Year-round Plant Care, & Care Products, from label QR codes

Jo Davey, Sales and Marketing Director at Whartons Nurseries on their stand at Four Oaks 2026

(If this story seems familiar, perhaps you saw it in HortWeek?)

Press Release

Sep 1, 2026

THE UK’s largest grower of roses, Whartons Nurseries, have begun printing QR codes on their roses’ labels, that take the customer to a comprehensive page of plant information, with photos, description, and year-round care guides - featuring recommended Care Products.

Whartons Nurseries, based in Diss, Norfolk, supplies its award-winning UK-grown roses wholesale to the majority of the UK’s garden centres. It partnered with Joy of Plants in 2021 to supply its retailers with sales tools, and is now launching QR codes on plant labels to deliver the information needed to make plant sales and to care for plants after purchase.

“It’s great for the industry if we can sell the right Care Product with every plant,” said Jo Davey, Sales and Marketing Director at Whartons. “And if the customer has the right care information and Care Product, at any time before or after purchase, that means more successful customers - and successful customers are returning customers.

“This kind of plant and care information, focused and continuously updated, is exactly what younger customers expect with products nowadays. And anything that brings younger customers to our plants helps us all.

Point your phone camera at the QR code!

“The ‘Plant Info Pages’ are provided by Joy of Plants Ltd - the same pages as shown in their Plant Finder app, popular with Garden Centres for their staff phones, loyalty apps, websites and kiosks etc.

“Joy of Plants have made it really easy for us to do. And we can track scans of the QR codes too.”

Jo’s favourite rose from the first batch of roses to have the QR codes on their labels is “‘Orchid Romantica®’ - a beautiful pink rose that’s highly scented with ruffled petals. A small floribunda shrub rose, it’s great for pots and small gardens, flowering from June to October.”

“The ‘Plant Info Pages’ we display are branded to the grower,” said Terri Jones, MD at Joy of Plants, “and can either describe the care products generically, or automatically recommend the grower’s preferred brands, complete with images of the particular Care Products.”

Terri’s choice of rose is another pink rose “‘See You® in Rosé’ – a lovely Persica type rose, with open flowers that are hugely attractive to bees. Being a Persica rose, descended from roses native to Iran and Afghanistan, it will do well in hot, dry summers. It’s small, so is a great choice for a small garden. And I just love the name.”

Whartons Nurseries are exhibiting at Four Oaks 2026 and can be found on stand B29.

For further media details, please contact Jo Davey, Sales and Marketing Director of Whartons Nurseries, on 01379 606020 or jo.davey@whartons.co.uk

For details of Joy of Plants, please contact Terri Jones, MD of Joy of Plants, on 07717 532323 or terri@joyofplants.com, visit www.joyofplants.com, or follow the company on LinkedIn via www.linkedin.com/company/joy-of-plants

ENDS