Plant Heritage

Plant Heritage is the accreditation body for the National Plant Collection Scheme, responsible for cultivated plant conservation. They are the world’s leading garden plant conservation and research charity, aiming to create a record of living examples of all plants in the UK, with the aim of protecting all species for the future.

Plants growing in gardens might seem safer than those in the wild but they can easily be lost if no one is looking after them. Last year the RHS reported that UK gardens contain over 308,000 cultivated plant types – far exceeding the diversity of food or medicinal crops. But this diversity is under threat. Around one in three cultivated plants assessed are at risk in cultivation, and one in six are endangered. Protecting this living heritage is essential – not only for biodiversity and climate resilience, but also for the cultural and scientific value these plants represent.  

The organisation operates through several key initiatives:

National Plant Collections: Plant Heritage is home to the National Plant Collections – registered and documented collections of specific groups of plants. They have over 750 National Collections across the UK protecting over 100,000 plants from cacti to fruit trees.

Plant Guardians: Plant Guardians are amateur and professional gardeners who look after one or more rare or unusual plants and is ideal for passionate plantspeople with less space or time to dedicate to a full National Collection.

Threatened Plants Programme: The Threatened Plants Programme supports conservation work and is a research initiative designed to identify cultivated plants most at risk of extinction in the UK.

Our Awards recognise the dedication and passion of our volunteers who make our conservation work possible, helping to protect our garden plants for future generations. 

• Plant Heritage,
• First Floor Offices,
• Stone Pine,
• Wisley,
• Woking,
• Surrey,
• GU23 6QD