Growing Pains: Call for Greater Support to Secure Britain’s Tree Nursery Future

A new industry-backed report warns that Britain’s tree nurseries require stronger support if the country is to meet its climate, biodiversity and greening ambitions.

The report by the Woodland Trust, the Horticultural Trades Association (HTA), the National Trust and the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), underscores the indispensable role that nurseries play — from supplying high-quality, disease-free stock to sustaining biodiversity and improving public wellbeing. It argues that without more consistent backing, the sector faces real risk of failing to keep pace with rising demand.

Key Findings & Challenges

Fragile financial dynamics: Many nurseries operate in an uncertain market, with income largely reliant on fluctuations in local commission work or occasional grants — making long-term planning difficult.

Rising production pressures: As demand for tree planting grows (driven by environmental commitments), nurseries are being pressured to scale output — yet many lack the infrastructure, capital or workforce to respond.

Biosecurity & provenance issues: There is a widespread lack of formal policies around disease control and provenance (i.e. sourcing seed from local, climatically appropriate areas), which increases the risk of sub-optimal planting or disease outbreaks.

Labour shortages & infrastructure gaps: The sector struggles with attracting skilled staff and building the physical infrastructure needed for expansion.

Disconnect between targets and capacity: Nurseries say that ambitious tree-planting targets are often set without regard to whether nursery supply can meet them, creating a mismatch between ambition and reality.

Spotlight: Community Tree Nurseries

The report also highlights the role of Community Tree Nurseries (CTNs), grassroots operations that grow trees locally and often work with volunteers or social groups. The survey underpinning the report estimates:

• Around 80 CTNs are currently operating across the UK.

• Collectively, they produce approximately 250,000 trees each year — either given away or sold at minimal cost.

• Many of these are relatively young ventures (66 % have been operating for three years or less and rely heavily on grants and volunteer labour.

• Just 10 % of CTNs reported having a formal biosecurity policy in place, and less than half maintain traceability from seed to sale — gaps that pose risks to tree health.

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Recommendations for Strengthening the Sector

The report doesn’t just lay out the problems — it sets out a roadmap of practical measures:

• Stable funding models — to cushion nurseries during low-income phases and reduce overreliance on grants.

• Investment in infrastructure — including equipment, land and research into pest resilience, provenance matching, and scaling production.

• Training & capacity building — supporting skills in nursery management, biosecurity and business development.

• Better integration with national strategy — aligning planting targets with realistic nursery supply modelling, and enabling forward contracting or guaranteed purchase schemes to de-risk investment.

The Stakes Are High — But So Is the Opportunity

If tree nurseries cannot keep pace, the knock-on effects will spill across planting programmes, biodiversity goals, urban greening, and carbon sequestration plans. In short: the sustainability of Britain’s tree-planting ambition depends on creating a resilient, well-funded nursery sector.

But with the right structural support in place — funding stability, infrastructure, training, and strategic alignment — the sector has enormous potential to scale and anchor long-term greening efforts.