The 50th anniversary Four Oaks Trade Show will take place on 6-7 September at Lower Withington in Cheshire, back after a three-year break caused by the Covid pandemic. Exhibitors will display thousands of new plant and product introductions across the show.

Organisers are urging everyone to pre-register online this year to avoid queuing. Register online using the 2022 Visitor Registration Form. 

Visitors will be required to check-in electronically for the first time – either by scanning of emails via their smartphones or printed badges. There will be limited capacity to register and print at both entrances to the show.

Also see the HortWeek Four Oaks Trade Show mini-site. 

The late Pat Coutts ran the show for many years before her death in 2021. Christina Walker has taken over and has reinvigorated the seminar programme.

Star turn as chair of the “Planting for a sustainable future” session at Four Oaks has been confirmed as new RHS director general Clare Matterson. Formerly of the Natural History Museum, she will lead a session with experienced horticulturists including RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2022 gold medal-winning designer Ruth Willmott as well as nurserymen Stefano Sogni and John Huibers.

The new “Educate, Innovate & Collaborate” conference zone will focus on technical and environmental matters on day one (6 September), then people and skills on day two (7 September).

Tammy Woodhouse (Garden Centre Association/Millbrook) will speak on the “Sustainability in Horticulture” panel on day one, with Dave Denny (HTA), Vicky Nuttall (Garden Industry Manufacturers Association) and Steve Harper (Southern Trident/Responsible Sourcing Scheme (RSS)), who will also make a presentation on the RSS with Steve Carter (Fleurie Nurseries) and Neil Bragg (Bulrush Horticulture).  

Seiont will launch Agapanthus ‘Starry Night’ and Cortaderia selloana ‘Tiny Pampa’, which will be in flower then, as well as Hebe ‘Pink Starburst’. There are 7,500 available and Seiont could double that by taking cuttings to respond to demand. One customer has committed to 5,000 plants.

Pentland Plants will exhibit new varieties such as Bacopa Scopia Gulliver plus more compact verbenas and petunias. Pentland owner David Spray says: “The industry lives on new varieties.”

Seeds of Italy’s Andrew Collings points out that with Glee having moved from September to June, smaller retailers will favour Four Oaks because it fits their buying patterns better as the only September show.

Ball Colegrave will be promoting new award-winning varieties double Impatiens ‘Glimmer’ — the only Impatiens on the market recognised by the International Seed Federation to have “high resistance” to Impatiens downy mildew — and the striking yellow Petunia ‘Bee’s Knees’. These varieties will be joined by Toscana Galaxy, an interspecific series of geranium with controlled vigour for larger three- to 7.5-litre pots, combined with outstanding garden performance.

A line-up of new-to-market shrubs, herbaceous perennials and exotics particularly suited to premium patio sales will be on show from the Lasting Beauty programme, including Mangave, Lavandula Lavinnova and Buddleja Butterfly Candy.

This year will be the 30th time Ravensworth Nurseries has invested in a presence at Four Oaks. It will be displaying “Watch ’em Grow” starter plants, hanging baskets, tubs, indoor planted arrangements and poinsettias.

Harkness Roses national sales manager Dave Andrews will inform visitors about the wholesaler’s new David Domoney Great British Rose Revival range. It will be promoted via television, newspapers and social media throughout 2023, promising success for new and old gardeners with great varieties they can buy from Harkness stockists.

This marks the 31st time for Volmary (formally Delamore) to exhibit young plant products at the show, with Dianthus Garden Pleasures, Dianthus Baby Doris and Dianthus Double Pink Chiffon among plants featuring this year.

Sales director Chris Finlay said: “It’s an honour to have been associated with The Four Oaks show for over 30 years, in fact none of us are old enough to remember when we first took part! t’s always been a hub for growers to discuss new products and innovation.”

Overseas exhibitors are a popular feature of Four Oaks. This year will mark the 10th time for Zelari Piante exhibiting. The UK sales team will be out in force to tell visitors about its innovative products and services, including new ordering technologies.

Representatives from HilverdaFlorist will be on hand to inform visitors about the company's innovative breeding and young plant production in Alstroemeria, Echinacea, Salvia, Gerbera, Dianthus and Helleborus.

Area sales manager Ivo Groot says he has chosen to exhibit at this year’s Four Oaks because he has lots of new and exciting products, including three new varieties of the Alstroemeria Summer Paradise Series — Summer Pepper, Summer Rose and Wild Valley — as well as the new Alstroemeria Inticancha Sunstar.

New exhibitors will include GreenBest promoting its all-new horticultural fertiliser brand Florifeed, designed for both incorporation within growing media as well as top dressing for all ornamental horticultural flowering plants, shrubs, and trees. Manufactured at its site in Somerset, and using unique coatings of organic plant oils, GreenBest aims to supply a product with a reduced carbon footprint that meets all future environmental responsibilities.

A new Christmas company, Missus Knows Best, will be exhibiting at Four Oaks for the first time. Customers will be able to order from immediate stock for 2022 sales and get to see and pre-order the 2023 range. The products are for stores looking for something different at affordable prices, quirky and of premium quality. 

Airflow will enter Bertie, its new Christmas tree stand into the new product awards at the show.

Mondi Plants representatives will be telling visitors about its new automated production line, enhanced by new business process management and integrated with more versatile software. It will be in place by the end of 2022.

Modiform will be showcasing its transparent green PET bedding packs, made from recycled drinks bottles. Its “ecoExpert” range, made from waste cardboard, is recyclable (Cyclos certified), biodegradable and compostable. This year, Modiform introduced online packaging for sustainable and safe shipping of potted plants — a 100% recyclable and plastic-free solution. 

Plantopia Eco Pulp will soon be opening a new factory in Lancashire to produce a range of biodegradable pulp products to replace single-use plastics in the commercial horticulture industry. The company’s Christopher Haley says Plantopia has already completed the design of a marketing tray that will be available in several pot sizes. Products include a carry tray, 13cm pot and jumbo six-pack, which fit 14 per Danish Trolley shelf and 2,000 on a pallet.

Ebtech Glasshouse Systems will be displaying its new/used glasshouses, screening, polyhouses, benching, heating, electrical services and climate and irrigation control systems.

Hortifeeds will be at Four Oaks for a 25th time, discussing its extensive range of fertilisers and biostimulants. Regional sales managers Paul Wright, Ben Dalton and Jonathan Garratt plus Agronomist Mike Wainwright will be available to answer questions.

TerrazzaMC will be highlighting products and services including GeotexPRO, eGeotexPRO, focusing on how Geotex PRO helps with the maintenance and cleaning of geotextile surfaces in the greenhouse area. GeotexPRO means chemical-free cleaning, without or with the use of minimal water.

Horticultural charity Perennial will be working in partnership with the NHS Innovation Agency, which will bring along volunteers from its Heart Heroes programme to help promote the “Know Your Numbers! Week” blood pressure awareness campaign. Free blood pressure and pulse checks will be offered to show visitors. 

10am: Application and techniques when applying biopesticides. Ant Surrage (Fargro). 11am: Discussing sustainable growing solutions. Grow, nurture, protect your future. ICL. 12 noon: Responsible Sourcing Scheme. Steve Carter (Fleurie Nursery), Neil Bragg (Bulrush Horticulture) and Steve Harper (Southern Trident/Responsible Sourcing Scheme). 12.45pm: Sustainability in Horticulture. Expert panel discussion chaired by HortWeek editor Matthew Appleby, with Dave Denny (HTA), Tammy Woodhouse (Garden Centre Association/Millbrook), Vicky Nuttall (Garden Industry Manufacturers Association) and Steve Harper (Southern Trident/Responsible Sourcing Scheme). 2pm: Handling an outbreak of a new non-native pest outbreak in a garden centre or nursery. Animal & Plant Health Agency and Defra.

3pm: Plant Healthy Certification Scheme. Alastair Yeomans (Plant Healthy Certification Scheme).

11am: Horticultural worker issues Q&A. Sally Drury (HortWeek) and Helen Waddington (Perennial). 12.30pm: Planting for a sustainable future. Expert panel discussion chaired by Clare Matterson (RHS director general), with Ruth Willmott (Ruth Willmott Associates), Stefano Sogni (Zelari Piante) and John Huibers (Tamar Nurseries). 2pm: Encouraging more young people into horticulture. Expert panel discussion chaired by the Young People in Horticulture Association, with Boyd Douglas-Davies (HTA/British Garden Centres), Susan Nicholas (Chartered Institute of Horticulture) and Sarah Want (MorePeople).

Click here for the full 2022 Four Oaks Trade Show exhibitor list. See below:

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