History of the Standard Since 1921, the association has been involved in the creation of these standards. Its first edition of “Horticultural Standards” was published in 1923. From time to time, these standards were revised and expanded to meet the needs of the industry. After World War II the association elected to make the standards a national standard by adhering to the procedures of the American Standards Association. The first edition published under the procedures of the American Standards Association (forerunner of the current American National Standards Institute, or “ANSI”) was published on June 22, 1949.
The revisions included in the 2014 edition were developed by the association’s Horticultural Standards Committee from January, 2005, through August, 2013. The proposed revisions were then submitted to a “canvass list” comprising horticulture-focused societies, associations, companies, and individuals, and related government agencies for their review and endorsement in order to develop “evidence of industry consensus” to meet ANSI requirements for accredited national standards. The results of the canvass ballots unanimously approving the revisions were provided to ANSI and approved on April 14, 2014.