HRI Celebrates $240,000 in Contributions

HRI Research • January 20, 2020

The Horticultural Research Institute (HRI), the AmericanHort foundation, is pleased to announce the receipt of $240,000 in donations during its summer reception, held in conjunction with Cultivate’19 in Columbus, OH.

More than 150 industry professionals attended the summer reception, which celebrated HRI supporters. The reception recognized more than $240,000 in donations supporting horticultural scholarships and research.

Friends and family of the late Gunter Mecking attended and announced the creation of the Gunter Mecking Scholarship Fund. This fund, created with the financial support of numerous donors including the Mecking family, Peter Orum, Gabriel Lambert, and K.C. Browne, will support a new generation of horticulture students as they work to earn degrees.

Albert J. Gates III of Pro Packaging, LLC became the most recent member of HRI’s Heritage Circle with an announcement of a planned gift to HRI that will establish a scholarship fund in his name. Planned gifts like this one create a permanent legacy through the eventual establishment of endowed research and scholarship funds.

Long-time HRI supporter Peter Orum (Midwest Groundcovers) was on hand to present a donation from Platt Hill to the John B. “Jack” Hill Memorial Research Fund. Hill’s donation of $75,000 elevates this fund, which celebrates the memory of Hill’s father, to HRI’s Platinum Circle.

Two organizations were celebrated for completing fund pledges to HRI during the reception. The Alabama Nursery & Landscape Association Research Fund reached $25,000 and joined HRI’s Silver Circle and the IPPS Southern Region of North America Fund reached $50,000 and joined HRI’s Gold Circle. Funds created by organizations like Southern Region IPPS and ALNLA provide enduring research benefits for their stakeholders.

Spring Meadow Nursery and the Deppe family were recognized for a milestone: the Spring Meadow – Proven Winners Research and Scholarship Fund exceeded $900,000 this summer. This fund was created in 1994 by Dale and Liz Deppe with an initial gift of $5,000 toward a $20,000 goal. Originally created to exclusively fund research, the fund expanded in 2004 to create scholarships for horticulture students. To date, this fund has granted nearly $150,000 in research grants and over $75,000 in scholarships.

Additional gifts were made by donors to honor loved ones, including donations made to celebrate industry icon Ernest Wertheim’s 100th birthday.

Monies raised from the donations made during events like this, and throughout the year, fund the activities of the Horticultural Research Institute’s research and scholarship programs, along with educational outreach activities for the organization.

HRI tackles the biggest challenges—everything from disease management to water quality and availability—to bring you the information and best practices you need to perform better, grow faster, and prepare for the future.

###

The Horticultural Research Institute (HRI), the research affiliate of AmericanHort, has provided over $7.5 million in funds since 1962 to research projects covering a broad range of production, environmental, and business issues important to the green industry. Over $13 million is committed to the endowment by individuals, corporations, and associations. For more information about HRI, its grant-funded research, scholarships, or programming, visit www.hriresearch.org or contact Jennifer Gray at 614.884.1155.

< Older Post

Newer Post >

Share This Post

Soilless Substrate Science - Ushering in the Next Generation of Growing Media

By Jennifer Gray • May 28, 2026

Soilless Substrate Science (S3) is a national transdisciplinary collaboration developed to support growers as we advance to the next generation of substrates. Our team is leading North American efforts to develop new substrate materials and techniques, and working with growers to support implementation, as we support the global transition to substrates that go Beyond Peat. In this webinar, Dr. Jeb Fields will discuss the S3 team efforts surrounding identification of new substrate materials, processing and development, and grower support. We will explore wood fiber processing, sugarcane bagasse substrate development, stabilization of organic fibers, databasing substrate materials, and opportunities for growers to get involved. Overall, attendees will learn about US efforts to develop domestically-sourced substrates and advance substrate science as we move towards the next generation of substrate science. Our Speaker Dr. Jeb Fields is a production horticulturist who works with growers in Florida and throughout the country to support more effective and efficient production practices through his environmental nursery research program. Jeb’s primary interests include growing media & substrate science, irrigation & fertilizer management, whole plant-water relations and plant abiotic stress physiology. Jeb is an internationally recognized substrate scientist, the leader of the Beyond Peat project through the USDA Specialty Crops Research Initiative, and the national S3 (Soilless Substrate Science) team which pursues advancements of the global substrate industry and development sustainable substrate materials and practices, including substrate stratification. Jeb is the editor for Nursery & Landscape Insider, a biweekly e-newsletter from Ball Publishing, that reaches over 32,000 stakeholders worldwide. For his efforts, he has been recognized with numerous awards, honors, and leadership positions. Prior to joining UF, Jeb was a professor and research station director with the LSU AgCenter. Jeb studied at UF for his B.S., NC State University for his M.S., and Virginia Tech for his Ph.D. – with all degrees focusing on production horticulture.

A soft-focus background of varying shades of green, suggesting grass, foliage, or a forest landscape.

Understanding Why Rose Rosetting Disease Appears in Distinct Regions of a Shrub Rose Plan

By Jennifer Gray • April 9, 2026

This webinar dives into the problem of rose rosette virus. Shrub roses consist of multiple canes attached to a root system and produce beautiful spring growth in the form of new flowering stems and branches. Experts will provide an overview of how rose rosette virus first attacks flowering growth and can move throughout the stem. At the same time rosette symptoms appear in mature distinct stems of a plant and may be absent from others. The research delves into understanding how the vascular system connects the flowering stems and above ground canes. The research is to understand how virus movement between adjacent stems and only appears to cause disease in a few but not all canes of the same plant. This research is important to explore potential management approaches to safeguard rose.

From Propagation to Consumers: HRI Research Powers Every Link in the Green Industry Supply Chain

By Jennifer Gray • March 24, 2026

The horticulture industry continues to change as new technologies, production practices, and consumer expectations reshape the marketplace. Research plays an essential role in helping growers, landscapers, and retailers adapt and succeed. That’s exactly where the Horticultural Research Institute (HRI) enters the chat. Every year, HRI selects and funds research projects that advance horticulture. In 2026, HRI is investing more than $560,000 in 18 research projects that target challenges across the horticultural supply chain, including plant production, pest and disease management, landscape plant performance, and consumer insights. “What makes HRI research so valuable is that it focuses on real challenges the industry is facing right now,” said Mark Yelanich, HRI President and Research Director at Metrolina Greenhouses. “The 2026 HRI-funded projects were selected because they develop knowledge, processes, or tools that businesses can actually use.” HRI’s four strategic research priorities guide funding decisions, focusing on quantifying plant benefits, creating innovative solutions, gathering consumer insights, and producing practical solutions to industry challenges. The 2026 projects reflect these priorities across the horticulture supply chain.