BUSINESS
ARE NURSERIES FEELING THE HEAT
from the hosepipe bans? T
here’s little change in confidence from last month, it would seem. Only 20% said they were feeling more confident, whilst the majority (60%) of respondents said they felt the same. This includes nurseries, despite 60% saying that their quotes were up from the previous month. It might be down to relief that there’s “no sign of a slow down” as one nursery put it, adding that their enquiries and orders are “still on the way up”. Nurseries are facing a series of ongoing challenges, though. There’s the incoming peat ban, which is a “big challenge for UK nurseries, with many varieties proving difficult to grow in the current alternatives,” says a nursery. “With the news that Defra is going to allow the continuation of importation of foreign plant stock grown in peat media the UK nursery industry is going to be at a big disadvantage in the next few years.” Then there’s the soaring summer temperatures. One nursery in the South of England says that they have not “suffered as much from the drought conditions” this year, whereas the lack of rain “was starting to affect sales” last May.
In the East, another nursery is feeling the pinch, though, saying that their biggest problem is reports of potential droughts, as the “media’s hype that it will be hotter
than last summer and lots of drought orders/hosepipe bans coming is killing sales.” So, despite being above target from October to March, the heatwave is taking its toll.
PERCENTAGE OF RESPONDENTS MORE CONFIDENT COMPARED TO LAST MONTH 100%
2023
90%
2022
80%
2021
70%
2020
60% 50%
SCAN
6
40% 30%
HERE
20%
TO READ THE FULL REPORT
0%
Pro Landscaper | August 2023
10% Jan
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