This year’s Four Oaks Trade Show at Lower Withington in Cheshire will have an outstanding line-up of exhibitors, awards and essential seminar content on 2-3 September.
The show, now 55 years old, is a key date on the calendar for growers, retailers and everyone involved in horticulture, as a meeting place and to do business.
The annual awards, run by HortWeek, will feature more than 100 new plants and products entries — see details here.
The upcoming 2026 HortWeek Four Oaks Awards will highlight top innovations in plants and horticultural products. They will be judged on 2 September, with a HortWeek-sponsored hog roast and drinks reception that evening.
The judges are Sally Drury, Ian Riggs, Howard Drury, Peter Burks, Derek Jarman, Martin Ward and Robin Squance.
Award categories
Plants
- Herbaceous perennials
- Annuals, bedding, container and basket plants
- Houseplants
- Shrubs, trees and climbers
Products and impact
- Best professional product/service/equipment
- Best retail product
- Sustainability impact
- Technical excellence
The 2025 category winners can be seen here.
Readers will be able to take part in a 2026 live visitor vote. There will also be an outstanding line-up of essential seminar content. Located next to House T’s main restaurant, the “Educate, Collaborate & Innovate Zone” will offer free drop-in seminars, plant displays and networking events for the horticulture industry.
- Wednesday 2 September: Features sessions on data-driven holistic growing (Fargro), business support and employee well-being (Perennial), and climate-resilient Mediterranean plants (ANVE), followed by a networking reception.
- Thursday 3 September: Covers automation to combat labour shortages (Hortec), the future of peat-free compost (Durstons) and a focus group on supporting women in horticulture (Perennial).
Educate, Collaborate & Innovate Zone
Right next to the main restaurant in House T will be your go-to place for industry insights, inspiration and networking.
The international exhibition for commercial ornamental horticulture will be set across a 9ha (23-acre) working nursery in Cheshire with 13,000sq m under glass near the Jodrell Bank radio telescope. The show continues to serve as the vital bridge between plant production, technology and retail.
More than 35% of exhibiting companies will arrive from overseas, including major plant breeders and exporters from the Netherlands, Spain, Italy and Germany. This makes Four Oaks one of the most international commercial nursery events in Northern Europe.
Seminars
2 September
11.15am: Holistic growing in practice
Alex Matthews, head of agronomy, Fargro
In this session, Alex Matthews will set out what holistic growing means in practice — a joined-up approach to managing inputs, plant health and production that treats the growing system as a whole rather than a series of separate problems to fix. He will look at where biological controls, nutrition and growing-media decisions connect, and how better data changes the picture, using wireless environmental sensors to monitor conditions such as electrical conductivity, so decisions are driven by what is actually happening in the crop rather than guesswork.
12.30pm: How Perennial, the charity of the industry, can support both you and your employees
Steve Harper, Grass Gains
David Salisbury, Farplants
Peter Burks, Garden Centre Association
Nikki Burton, Melcourt
Chaired by Helen Waddington, Perennial
Whether you are focused on supporting your workforce, strengthening your environmental, social and governance commitments, or giving back to the people who make our industry flourish, attend this session to discover Perennial’s free, confidential services and how it supports your business.
Moreno Pinto, ANVE president
Luigi Pagliani, ENA delegate/ANVE past president
Chaired by HortWeek editor Matthew Appleby
Mediterranean plants offer effective solutions for making UK landscapes more resilient to climate change. In this strategic session, ANVE will showcase how water-wise varieties can help British gardens adapt to increasingly hot, dry summers. The presentation will also highlight the wide range of plant material grown by ANVE members across Italy’s leading nursery regions. Followed by an informal networking reception with complimentary refreshments.
From 3.45pm: EU reset/SPS agreement drop-in
Discussions with Defra on table outside seminar area Discussions with Defra on the table outside the seminar area (3.45-4.45pm for visitors and exhibitors, up to 5.15pm for exhibitors).
3 September
11.15am-12pm: Future-proofing nursery production — maximising investment in automation
Sponsored by Hortec
Steve Dunn, Hortec
Daryl McWhinnie, McLarens Nurseries
David Nieburg, Country Herbs
Steve Carter, Farplants
Chaired by HortWeek editor Matthew Appleby
With rising labour costs and chronic worker shortages squeezing margins, this practical expert panel will look at fully automated processes, advances in technology and the efficiencies they can bring. Forward-thinking UK nurseries McLarens, Farplants and Country Herbs will share their experiences, while Hortec will present the latest advances and options from manufacturers including Javo and Stolze.
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Sponsored by Durstons
Dan Durston, Durstons
Simon Blackhurst, Growing Media Association
Peter Burks, Garden Centre Association
Chaired by HortWeek editor Matthew Appleby
Commercial growers and retailers are often sceptical about what actually replaces peat. This panel will discuss Durston's trials that have proved peat-free composts can perform as well as peat-based ones. Guests will include experts who will reveal the latest peat policy, data and the sector's direction of travel.
Sponsored by Green Solutions
Join a “fireside chat” led by Helen Waddington of Perennial, the industry charity for everyone working in horticulture. Contribute to the insights Perennial is gaining from its series of focus groups with women working across horticulture to better understand the experiences, challenges and support needs of women in the industry, following a 20% rise in women reaching out for Perennial’s support.
