- Gardeners were encouraged to buy more ‘perfect’ plants for bees since 2011
- But it has emerged they contain traces of pesticides which can kill the insects
- Royal Horticultural Society has now changed a logo to ‘plants for pollinators’
Plants sold by the Royal Horticultural Society as ‘perfect’ for bees have been found to carry traces of pesticides harmful to insects.
The gardening society unveiled a ‘perfect for pollinators’ logo in 2011 to encourage gardeners to buy more flowering plants in the hope of tackling a decline in bees.
But it seems the plants weren’t so perfect after all.
Research shows they contain residues of pesticides and fungicides, including neonicotinoids, which have been blamed for falling bee numbers.
Plants that were marked as ‘perfect’ for bees have been found to contain pesticides which have been blamed for falling bee numbers
The gardening society unveiled a ‘perfect for pollinators’ logo in 2011 to encourage gardeners to buy more flowering plants in the hope of tackling a decline in bees
However the Royal Horticulture Society is not scrapping the range and has instead changed the logo to ‘plants for pollinators’
Rather than scrapping the range, the RHS has now changed its logo to ‘plants for pollinators’, pictured.
Guy Barter of the RHS said: ‘Pollinators need flowering plants, and more flowering plants the better.
‘We’re not convinced they’re perfect any more, but they’re still good for pollinators.’
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