The appeal will go some way towards helping the charity prevent potentially devastating diseases like Sudden Oak Death from wiping out some of its most precious and rare plant specimens.

The charity plans to grow extra stocks of its rarest species which are vulnerable to attack from virulent plant diseases, to ensure that those plants survive for future generations.

Already, the potentially devastating fungal disease Phytophthora ramorum – also known as Sudden Oak Death – has been found at a number of gardens in Scotland, including Trust gardens in the West of Scotland, notably Arduaine in Argyll and Inverewe in Ross-shire. A similar disease, Phytophthora kernoviae has been detected at Brodick on Arran.

The charity is working to raise £50,000 which it will use to accelerate propagation work to back up collections, speed up plant recording and database work for conservation, create an urgent action plan for plant disease outbreaks and prepare gardeners for the new challenges.

Conservation Services and Projects Director, Andrew Bachell said:

“We think carefully about when to ask the public for help and we felt that the threat to our plant collections was sufficiently serious to merit this approach. We decided that we had to act now to ensure that we can take the necessary steps to protect our plants for the future.”

Director of Development, Lorna Stoddart said:

“We are aiming to raise £50,000 with our threatened plants appeal which will be put to good use in our gardens all across Scotland, backing up our rare plants and ensuring we always have an ‘insurance policy’ to draw on, in the event of an outbreak of disease. A donation of £30 can pay for a precautionary test of an area already at risk from Sudden Oak Death.”

Donations to the appeal can be made at www.nts.org.uk/ThreatenedPlantsAppeal. The Trust is also mailing the appeal to 20,000 supporters across the country.

The charity is also working with the Scottish Government to set up a national working group which will develop plans to help protect the whole country from outbreaks of these diseases.

Head of Gardens and Landscape Services for the National Trust for Scotland, Jan Haenraets said:

“The Trust has some of the most incredible collections of plants in Scotland. We must make sure that we conserve and preserve them for future generations. Both Phytophthora ramorum and kernoviae are serious diseases for Scotland and present a real challenge for all gardeners – not just those caring for Trust plant collections.

“Our expert gardeners are working hard to contain the diseases, in line with advice from the Scottish Government. So far, the impact on plant collections has been contained, but we are concerned about the long-term implications.

“This fundraising will help us to reduce the risk of losing irreplaceable, important plants. It will also enable us to continue to invest in skills and knowledge, so that we can spot the warning signs of disease.

“Gardeners must work together to tackle this problem, that is why we are working with the Scottish Government and other stakeholders to establish a national working group to consider the issues involved in containing such potentially destructive diseases.”