligns with several aspects of the UKISG Scheme. The PHMS was designed for all businesses and organisations that trade, grow and handle plants, trees, and plant material to help minimise the risk of introducing and spreading destructive plant pests and diseases. The PHMS covers international as well as national supply chains.

Both schemes, as plant biosecurity systems, are aimed at protecting our cultivated and natural environment. The UKISG Assurance scheme is focused on the tree procurement priorities of the Woodland Trust and as such also includes some environmental requirements and a strong focus on provenance.

Several nurseries are members of both schemes. A joint audit is available for nurseries. There is no additional fee for UKISG assurance. Please contact treeprocurement@woodlandtrust.org.uk for more information.

The OHAS scheme provides standards that cover a broad spectrum of a nursery’s (or packhouse’s) operation, whereas the Plant Healthy scheme is purely focused on plant biosecurity systems.

OHAS includes some of the Plant Health Management Standard’s requirements and the remaining points can be covered as an add-on in a joint audit, saving admin and audit costs. Please contact ohas@nsf.org for more information.

Yes, we are very happy to hear from you if you would like to help us extend the reach of our work.

This might include, for example, supporting small businesses to achieve certification, or supporting the development of specific training materials to extend the reach of certification by sector and/or geographically – all aimed at protecting plant health and our green environment.

If this is of interest, please get in touch via our contact page.

Plant Healthy provides lots of useful information to help you prepare for your audit and maintain the requirements within the Standard.

No matter how much (or how little) you already know about plant health risks, we recommend starting with our online Self-Assessment. This helps you:

• Check your current practices against the Plant Health Management Standard
• See what you already do well
• Identify what still needs work

You can also use the Self-Assessment to track your progress over time and decide when you are ready to book an audit.

We also have online training modules available to support you.

By the time of your audit, you should have:

• All required policies and procedures in place and documented
• Records and documents up to date
• Risk assessments completed
• Physical facilities ready

Shortly before the audit, the auditor may ask for copies of some documents to review in advance.

Plant Healthy provides guides and templates to help you prepare. These are available in the Resources section on our website.

A plant biosecurity policy is a written summary that explains how an organisation will manage plant pest and disease risks.

It sets out:

• The organisation’s understanding of the threat from harmful pests and diseases its commitment to protecting plant health
• Who is responsible for plant health
• How risks are managed when plants and plant material are grown, moved, stored and sold
• How employees/volunteers are trained in plant health
• How the policy is communicated

Plant Healthy provide a template for a biosecurity policy, but you can use your own if preferred. 

A policy sets out the rules or guiding principles explaining what should be done and why, reflecting an organisation’s values. An example of a high-level plant health policy statement might be “We are committed to preventing the introduction and spread of plant pests and diseases across all our sites”.

A procedure is a more detailed or step-by-step instruction that explains how the policy is put into practice and is practical and activity focused. An example of a plant health procedure might be - “All incoming plants must be visually inspected on arrival, isolated in the quarantine area for 14 days, and logged in the plant movement record.”

A SOPRA is simply a way for organisations to identify where notifiable plant pests and diseases could accidentally enter, be spread around, or leave a site, and show how those risks are minimised.

It can look daunting at first, but it is worth spending some time getting it right as it helps an organisation to:

• Understand where the real plant health risks arise
• Put proportionate controls in place
• Demonstrate a risk-based approach that aims to protects an organisation from the economic and reputational risks that notifiable pests and diseases pose, i.e. it is not a ‘tick-box exercise’.
• Show auditors that plant health management systems are justified

A good SOPRA will reduce the chance of costly pest outbreaks and helps an organisation’s employees/volunteers understand why controls exist.

For advice and guidance in completing a SOPRA please contact us.

There are two main costs:

Scheme membership fee

• Based on the turnover of the organisation – our current fees are listed on the website

Audit cost

• Paid directly to your chosen certification body
• Covers the auditor’s time, travel, and report writing
• There are currently two approved bodies: Grown in Britain and NSF
• You can ask either or both for a quote

Simply contact one or both of our certification bodies and you will receive an application pack.

When applying, include information about the scope of your organisation. This means:

• All the sites where you operate
• What your enterprise does

Once booked, your audit will take place within 60 days. Try to choose a time when normal activity is happening, so the auditor can see your processes in action.

After booking your audit, your business will appear in the directory as an applicant, but you must not yet claim to be Plant Healthy-certified.

To help the day go smoothly:

• Have documents and records ready and easy to access
• Make sure relevant staff are available and aware of the audit
• Provide a suitable space to meet the auditor

On the day, the auditor will:

• Review your documents, records, and risk assessments
• Talk through your policies and procedures
• Tour your site(s) to see what you do in practice

You will receive initial feedback on the day, including any issues or recommendations. A full written report will follow shortly afterwards.

The audit report will confirm whether:

• You have met all the requirements of the Plant Health Management Standard, or
• There are issues that need correcting

All parts of the Standard must be met to gain certification. After a first audit, you have 60 days to fix any issues and provide evidence. Once the auditor and certification body are satisfied, you will:

• Receive confirmation of certification
• Be listed as Plant Healthy-certified in the directory

Once certified, you will receive:

• Your numbered certificate
• A media pack with the Plant Healthy logo and rules for how you can use

You are encouraged to promote your certification:

• On your website and social media
• On your site and signage
• With customers, suppliers, and trade bodies
• Through events or open days

Plant Healthy can also help you with wording for signs, flyers, and other materials.

Certification shows that you take plant pest threats seriously and are proactively protecting your business, customers, and the environment. Many members also use their approach to plant biosecurity to engage staff through training, quizzes, and activities.

Certification is not a one-off task. You must:

• Keep your plant lists, records and documents up to date
• Stay aware of pest risks, regulations and rules
• Act on any findings from your annual audits

To maintain your certification you must:

• Have a full audit every year
• Carry out and record at least one internal audit each year

The Plant Health Management Standard also expects you to commit to ongoing improvement, such as:

• Regular staff training
• Monitoring suppliers
• Improving nursery or site practices

While this may sound demanding, it protects your business and becomes much easier once the systems are in place - especially compared with dealing with a major pest outbreak.

Not necessarily. Certification is based on whether you meet the requirements of the Plant Health Management Standard.

Within the Standard there is a section on ‘Detection of Notifiable Pests’ (Section 8.4). In summary, if a notifiable pest issue occurs, you must inform government inspectors and carry out their instructions. You must also keep records of all notifiable pest findings, investigate what went wrong and put steps in place to minimise the chance of it happening again.

We understand that risk can’t be eliminated, but how you respond to any finding and subsequent learning are essential to reduce the risk of it happening again.