Check out the Buzz for NJ Plants - NJ/NY’s Regional Nursery, Landscaping & Garden Center Trade Show & Conference

SPRING LAKE, NJ – The growing season is cooling off, but the buzz surrounding NJ PLANTS, an upcoming trade show for horticultural industries, is definitely heating up. Scheduled Jan. 25 and 26 at the New Jersey Convention Center in Edison, the exposition has already attracted an impressive array of companies that do business in the region’s green trades.

The show will draw together landscape professionals, garden center owners, nursery growers, suppliers and commercial groundskeepers to exchange ideas and develop connections that could make the season ahead more profitable.

Plant pros who work dawn to dusk most of the year often find it hard to network. The exhibition presented by MAC Events of Spring Lake is designed to pack opportunities to find valuable business allies into two short days at one convenient location.

Landscape contractors and designers will have a chance to preview the spring inventories of almost two dozen wholesale nurseries, many with useful specialties. Pinelands Nursery from Columbus focuses on native plants and stream stabilization supplies; Pleasant Run Nursery in Allentown specializes in new plant introductions and unusual woody ornamentals and Dean’s Evergreens in Monroeville has an expansive catalog of broad-leaf shrubs and conifers.

Although commercial horticulture leads the state’s agricultural sector, the show’s regional reach stretches beyond just New Jersey. The Perennial Farm, with locations in six Northeast states, has a huge inventory and a “Custom Grow” program to give designers exactly what they want.

Full-service landscape firms that install patios, decks and other hardscaping are always looking for competitive suppliers. They’ll see samples of new modular paving and wall blocks from Techo-Bloc, decking materials from Timber Tech, the latest in heavy equipment from Garden State Bobcat and irrigation equipment from Central Irrigation Supply and Aquarius Irrigation. Don’t forget the bulk material – Britton Industries is Central Jersey’s largest supplier of mulch, stone and top soil.

For landscape maintenance crews and public works departments, there will be dealers representing the leading names in mowers, including Storr Tractor for TORO products, Precision Work Inc. for Walker mowers, Roork’s Farm Supplies for BadBoy mowers and Kubota tractors and KPM Exceptional for Scag mowing equipment & Sno-Way snow plows and accessories – everything needed to deal with winter’s worst.

Garden center owners want well-grown plants in quantity to fly off their racks in spring and early summer. They should take a look at some of the state’s biggest growers, like Kube Pak of Allentown, Hionis Greenhouses of White House Station and Overdevest Nurseries in Shamong, NJ, which has an award-winning reputation for raising Proven Winners shrubs and Garden Splendor plants.

Supplies and marketing help for garden centers are also showcased. Out Front Portable Solutions encourages garden center owners to “Think Outside the Store” with shade canopies, plant display carts and cashiers tents. Border Concepts can deliver pottery, holiday décor, plant wagons, garden tools and more.

Knowledge is a powerful tool, too. MAC Events is partnering with the New Jersey Nursery and Landscape Association (NJNLA) to put together an outstanding roster of educational seminars and talks. Keynote speaker Rick Darke, a nationally-known author and designer, will discuss “Balancing Natives and Exotics” in the landscape, while horticultural expert Bruce Crawford, director of Rutgers Gardens, will highlight planting ideas for challenging locations.

Other speakers in the line-up include N.J. Secretary of Agriculture Doug Fisher; Patrick Cullina, vice president of horticulture for New York City’s High Line park; Heidi Hesselein of Pleasant Run Nursery; Curtis J. Friesen of Van Belle Nursery in British Columbia and business practices expert Matt Travis and many more… In addition, Rutgers University will provide continuing education classes and the NJLNA will offer certification training for pesticide applicators.

There’s something for everyone in this show, which is dedicated to helping green businesses grow. In a changing climate, where the economic outlook is as challenging as the weather, the industry can only benefit from a strong and united presence. This is one event no one in the trade can afford to miss.

MAC Events of Spring Lake has been producing trade and consumer shows for more than 40 years, including home shows and flower and garden shows in New Jersey, New Hampshire and Virginia. For more information on NJ PLANTS, visit www.NJ PlantShow.com or call (800) 332-3976.