Part D of a UK plant passport is the country of origin, written as a two-letter ISO code. For plants you propagate yourself that's simply GB. For imported stock it depends on what has happened to the plants since they arrived, because the country of origin changes once plants have been grown on.
This guide summarises the GOV.UK rules for England and Wales. Check the current guidance before relying on it.
Changes expected in 2027. The UK and EU are negotiating a plant health (SPS) agreement. Government guidance says EU plant passports will replace UK plant passports, with the agreement intended to take effect in mid-2027. Details are not yet confirmed. This guide describes the rules in force today. Read the latest GOV.UK guidance.
The basics of part D
- Use the two-letter ISO code for the country or countries of origin.
- GB applies to the whole UK, including Northern Ireland.
- The country of origin is considered to have changed when plants have been grown on.
What counts as grown on
Plants are grown on if they have been any of the following:
- Potted, re-potted, grafted or rooted
- In active growth under protection for at least 2 weeks
- In active growth outside for at least 4 weeks
- Subject to a high risk of infestation by a quarantine organism, for example grown on premises that are under a statutory notice
Once any of these applies, the plants' country of origin is considered to have changed.
The exceptions: Xylella and plane hosts
Some host plants follow a stricter rule.
- Certain Xylella fastidiosa hosts and Ceratocystis platani hosts can only show GB after the plants have been in the UK for one year after import.
- In that first year they can still be sold, but only on a passport that states the original country of origin.
- For plane (Platanus) plants for planting, other than seeds, the GB code applies after that year.
The Xylella rules have their own list of plants and exceptions. Check the GOV.UK guidance and the list of regulated plants for any species you import, rather than assuming.
A worked example
Say you bring in a batch of container shrubs from the Netherlands:
| What happened | Part D on the passport |
|---|---|
| Arrive and are sold on as they are | NL |
| Re-potted into larger containers in the UK | GB: re-potting counts as growing on |
| Kept in active growth outside for 4 weeks or more | GB: grown on in the UK |
| The species is a listed Xylella host | Stays NL until the plants have been in the UK for one year |
The practical challenge is that one delivery can end up as several batches at different stages. Some are sold straight on, some are potted on, and some are held over a season.
Why this matters for your records
Your passport has to match reality, and an inspector may ask how you decided what to put in part D. That means knowing, for each batch:
- where it came from and when it arrived
- when it was potted, re-potted, grafted or rooted
- how long it has been in active growth, and where
- whether the species is a host plant with special rules
Kept on paper or in separate spreadsheets, that history is easy to lose. Kept against the batch, it's there when you print a label or answer a question.
How PlantDesk helps
PlantDesk holds the country of origin, supplier and passport details against every batch, and tracks each batch's lifecycle from arrival to sale. The information you need to decide part D stays with the plants it belongs to.
PlantDesk holds and produces the information; your nursery remains responsible for its authorisation and records.