All five RHS Gardens succeed in becoming Plant Healthy certified

The RHS is committed to safeguarding plant health in Great Britain through robust

Measures aimed at preventing the spread of potentially harmful organisms (pests, diseases or invasive species) into the environment. These include sourcing plants responsibly, quarantining new plants and practising good garden hygiene.

The variety of living organisms (plants, animals, fungi and microorganisms) in a particular environment. Boosting the biodiversity of your garden has many benefits, including supporting wildlife, improving soil health and reducing the likelihood of pest and disease problems.

biodiversity

Biosecurity at the RHS

Biosecurity is about protecting plants, animals and the environment from harmful pests and diseases. It involves taking steps to prevent the introduction and spread of these threats, especially when moving plants, soil or other materials from one place to another.

Invasive plants are those that grow vigorously, spread rapidly and can out-compete other plants. Native, non-native and cultivated plants can all be invasive.

invasive

Regular cleaning and tidying not only keeps a garden looking neat, but can reduce pests and diseases too. Beneficial jobs include collecting fallen leaves, promptly removing diseased growth and debris, cleaning tools, and weeding. Still, too much tidying can discourage wildlife, so it’s a fine balance.

garden hygiene

Inspecting flowers for a floristry installation at an RHS Garden

What is Plant Healthy?

Plant Healthy certification is awarded through an independent audit against a set of standards known as the Plant Health Management Standard. The standard is divided into the following key areas, which are all interrelated:

1. Legal requirements

2. Biosecurity policy

3. Responsibility for plant health

4. Risk analysis of pest pathways

5. Supply chain management

6. Hygiene and housekeeping

7. Control measures

8. Monitoring and surveillance

9. Training and recognition

Why is Plant Healthy certification important for the RHS?

Plant Healthy aligns with the RHS’s mission to promote sustainable gardening practices, protect biodiversity and contribute to long-term plant health in the wider environment. The process of becoming Plant Healthy-certified and maintained certification helps strengthen our internal processes and build a stronger sense of community and teamwork.

Did you know?

In January 2023 RHS Harlow Carr became the first public garden in England to gain Plant Healthy certification.

Checking plants before they enter the RHS retail system

Does Plant Healthy also include RHS garden centres?

Yes! Plant Healthy certification covers the whole site, including our garden centres and retail areas.

Will visitors see any changes at the RHS gardens?

In the main, no, as many of the Plant Healthy requirements take place behind the scenes. However, if you visit our gardens you may see areas cordoned off if we are dealing with a potential problem. Or, when you book tickets or check to “plan your visit”, you may notice requests to ensure that your footwear is clean before entering the garden. You may also see more interpretation in the garden in the future to let you know what’s happening or leaflets explaining what you can do yourself, to protect the health of your plants too.

What steps does the RHS take to stay ‘Plant Healthy’?

We have lots of different measures in place at the RHS to stay ‘Plant Healthy’. These steps include:

• An overarching RHS-wide Biosecurity policy, reviewed annually and signed off at the top of the organisation
• Carefully sourcing our plants – risk assessing our suppliers and checking incoming material thoroughly before adding it to our plant collections or our retail areas
• Risk assessing large purchases before buying, based on pests of those hosts and the location and source of the plants
• Holding incoming plants for our Gardens in our Reception facilities after arrival, for a period of time based on the risk of them having new pests and diseases that we can’t yet see
• Training our garden teams to follow biosecurity best practice and to recognise plant pests and diseases
• Embedding good housekeeping standards in our work with plants across the organisation
• Having processes in place for when a plant pest or disease is found

Actions to improve plant biosecurity and to achieve Plant Healthy certification affirm our high standards when it comes to plant health at the RHS and reassure gardeners of our commitment to protect against the introduction and spread of preventable plant problems.

An inspection of bulbs before being used in RHS Gardens

Plant Health Alliance

The 5 year plan for the Plant Health Alliance, the body which supported the creation of the Plant Healthy scheme, featuring RHS Garden Harlow Carr – the first English public garden to be Plant Healthy certified on 25 November 2022 – Plant Healthy was developed by the Plant Health Alliance, a collaborative body involving various stakeholders from across the plant health sector in the UK. The Plant Health Alliance supports the improvement of biosecurity standards and development of initiatives like Plant Healthy in the UK.

The interests of the Alliance are supported by Plant Healthy Limited, which is a registered charity (in England and Wales - 1205937) and owner of the Plant Health Management Standard and the Plant Healthy Certification Scheme. 

RHS Garden Hyde Hall first achieved certification on 5 January 2024 and RHS Garden Rosemoor on 2 February 2024.  RHS Garden Wisley was certified on 21 November 2025 and RHS Garden Bridgewater was the final RHS site to be certified on 26 November 2025. It has now been confirmed that the RHS is the first multi-site public or botanic garden in the UK where all parts of all sites – including the Gardens and Retail Centre -  are Plant Healthy certified. This has been made possible thanks to great teamwork and commitment to better biosecurity from our wonderful staff and volunteers.

The team at RHS Garden Harlow Carr celebrating their certification in 2024

How else do we support plant health at the RHS?

The Plant Healthy certification scheme is just one of the many ways in which we ensure our gardens, retail areas and events such as shows follow best practices for plant health. At the RHS we follow six guiding plant health principles:

1. Provide guidance on plant health issues to protect the sustainability of gardens and horticulture in the UK
2. Assess plant health risks prior to undertaking activities that are likely to have phytosanitary implications and identify what mitigations are required
3. Adopt practices across RHS activities that minimise plant health risk, whilst balancing that risk with horticultural benefit
4. Prioritise and undertake research to generate the knowledge necessary to manage plant health risks to UK horticulture
5. Communicate and exchange knowledge to enable informed decisions to be made to manage plant health risks to UK horticulture
6. Work collaboratively, internally through the RHS Plant Health Working Group and with external organisations to contribute to the management of plant health risks to the UK and to help develop the skills necessary to manage such risks