The Horticultural Research Institute (HRI) is proud to announce that it is the recipient of a generous $50,000 donation from the estate of William Flemer III. This donation will create the William Flemer III Fund within the HRI endowment.
William Flemer IV announced the fund during the HRI reception at the Mid-Atlantic Trade Show on January 12, 2012. Mr. Flemer stated, “His bequest to HRI exemplifies his lifelong devotion to the advancement of ornamental horticulture, and his abiding affection for the nursery industry and its people, his friends and their families, who have given their lives to the work he loved. His family shares that affection and appreciation, and is happy to know that, through HRI, valuable research, which will further improve this rewarding profession, will be his lasting legacy.”
William Flemer III was a third-generation nurseryman, born and raised on Princeton Nurseries in Kingston, New Jersey, where he lived for his entire life. He was president of that company from the mid-1960s through the 1980s. His life work was the selection, introduction, and promotion of a large number of superior shade tree cultivars.
Mr. Flemer's tree selection work was initially in response to the widespread loss of the American elm to Dutch Elm Disease in the 1950s. His first introduction was the 'Shademaster' honeylocust, which replicated the beloved vase shape of the elm without its disease susceptibility, and without the profuse seed pods and vicious thorns of seedling honeylocusts.
HRI's mission is to direct, fund, promote and communicate horticultural research, which increases the quality and value of ornamental plants, improves the productivity and profitability of the nursery and landscape industry, and protects and enhances the environment. HRI is an IRS-recognized 501(c) (3) tax-exempt research and educational foundation. To learn more about HRI visit www.HRIResearch.org.
