How to print UK plant passports on plant labels

What has to be on it

A UK plant passport is headed with the words “UK Plant Passport” and carries four pieces of information, each marked with its letter:

• A — the botanical name of the plant (species, or genus where allowed)
• B — the registration number of the business issuing the passport
• C — the traceability code, usually your batch or lot number
• D — the country of origin

Keep it separate from the rest of the label

A plant label also carries the common name, size, price and barcode. The passport must still be easy to tell apart from everything else, so give it its own box or area with the heading at the top, rather than mixing the four parts in with the sales information.

It has to be easy to read and hard to alter or rub off, so print it rather than hand-write it, and make sure the text is large enough to read on the smallest tag you use.

Where the passport goes

The passport is attached to the smallest unit you sell to another business. If you sell single plants, that's each plant's label. If you sell by the tray or the trolley, one passport on the tray or trolley can cover it — check that this is allowed for what you sell.

Getting the details right every time

• Print from the batch the plant came from, so A, C and D always match that batch
• Use the full botanical name, spelt the same way every time
• Use your batch number as the traceability code, so a label can be traced straight back to the batch
• Check D on grown-on stock: some plants change country of origin after being grown on, others don't
• Do the visual check and record it before the labels are printed and sent

Labels that survive a nursery

A passport that fades or peels off in the rain is no longer a passport. For plants that stand outside or get watered:

• Choose synthetic, waterproof label stock rather than paper
• Print with thermal transfer (with a ribbon) rather than direct thermal, which fades in sunlight
• Match the tag to the plant: loop-locks for trees and shrubs, stick-ins for pots, self-adhesive labels for pots and trays
• Test a label: leave one outside for a few weeks before printing thousands

Before you print a run

• Heading “UK Plant Passport”, with A, B, C and D all present
• The passport is in its own area, readable at the label's size
• The batch, botanical name and country of origin are correct
• The visual check for that batch has been done and recorded
• The label stock and printing will last as long as the plant is on sale

Where to check the official rules

• GOV.UK — plant passports and plant health guidance, including the passport format
• The Defra Plant Health Portal
• Your local APHA plant health inspector (England and Wales), or the Scottish Government's Horticulture & Marketing Unit (Scotland)

How HortiOwl helps

HortiOwl prints plant labels straight from your stock, with the passport taken from the batch, alongside the plant's name, photo, price and barcode — on the label printers you already have.