The new year brought the horticulture industry a new trade association. AmericanHort formally launched Jan. 1 with the consolidation of the American Nursery & Landscape Association and OFA — The Association of Horticulture Professionals. The members of both groups have been automatically enrolled in AmericanHort. According to the organization’s news release, the effort to bring the groups together was initiated by the volunteer leadership of each organization, in order to better meet the needs of the industry and the respective memberships. The members voted in September 2013 to approve the consolidation.

“It’s what our members want. We surveyed our members, spoke with them, and finally asked them to cast a ballot. Each time they told us they want a national association that unifies and serves the entire horticulture industry,” Mark Foertmeyer of Foertmeyer & Sons Greenhouse, the association’s first chairman of the board of directors, said in the release.

While AmericanHort is a new nonprofit corporation, it represents 220 years of service to the industry through the combined history of the two previous associations. “We will not forget the past as we rapidly move toward the future. We will continue the legacy of providing innovative education, industry promotion, developing consumer and professional markets, an expanding convention and trade show, and leading a powerful national government relations program,” Michael V. Geary, the president and chief executive officer of the organization, said in the release.

The mission of AmericanHort is to unite, promote and advance the industry through advocacy, collaboration, connectivity, education, market development and research. The vision developed by the new board of directors is to be a leading and unifying organization for the horticulture industry in order to cultivate successful businesses, and for the industry to enhance lives through the benefits of plants.

The new organization will represent the whole of the plant industry, including breeders, greenhouse and nursery growers, garden center retailers, distributors, interior and exterior landscapers, florists, students, educators, researchers, manufacturers and all of those who are part of the industry supply chain. AmericanHort will have its primary office in Columbus, OH, and an office in Washington, DC.

“We have the largest national nursery, greenhouse and garden retail membership of any horticulture association in the United States. Those communities will join together with breeders, distributors, interior and exterior landscape professionals, florists, students, educators, researchers, manufacturers, and the whole of the supply chain to represent our industry with one, strong voice and a greater base of volunteer, staff, and financial resources,” Dale Deppe of Spring Meadow Nursery, the association’s first vice chairman of the board of directors, said in the release.

“This is an exciting time for our industry,” said Geary.