Spring Meadow Nursery Owner Dale Deppe Honored for Industry Achievements
November 10, 2018 
Dale Deppe, Owner of Spring Meadow Nursery and a 47-year veteran of the horticulture industry, was presented with the Jackson Dawson Memorial Award during the Massachusetts Horticultural Society (MHS)’s Honorary Medals Dinner in Wellesley, MA, in October.
The Jackson Dawson Memorial Award is given for exceptional skill in the science or practice of hybridization or propagation of hardy, woody plants.
“It is an honor to receive this medal, which was created in memory of the great Jackson Dawson,” Deppe said. “He was the first plant propagator of the Arnold Arboretum and left quite a legacy for the woody ornamental world.”
Jackson Thornton Dawson raised more than 450,000 plants during his 43 years as propagator and superintendent of the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University. Honored posthumously by the MHS in 1927 with the creation of the Dawson Memorial Medal, Deppe becoming its 81st recipient.
Deppe has committed his career to plant propagation and serving the nursery industry. He founded Spring Meadow Nursery in 1981 and it has grown from a small propagation nursery to one of the largest providers of proprietary plant materials in North America.
Under Deppe’s guidance, Spring Meadow has thrived on the concept that everyone should have access to, and be able to profit from, superior new plants. Spring Meadow now has more than 450 varieties in its catalog, with more than 280 marketed under the Proven Winners ColorChoice line.
Spring Meadow introductions include Hydrangea paniculata ‘Limelight,’ which has become the standard by which other H. paniculata selections are judged. Other hydrangeas introductions include Incrediball Hydrangea arborescens, an improved ‘Annabelle’ with stronger stems and larger blooms, and Invincibelle Spirit II, the first H. arborescens with pink blooms, which has led the charge in raising more than $1,000,000 in donations for breast cancer research since its 2009 introduction.
Seven awards in total were presented during the event in the areas of horticultural skill, propagation, garden writing, leadership, and education, as well as the George Robert White Medal of Honor, which was awarded to Margaret Roach for her accomplishments as a garden communicator.
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