The Search

by Danny Summers

The search for what's new, in both plants and products is one of the most exciting experiences we have in the industry. The anticipation of what we may find as we prepare to attend industry trade shows and then actually walk onto the show floor helps kick the "excitement meter" off the scale. Admittedly, most of the time what we find may simply be a better "tweaked" version of what we already know and use. But when we do find something incredible, our reward for searching is fulfilled.

This past week many of us, in fact about 10,000 of our closest friends and peers, converged on Columbus, Ohio for Cultivate'23 with this high level of anticipation in mind. We had a large group of Retailers (many Group Centers) search the show on Sunday for incredible plants and products... and we found some. In fact, they nominated almost 70, then had to vote for their top 15 favorites that are the Retailers' Choice Awards™ for Cultivate'23!

Here's photos and names of the 15 winners. Keep in mind, all are equal winners! And be sure to download the full report (PDF) at the the bottom of the article. It contains lots of commentary, descriptions, and grower/vendor contact information. These are presented in alpha order, by company name.

These are some incredible plants and products. I am very thankful for everyone who was with us for this fun and productive search, nominating and judging for these plant and products awards.

Chris Beytes, Editor of Green Profit, produced a video of our award winners as well as some new technologies and even more plants. You can watch the video below... don't miss this!

Download the full report (PDF) HERE. This is the same report our three major Garden Retailer publications (Green Profit, Garden Center Magazine, and Lawn & Garden Retailer) received last Friday and you will be seeing these award winners in their emails, on their websites and in their printed publications in the days and weeks to come. But you get to see them first!

If you will be at Farwest'23 next month in Portland, Oregon, be sure to sign up below to be a judge for our Retailers' Choice Awards™. I hope to see you there!