Study of Environmental Plant Performance, American Horticultural Society

The American Horticultural Society wants to make a nation of gardeners and a land of gardens, by exploring the vital connection between people and plants. Working toward that vision, the Cincinnati Town & Country Garden Club won the 1972 Founders Fund Award to support an AHS project for the study of highway planting under the effects of pollution.

The results were published in a practical pocket-sized pamphlet, Environmentally Tolerant Trees, Shrubs and Ground Covers, that was distributed nationwide at city, county and state levels. It found that many plants are faced with surviving unavoidable environmental stress brought about by the weakening factors of air pollution and general abuse by pedestrians, automobiles and animals. It recommended that a thorough horticultural study of existing site conditions be conducted in order to result in growth success for chosen plant species. “Proper planning can eliminate many planting failures and costly plant replacements,” it advised. Lists of successful plant material by Hardiness Zone were given and notes placed next to alkaline soil tolerant plants.

Though no longer in print, the pamphlet was an effective tool for successful highway planting in the early 1970’s.