Pressure is mounting on garden centres and retailers to take action after pesticides linked to bee decline have been discovered in ‘pollinator-friendly’ garden plants. 

New research by the University of Sussex reveals that garden plants found for sale in a number of retail outlets were contaminated with bee-harming pesticides – including plants carrying a ‘pollinator-friendly’ label.

The research on neonicotinoids and plants, the first of its kind to be carried out in the UK, was led by bee expert Professor David Goulson. Of the 29 plants examined at Sussex University, over 70% contained neonicotinoid pesticides – including three pesticides restricted across Europe that have been found to pose a ‘high acute risk’ to honeybees. According to a story by the Daily Mail, one type of heather bought from Wyevale contained five insecticides, as well as five fungicides.

Plants species purchased for testing included lavender, dahlias, foxgloves, crocuses, allium, salvia and bellflowers and, of the plants tested, 15  bore the ‘Perfect for Pollinators’ RHS logo.

The study, which will be published in the scientific journal Environmental Pollution, revealed that the levels of neonic traces found in the pollen and nectar of the plants were similar to those found in the pollen of treated agricultural crops.

The report concluded: “All of the retailers we tested were selling plants containing highly variable combinations of potentially harmful chemicals, so that any purchaser is playing “Russian roulette” with their garden pollinators.’

Environmental groups are now calling on retailers to take action over the findings. Thousands of people have already taken part in a Friends of the Earth online action launched earlier this week, calling on Homebase and Wyevale to ensure their plants are free from neonicotinoids linked to bee decline. 

The action – Get Bee-Harming Pesticides Out Of Garden Plants - was launched after B&Q announced it was to ban neonicotinoid pesticides from all its flowering plants from next year.   

Friends of the Earth bee campaigner Nick Rau said: “Green-minded gardeners will be understandably concerned that some stores and garden centres are selling plants treated with pesticides linked to bee decline - including some plants that are labelled as ‘pollinator friendly’.

“Retailers should urgently investigate their supply chains and make it clear to growers that they don’t want these chemicals in their plants.”

Friends of the Earth launches its Great British Bee Count on May 19, which aims to get the British public learning more about the bees that visit their neighbourhoods and to take action to help the under-threat pollinators.

Mr Rau added: “Friends of the Earth’s Great British Bee Count, which begins next week, is urging people to create wildlife-friendly gardens and other spaces to help our under-threat bees. Ask your retailer if their plants have been grown without bee-harming pesticides - if in doubt choose organic plants or grow them from seed.”