FANN moves 2018 Native Plant Show to the FALL

Scene from the 2017 Native Plant Show exhibit floor

FANN’s Board of Directors has decided to move the annual Native Plant Show, an education event for industry professionals, from the spring to the fall in 2018. The 6th Annual Native Plant Show will take place Thursday-Friday, Oct. 18-19, 2018 at the Bradenton Area Convention Center in Palmetto, Manatee County, Florida.

The 2017 spring show had the highest attendance in three years, with 283 attendees in addition to 47 exhibitors and booth staff. Seventy percent of the attendees at the 2017 Bradenton show were first-time attendees. Nearly 20% of attendees were registered landscape architects, consistent with prior years. However, many exhibitors and show volunteers believe that a fall schedule may better accommodate landscape contractors, installers and maintenance companies.

The Native Plant Show is a focused, intimate education event that combines native plant exhibits with continuing education classes to help industry professionals get the practical, experience-based information and supplier networks they need to succeed with native plants. In addition to registered landscape architects, the show offers continuing education opportunities for APLD certified designers, FNGLA certified horticulture and landscape professionals, ISA certified arborists and industry professionals holding FDACS regulated licenses for commercial use of herbicides, pesticides and fertilizer.

While many Native Plant Show exhibitors also exhibit at other larger industry events, such as the FNGLA Landscape Show, the Native Plant Show consistently presents the largest and most diverse collection of commercially available native plants, including new and underutilized varieties, and brings together industry professionals focused on sustainability, with significant interest and experience in using native plants for urban landscapes and natural area restoration.