For the Trade & Profession
If you grow, trade, move or manage plants and trees, plant health matters to you and your business, and the risks are increasing.
This page explains what Plant Healthy is, the plant health and biosecurity risks you may face, and how Plant Healthy can help you take a practical, proportionate approach to managing those risks.
What is Plant Healthy?
Plant Healthy is a voluntary certification scheme that helps you show that you are managing plant health risks responsibly, minimising the risk of introducing and spreading damaging plant pests and diseases.
The scheme is based on the Plant Health Management Standard (PHMS). The Standard sets out best-practice requirements for managing plant health and biosecurity and was developed by industry experts, government and NGOs.
It helps you build an effective plant health management system across your business - from plant selection and sourcing through to growing, selling or planting – and is built around 32 clear, practical requirements.
If you choose to become certified, your business is independently audited against the Standard when you apply and annually thereafter. This gives you confidence that the right measures are in place and reassures your customers that you take plant health threats seriously.
The Plant Healthy logo is a trusted quality mark that demonstrates your commitment to protecting plant health and biosecurity.
Who is Plant Healthy for?
Plant Healthy is designed for you if you work with plants and trees, including if you are a:
- Nursery or grower
- Retailer or trader
- Landscaper or arborist
- Manager of public or private gardens
When you apply, you declare which parts of your business the certification applies to. These are shown on your certificate once you are certified.
How can Plant Healthy certification help you?
Plant Healthy helps you take a planned, proactive approach to managing plant biosecurity, rather than reacting once plant pest problems arise. The focus is on prevention, which is much more effective and less costly than cure.
By working to the Plant Health Management Standard, you can:
- Identify pest risks to minimise their impact
- Protect the horticulture industry, cultivated plants and the natural environment
- Minimise the likelihood of introducing and spreading harmful and costly plant pests and diseases
- Protect your business and reputation
- Demonstrate good practice to your customers, buyers and partners
Many members also use certification to engage staff through training, quizzes and activities.
Why is the risk increasing?
Harmful plant pests including diseases are spreading more easily than ever.
Plants are traded and moved in higher volumes
Global travel creates more pathways for pests to spread
Climate change makes it easier for new pests and diseases to establish in the UK
Some threats, such as Ash Dieback, are already well known. Others are emerging quickly. Xylella fastidiosa, for example, is a bacterial disease spread by insects that can affect hundreds of plant species. In southern Italy, it has already destroyed around 21 million olive trees, contributing to the loss of roughly half of Italy’s olive oil production.
Together, these factors increase risk across the supply chain, including the risks you manage every day.
The scale of the issue is significant
In the UK
85
Pests
threaten apple production
160
Pests
threaten tomatoes
165
Pests
threaten potatoes
150
Pests
threaten roses
90
Pests
threaten oak tress
The situation is not static.
The number of new serious tree pests affecting the UK has been doubling roughly every 11 years.
This affects you - for businesses, the impacts of harmful pests and diseases can be costly in terms of financial and reputational damage. For example, surveys suggest interception costs can reach £10,000 per year, with outbreaks costing £25,000 or more.
What role do you play?
Protecting plant health is a shared responsibility, and you play a crucial role.
Government sets and enforces the rules, but inspections can only ever provide a snapshot. You and your team make daily decisions about sourcing, handling and selling plants, and those decisions directly affect plant health risks.
By understanding these increasing threats and managing how plants and plant material move through your business, you can significantly reduce the risk of introducing or spreading harmful plant pests within the trade and beyond.
What additional support is available to you?
You can access guidance, tools, updates and sector-specific resources across the website. Visit our Resources, News and Events pages to stay informed and connected.
Hear directly from some of our Plant Healthy certified members about why they decided to become Plant Healthy certified, what plant health means to them and the benefits to being certified. You may also find it useful to visit our FAQs.
What is Plant Healthy?
Plant Healthy is a certification scheme helping UK growers, landscapers and other plant professionals protect against harmful pests and diseases through proactive, best-practice plant health management.
Who is Plant Healthy For?
Whether you’re a grower, nursery, landscaper or other plant professional, Plant Healthy certification helps you play your part in protecting the UK’s plants and trees. Find out who the scheme is for and why it matters.
Benefits of Certification
Discover how Plant Healthy certification raises standards, protects landscapes and gives your business a genuine commercial and environmental advantage.
Becoming Certified
From self-assessment to audit, learn how businesses of all sizes can achieve Plant Healthy certification and how the process strengthens everyday practice and biosecurity.
The Commercial Benefits
Plant Healthy isn’t just good for plants, it’s good for business. Learn how certification helps manage risk, build reputation and deliver lasting value.
Benefits for Your Staff
Plant Healthy certification strengthens staff skills, boosts confidence and supports a culture of continuous improvement across your organisation.
Advice
Becoming Plant Healthy certified is easier than you might think. This video offers reassurance and advice on getting started and explains why certification delivers long-term benefits across the sector.
How can you become certified?
To help you decide if certification is right for you, our Becoming Certified section takes you through the process step by step, including accessing our Self-Assessment to check whether your business is ready, who our certification bodies are and what to expect from an audit.