UK Growers Slash Peat Use as One in Three Achieves Peat-Free Production
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UK plant growers have cut peat use by more than 60 per cent in four years, although the horticulture industry has warned that completing the transition will be more technically and commercially challenging.
Peat accounted for 21.8 per cent of the growing media used by professional growers during 2025, falling sharply from 34.4 per cent in 2024 and 39.5 per cent in 2023.
The figure stood at 56 per cent in 2021.
The Horticultural Trades Association’s Growers’ Growing Media Usage Survey 2026 also found that one-third of growers are now operating entirely without peat.
The results reflect substantial investment, research and technical adaptation by growers and growing-media manufacturers. However, around a quarter of businesses remain unable to identify when they will be capable of achieving completely peat-free production.
Among the biggest obstacles are nutrient and fertiliser management, the consistency of alternative growing media, irrigation requirements, costs and profitability.
Growers reported that fully peat-free media could cost approximately 10 per cent more overall. Individual businesses recorded increases ranging from five to 15 per cent, before factoring in the additional expense of trials, employee training, production changes and possible crop losses.
Water management is also becoming an increasingly important consideration as the industry contends with hotter summers, extended dry periods and mounting pressure on supplies.
Peat-free growing media can behave differently from conventional mixtures, requiring growers to change irrigation techniques and monitor crops more closely. For some businesses, the transition therefore involves redesigning entire production systems rather than simply changing the material placed in a pot.
The survey found that average crop wastage across production remained at around nine per cent. However, the degree of variation in wastage increased as growers reduced the amount of peat they used.
David Denny, director of research and knowledge transfer at the HTA, said the figures demonstrated the progress being delivered across environmental horticulture, despite rising business costs and continuing uncertainty surrounding legislation.
He cautioned that “peat-free growing is not simply a case of swapping one material for another”, with no single alternative suitable for the thousands of plant species grown commercially in the UK.
Different crops can require growers to redesign irrigation systems, adapt nutrient programmes and develop new production methods to protect plant quality and consistency.
The HTA said the industry was now entering the most technically complex phase of the transition. Removing the remaining peat would require continued research, collaboration, knowledge-sharing and investment, alongside clear government policy and manageable timescales.
The association is calling for a supported transition which enables growers to meet environmental ambitions while maintaining a resilient, productive and competitive domestic horticulture sector.
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