About Us

Who are we?

We are the repository responsible for herbaceous ornamental conservation in the USDA U.S. National Plant Germplasm System.  To keep our stakeholders informed about current news and activites, the OPGC staff publish a quarterly newsletter.

A Brief History

The OPGC was established on the Columbus campus of The Ohio State University in August, 1999, as the result of a cooperative agreement with the USDA Agricultural Research Service. As a result, the OPGC became part of the US National Plant Germplasm System (NPGS) which consists of twenty-four active germplasm repositories throughout the U.S.  All collections are backed up at the National Center for Genetic Resources Preservation (NCGRP) in Fort Collins, Colorado.

The OPGC works closely with the Department of Horticulture and Crop Science and other horticulture groups at The Ohio State University, other universities, and the horticulture industry.  Our goal is to conserve, assess and distribute herbaceous ornamental plant germplasm and to develop new techniques for conserving germplasm.