Why Landscaping Conferences Are Important to Your Business
The entire community of landscaping professionals is one of the most active professional industries. Every year, just in the USA, there are 100+ landscaping trade shows and conferences built to tackle some of the hardest challenges businesses in landscaping face.
Landscape and industry trade shows allow you to see the innovations, hear from experts, and network with other business professionals around the country to understand the pressures facing your business.
We have built a list of the top landscaping conferences to attend this year and beyond. This page is continually being updated with the newest landscape events, conferences, and learning courses for your industry.
VIVAHR will be attending many of the landscape conferences listed below. Be sure to come to say “hi” and pick up some swag. 😊
MANTS, a premier horticulture trade show, attracted over 11,000 attendees and 900 exhibitors last year. With 85% being decision-makers or influencers, it’s a hub for industry leaders. The 2024 edition promises a sold-out floor featuring plants, nursery stock, garden items, equipment, tools, and outdoor essentials, offering prime opportunities for learning and partnership-building.
The top green industry event in the Southeast is returning in 2024. This highly anticipated gathering offers landscape businesses an unparalleled opportunity to thrive, with a robust three-day education conference and a dynamic two-day Marketplace trade show.
Embark on a unique experience at the Indiana Green Expo 2024, a dynamic two-day Trade Show designed exclusively for turf and landscape professionals. Immerse yourself in unparalleled opportunities to connect with top-tier vendors and explore cutting-edge products and technology.
Attendees at the EXPO can experience firsthand the newest green technology and products showcased by over 250 exhibiting companies. ProGreen EXPO covers everything from irrigation and business services to garden centers, large power equipment, and beyond, making it the go-to event in the green industry where you can find all of this in one place.
iLandscape stands out as the go-to event for contemporary landscape professionals, and it truly caters to them. The tenth edition of the iLandscape show in 2023 drew an impressive attendance of over 7,000 individuals.
Exclusively dedicated to education and exhibits centered on technology in the green industry, The Lawn & Landscape Technology Conference stands out as the sole event of its kind. This conference is the premier gathering where industry professionals come together for opportunities in education, innovation, and building valuable partnerships.
Embark on the trade show journey of The Nursery/Landscape EXPO 2024, where industry leaders unite to nurture professional growth, share expertise, delve into emerging product trends in horticulture, and establish connections with colleagues. Explore more than 900 booths and seize educational opportunities to earn CEUs.
Featuring close to 350 exhibitors, Farwest provides a valuable entry point into the nursery and retail garden center industry. Regardless of your role as a grower, retailer, wholesale buyer, supplier, or landscape professional, Farwest presents a comprehensive trade show experience tailored to your needs.
Equip Exposition is an annual event designed to support the growth of businesses in landscaping, hardscaping, manufacturing, and dealerships. Explore a diverse array of products showcased across 1,000 exhibits and compare their features. This event is often referred to as the proving ground for industry innovations.
The ELEVATE conference and expo, organized by the National Association of Landscape Professionals, is a noteworthy educational and networking event annually. Tailored for professionals in landscape maintenance, lawn care, design build, irrigation, and horticulture, the event serves as a valuable platform for business growth. Attendees have the opportunity to stay informed about the latest trends and practices while fostering connections with skilled industry professionals.
How to plan for your upcoming Landscaping trade show and conference
Build your wish list: Before you go, make sure you create your list of key questions you’re facing right now in your business, industry, or team. These can be your talking points while meeting with peers or during Q&A time at the end of speaker presentations. It can also help keep you focused in the exhibitor area knowing who you should spend your time talking to.
Is there a conference app? Find out if there is a conference app. Download it before you go to see the latest announcements and potential peers, and mentors you can meet up with. The best relationships are built outside the HR conference. Find out where the after-parties and peer dinner groups are meeting. WiFi is not always a sure thing at the venue. Make sure you download the app before you go.
Get your Twitter account ready – A lot of the conference chatter happens via a Twitter hashtag thread. Find out what the conference hashtag will be, and save it in your search preferences in your Twitter mobile app. Engage. These events are so much better when you can share what you’ve learned, insights, and tips with other landscaping professionals. Great way to see who else is attending and who you may want to follow on Twitter for post-event conversations and networking.
Block out time for meetings. The relationships you make will be better than the presenter’s message (sorry speakers! I know you agree though 🙂 Find time in the conference schedule to have one on one coffee connections or lunch meetings. Get to know other professionals. Many people take the time to build support groups or masterminds with other landscape professionals. Allows them to have a trusted community of contacts to share ideas and grow alongside.
Take advantage of the early-bird sessions. The more well-known speakers are scheduled during the meat & potatoes time slots of the conference. However, some of my favorite sessions during professional conferences have happened during the pre-conference time slots. The ‘up-and-comers’ are speaking and putting a TON into their presentations. Don’t overlook the newbies to the speaking scene.
Joshua F.
Redline Electric & Solar
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Types Of Landscape Conference Educational Content
Laws and Regulations
Safety – OSHA Inspections
Sustainability
Labor Law Compliance
Sales and Customer Success
Recruiting and Talent Acquisition
Training and Development
Each of these categories of learning content at a landscaping conference will educate you about the current pain points you may be facing. Some of the larger conferences will have breakout sessions for each of these categories, but you will gather more depth at a dedicated conference educating around a very specific niche.
