Plant Heritage

What Plant Heritage does

Plant Heritage is a UK-registered charity, founded in 1978 and headquartered in Woking, Surrey, that is the sole UK organisation dedicated to conserving the diversity of cultivated garden plants. Its flagship scheme, the National Plant Collections®, comprises 730+ accredited collections held by individuals, nurseries, gardens, and institutions that together safeguard nearly 100,000 different plant varieties; a parallel Plant Guardian scheme enables individuals without space for a full collection to conserve rare plants. The charity also operates Persephone, a proprietary online plant recording database used by members and Collection Holders to document and track their plants, and runs an Annual Plant Exchange plus a network of UK local groups hosting plant fairs, talks, and workshops.

The organisation earns revenue through annual membership subscriptions (individual and joint tiers, with a £10 first-year discount), individual donations, corporate supporters, legacy giving, seed donations, and sponsorship of National Plant Collections. Its go-to-market is community-led and event-driven, anchored by a prominent presence at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show (where its first designer garden, the Missing Collector Garden, was exhibited in 2026 before relocating permanently to Chester Zoo), RHS Sandringham, RHS Garden Rosemoor, and local plant fairs across the country. Strategic partners include the RHS, Chester Zoo, National Trust, Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, Marsh Charitable Trust, Project Giving Back, and Shanly Foundation. The charity is led by CEO Gwen Hines and Chairman Sir Roderick Newton, with HRH King Charles III as patron.

Name

Plant Heritage

Legal name

Plant Heritage

Website

https://www.plantheritage.org.uk/

Company type

Private

Founded year

1978

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Plant Heritage is the UK's only charity dedicated to conserving cultivated garden plants, safeguarding nearly 100,000 plants across 730+ accredited National Plant Collections and serving hobbyist gardeners, collection holders, and partner gardens through memberships, donations, and conservation programs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Guildford

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Revenue model

1. Membership Subscriptions: Annual membership fees providing access to the Directory of National Plant Collections, Plant Heritage Journal (twice yearly), newsletters, local and national events, Plant Exchange participation, and voting rights at AGM.
2. Donations and Fundraising: Direct donations, corporate supporters, trusts and foundations, legacy giving (gifts in wills), and seed donations.
3. Sponsorship: Sponsorship of National Plant Collections by individuals or organizations.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

No source-backed description available.

Product overview

Plant Heritage is a UK conservation charity dedicated to protecting the diversity of garden plants. Its core offerings include the National Plant Collections scheme (safeguarding nearly 100,000 plants), the Plant Guardian scheme for individual plant conservation, and Persephone, an online plant recording database. The organization also runs the Missing Collector Garden initiative (featuring at RHS Chelsea 2026), organizes an Annual Plant Exchange, and provides membership benefits including the Plant Heritage Journal and Directory of National Collections. The charity connects members through local groups across the UK, hosting events, workshops, talks, and plant fairs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• National Plant Collections: The flagship scheme of Plant Heritage, holding over 730 National Plant Collections safeguarding nearly 100,000 plants.
• Plant Guardians
• Persephone
• Missing Collector Garden

Quantifiable outcome

• More than 40 new National Plant Collections accredited in 2025
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and minor.

• Royal Horticultural Society (RHS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMajor partnership for RHS Chelsea Flower Show presence, RHS Garden Rosemoor plant fairs, RHS Sandringham Flower Show, and joint conservation initiatives. RHS provides platform for Plant Heritage to showcase National Collections.
• Chester ZooflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to permanently house the Plant Heritage Missing Collector Garden after RHS Chelsea 2026. Chester Zoo holds five National Plant Collections and is recognized as an internationally important botanic garden by BGCI.
• Chartered Institute of HorticultureminorOthersListed as organizational partner on Plant Heritage website.
• Irish Garden Plant SocietyminorOthersListed as organizational partner on Plant Heritage website.
• National TrustcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as partner organization, collaborating on plant conservation initiatives.
• National Trust For ScotlandcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as partner organization, collaborating on plant conservation initiatives in Scotland.
• Royal Botanic Garden EdinburghcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as partner organization, collaborating on botanical plant conservation.
• Royal Botanic Gardens KewcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as partner organization, collaborating on plant conservation and research.
• Melcourt IndustriesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLongstanding partner providing peat-free growing products; site visits organized for members to learn about sustainable horticulture.
• The Planting Design CollectiveflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerTrio of designers (Sally-Anne Rees, Kate Campbell, William Murray) who designed the Plant Heritage Missing Collector Garden for RHS Chelsea 2026.
• How Green NurseryminorOthersSustainable peat-free, family-run nursery in Kent growing the majority of plants for the Missing Collector Garden.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Royal Horticultural Society: The UK's leading horticultural charity, with which Plant Heritage has a core strategic partnership across RHS Chelsea, Sandringham, and Rosemoor. RHS operates a much broader remit (gardens, shows, publications, membership) but overlaps with Plant Heritage on garden plant conservation, education, and member engagement.
• National Trust: Core Plant Heritage partner managing historic gardens and landscapes. National Trust's garden stewardship, plant collection curation, and conservation volunteer programmes materially overlap with Plant Heritage's National Plant Collections and local-group activities.
• The Wildlife Trusts: UK federation of 46 wildlife trusts using a similar local-group, volunteer-driven charitable model. While focused on wild biodiversity rather than cultivated plants, the operational structure (membership, local groups, national umbrella) is highly comparable to Plant Heritage.
• Eden Project: UK environmental and horticultural charity and visitor attraction with educational programmes around plants and sustainability. Overlaps with Plant Heritage on plant conservation storytelling, member engagement, and event-driven revenue.
• Fauna & Flora International (FFI): Long-established UK-based conservation charity with similar charity structure, donor base, and international partnerships. While focused on animal and wild species rather than cultivated plants, FFI provides a comparable model for scaling a UK conservation charity.

Direct peers

• Royal Botanic Gardens Kew: A core Plant Heritage partner and the UK's foremost plant science and conservation institution. Kew operates complementary plant conservation, research, and education programmes that overlap directly with Plant Heritage's mission to safeguard cultivated plant diversity.
• Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh: Listed Plant Heritage partner and Scotland's national botanic garden, engaged in plant conservation, horticulture training, and biodiversity research — directly comparable to Plant Heritage's cultivation-and-conservation focus.
• Plantlife: A UK-wide plant conservation charity focused on wild plants, habitats, and species recovery. Most direct peer in mission, audience (gardeners and conservationists), and UK charitable structure, though Plantlife emphasises wild flora while Plant Heritage focuses on cultivated garden plants.
• Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI): Recognised Chester Zoo as an internationally important botanic garden and operates the global network linking botanic gardens for plant conservation. BGCI's institutional focus and data-driven approach to plant diversity parallels Plant Heritage's Persephone and Collections work.

Regional players

• Irish Garden Plant Society: A listed Plant Heritage partner operating in Ireland, focused on garden plant conservation. Comparable mission and audience but geographically distinct, serving Irish rather than UK plant heritage.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookinstagram.com/plantheritage
• Instagraminstagram.com/plantheritage
• Xx.com/plantheritage

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Plant Heritage