The Hort Report: 29th August 2025
The ash tree comeback, a record-breaking cardoon, and more!
Here’s your weekly Hort Report - the round-up of industry news, retail insights, home gardener gossip, influencer spotlights, social media news, and so much more.
Grab a cool drink, and catch up on the latest below…
NEWS FLASH
Ash trees evolving resistance to ash dieback disease
UK ash trees are rapidly evolving genetic resistance to ash dieback, a fungal disease caused by Hymenoscyphus fraxineus that has devastated populations since reaching the country in 2012.
DNA sequencing of hundreds of trees revealed that resistant gene variants are more common in younger ash, suggesting natural selection is helping them survive. While this offers hope, experts warn that resistance is partial and progress will slow without intervention, meaning breeding programmes may be needed to strengthen future generations.
Read more here.
INFLUENCER SPOTLIGHT
A record-breaking cardoon?
Nathan Garnett is raising money for Havens Hospice by growing a world record breaking cardoon - a type of artichoke - and selling the seeds! Havens Hospice helps adults and children with incurable conditions, so it’s a great cause, and you’re getting a slice of history in return! To find out more, donate and get your seeds, click here.
SOCIAL NEWS
‘Strong-armed’ into buying lilies!
If Love for Lilies are determined to grab our attention, they’re succeeding… they posted this fantastic bouquet on Instagram, styled by an unnamed model 👀
See all the pics here.
PRODUCT
Alternative autumn decor - with Pink Kisses!
Dianthus Pink Kisses may not scream autumn, but they do actually flower through late summer and into early autumn, making them a great addition to autumn decor if you want a bit more colour, and a bit less of the traditional browns, oranges and yellows that we see everywhere…
Watch the video above for a great tutorial!
BOOK
The Kindest Garden by Marian Boswall
The Kindest Garden by leading landscape designer Marian Boswall is a practical and inspiring guide to regenerative gardening, showing how anyone – whether with a windowsill, patio, or large garden – can actively support the planet’s health. Moving beyond sustainability, Boswall explains how to restore biodiversity and nurture ecosystems by working with soil, water, energy, materials, and planting in thoughtful ways. Drawing on insights from rewilders, farmers, and foresters, the book combines beautifully written guidance with practical projects, planting advice, diagrams, and charts, making it an essential read for eco-conscious gardeners who want their outdoor spaces to be both personal sanctuaries and thriving habitats for nature.
Buy it here.
PLANT OF THE WEEK
Czarny Charakter - the blackest dahlia
I visited Fred de Mulder, one of the top growers of dahlias in The Netherlands, and I came across the blackest dahlia - Czarny Charaketer! Its name means ‘black character’ in Polish, where it originates. Watch the video above to see it in all its dark glory!
You’ll have a hard time finding this on the market in dahlia tuber buying season, as it’s so coveted and sells quickly - but keep your finger on the proverbial button and you may get lucky!
WHAT TO DO NOW
The Vollenhove Flower Parade
Saturday, August 30th 2025, marks the most colorful day of the year: the Vollenhove Flower Parade. During this fantastic event, towering floats will parade through the center of picturesque Vollenhove, The Netherlands. These enormous floats, adorned with hundreds of thousands of dahlias, will leave you flabbergasted!
Find out more.
TRADE NEWS
The Abercorn Dahlia Festival concludes another successful year
Running for a full week, the festival featured two major showcases: The Essex Dahlia Society Show followed by the Westland Boost sponsored Abercorn Southern Dahlia Championship.
This year’s festival saw 40 exhibitors, who collectively presented more than 600 vases filled with over 1,800 blooms, each competing to be named the best. The displays highlighted a wide range of dahlia varieties, forms and colours, demonstrating the exceptional talent and dedication of the region’s growers both established and new.
The turnout and feedback from the public was outstanding, with one lady being so inspired at the Essex Dahlia show that she then entered the novice class for the Southern Championships. Now in its second year, the hope is that the festival will inspire and enthuse more people to grow, and show, dahlias next year.
For the start of the Dahlia festival, Abercorn also officially launched the sale of their own dahlia, ‘Abercorn Sunrise’ (pictured above). The dahlia was well received by the public who could purchase the pot grown dahlias for themselves, with part of the sale being donated to the ColegraveSeabrook Foundation charity. Peter Seabrook and his wife Margaret were local to Abercorn and frequent visitors. The foundation was set up in Peter’s name to support the development of students studying horticulture in the UK.
HORTICULTURAL TRADE ASSOCIATION
Visual Summary of the CLAWS Robot Demonstration at J&A Growers
CLAWS™ (Concentrated Light Autonomous Weeding and Scouting) can identify individual plants in space and time, and collect real-time crop data, sending this information to its Farm Control System for grower decision making. Equipped with light weeders, this cutting-edge robot can also precisely target the meristem of even the smallest weeds with a short pulse of concentrated light, without harming the surrounding crop or soil, avoiding soil compaction and substantially adding to the weed control options for growers, minimising reliance on herbicides.
For those who missed the demonstration at last month’s HTA event, a pictorial summary is now available on the HTA FutureGrow webpage.
Find out more.