Cultivate 2027 · July 10–13, 2027 · Greater Columbus Convention Center, Columbus
Cultivate 2027 booths in Columbus that keep plants fresh and orders moving
Your booth shows growers and garden center buyers your new varieties at their best on day three, with availability in reach and a table to write the order. Fern runs the Columbus floor, and we file every Fern order and book the convention center riggers for your hanging sign.
- Jul 10–13 · Columbus
- 650+ exhibitors in 2026
- Fern is show contractor
Every last fee listed upfront, in full, on paper. 3,000+ exhibitors · 10,000+ booths built · 4.9★ client rating · Since 2015
Flowering plants and hanging baskets in a greenhouse
01 Purple at Cultivate 2027
What makes Cultivate different, and how we build for it
Cultivate is AmericanHort's yearly gathering of the whole green industry, and the floor runs on new plants. The New Varieties Zone puts hundreds of debut genetics in one place, the New Products Zone gathers hard goods and equipment about to reach market, and the Cultivate Live! Stage puts commerce in front of a seated crowd. Around the floor sit the State of the Industry Address, the Retailers' Choice Awards and the OSU Cultivar Trials. Greenhouse growers, nursery producers and garden center buyers walk the aisles to place orders, so a booth needs living product, clear availability and a place to write the order.
Plants shown at finished size beside the liner or plug, genetics and growing notes they can read in seconds, and staff who can talk crop timing and availability.
Retail-ready displays that show how a program sells on a bench, with tags, pots and point-of-sale, plus a table to settle the next season's order.
Products and plants shown in a planted context, durability and performance claims they can trust, and samples or specs to take back to a project.
Your team in Columbus
Two shops, one project manager, every hall
We build in our own production shop in Fishkill, NY, and our Las Vegas hub, ship to the Greater Columbus Convention Center, and install with our own project manager on the floor and vetted local labor. Predictable 30–45-day turnarounds, secure storage and pre-show QA.
Your team walks into a lit, stocked booth. You just show up.
02 Booths & pricing for Cultivate 2027
Popular booth sizes at Cultivate
Cultivate sells space in 10×10 units, and the floor mixes long inline runs of 10×10 and 10×20 suppliers with large breeder and brand islands. For a supplier with one program we recommend a 10×20 or 10×30 with plant benches and an order table; breeders launching new varieties do best on a 20×20 or larger island.
A planted feature wall, a retail bench showing the program as a garden center would sell it, and a small order table.
Shown: Riviera Towel Company, a Purple inline booth
See 10×20 rental booths →
Hero varieties on a two-tier bench in the first bay, a point-of-sale vignette with your pots and tags in the second, and an order table in the third with replacement flats stored behind it.
Shown: Piccolo Bambino, a Purple inline booth
See 10×30 rental booths →
An open island of staged plant displays by series, a hanging sign over the aisle and a meeting table for grower accounts.
Shown: egebant, a Purple island exhibit
See 20×20 rental booths →
Trial-garden style beds, a product demonstration zone for equipment or containers, private meeting space and back storage for plant swaps.
Shown: KSE Suppliers, a Purple island exhibit
See 20×30 rental booths →In Purple's price
- Design and a 3D rendering, revised until it is right
- Structure, printed graphics, counters and storage as specified
- Lighting and power distribution inside the booth
- Installation and dismantle, with our project manager on the floor
- Every show-service order and deadline tracked for you
Billed by the show and its contractor
- Booth space (paid to the organizer)
- Material handling / drayage, where the space rate does not include it
- Electrical service, internet and rigging
- Booth cleaning and any union labor the venue requires
Rates to plan with for Cultivate:
- Booth space $1,875 per 100 sq ft members, $2,575 non-members, 2027 source
- Island fee $3,000 flat, added to space, 2027 source
- Drayage About $130 per cwt, 200 lb minimum, 2026–2027 planning rate
We estimate every one of these on your proposal, so the total is on paper before you sign.
Prices are all-in 2026 rental ranges for design, structure, graphics, installation and dismantle; custom builds are quoted per project. Get an exact number for Cultivate with the booth cost calculator or read the 2026 booth cost guide.
Send the show, your booth size and what the space needs to do. We reply within one business day and send a rendering and a fixed proposal, usually within a week. No charge.
03 Built by Purple
Booths we have designed, built and installed
Case study · Fabuwood
Fabuwood at KBIS 2026, Orange County Convention Center, Orlando
An award-winning 13-room cabinetry environment with an illuminated brand portal and timber slat walls. Designed, built and installed by Purple; named one of the best booths on the floor.
Different industry, same problem: Fabuwood had to show cabinets the way they live in a home, and Cultivate suppliers must show plants the way they sell on a bench.
Read the Fabuwood case study All case studies →“Itzy and his team are the real deal. If you want to wow your potential customers at your next trade show, this is the team for you. They create the best custom and portable trade show exhibits by far.”
Sherri McManus, Corporate Training, The Lou Everett Group · more client reviews
Trusted by exhibitors including
04 Designing for horticulture, nursery and garden retail suppliers at Cultivate
Four things we get right for Cultivate exhibitors
1Keep the plants alive and looking fresh
Three show days in a closed hall is hard on live material. We design benches with drip trays and hidden reservoirs, leave room for replacement flats in storage, and plan a daily swap so the varieties look the same at close on Tuesday as at opening on Sunday.
2Light for true flower color
Hall lighting flattens reds, blues and variegated foliage. We specify high color rendering LED fixtures aimed at the plants, keep colored spill light off the blooms, and test your real samples so the color on the bench matches the catalog.
Build the booth around the order
Cultivate buyers come to book next season. Put the hero variety at the aisle, availability and pricing within reach, and a quiet table deeper in the booth where a garden center buyer and your rep can finish an order without blocking traffic.
Show how the program sells
Garden center owners want to see how a program sells. We build a bench vignette with your pots, tags and point-of-sale signage at retail height, so the buyer pictures it in their store and your marketing support is part of the pitch.
Concept rendering
Every proposal comes with a rendering like this
You see the booth in 3D before we cut a single panel: layout, graphics, lighting and product positions, revised until it is right. Shown: a Purple concept for snüz.
Start my Cultivate concept05 Greater Columbus Convention Center · Columbus
Logistics for Cultivate 2027, handled
The Greater Columbus Convention Center is a non-union building, so exhibitors and their contractors can assemble booths without union cards; outside labor collects a worker pass at the Fern Service Desk. Fern is the official service contractor and show decorator, and carpet, electric, material handling and cleaning are ordered through the Exhibitor Service Kit. Crates go to the Fern advance warehouse or arrive direct once move-in opens. Signs may reach 25 feet and 75 pounds, convention center personnel hang suspended signage, and carpet tape must be Polyken 105C. We file the Fern orders and install with our own project manager and vetted local labor; the Hyatt Regency Columbus connects by covered walkway.
Hall rules, drayage estimates and freight deadlines for this building are in our Greater Columbus Convention Center exhibitor guide.
Hall guide
Cultivate fills an 8+ acre trade show floor in the Greater Columbus Convention Center. These are the building and show areas that shape where and how your plants are seen.
The building has 373,000 square feet of contiguous exhibit space, and the Cultivate floor ran past 8 acres with 650+ exhibitors in 2026.
Our advice: A long floor means buyers pace themselves. Put your hero variety at the aisle edge so it reads from the next intersection.
A dedicated area on the floor where hundreds of debut plant genetics are shown together for growers and retail buyers.
Our advice: Enter your newest variety and repeat its name and booth number on your bench signage, so buyers walk from the zone to your order table.
Hard goods, containers and equipment about to reach market are gathered in one area of the trade show floor.
Our advice: Show the product there, then stage it at full scale in your booth with pricing and availability buyers can act on.
A floor stage that puts presentations and commerce in front of a seated crowd during trade show hours.
Our advice: A stage slot works when the booth carries the same visual. We print matching graphics so the audience recognizes you on the floor.
What Purple handles
- Fern Exhibitor Service Kit orders, electric and material handling
- Plant benches, reservoirs and storage for daily plant swaps
- Hanging sign design, rigging order and 25 foot height planning
- Freight to the Fern advance warehouse and drayage paperwork
- Installation, dismantle and return shipping, run by your Purple project manager
Timeline, counted back from move-in
Booth sales open (space sold in order): January 19, 2027. Space is sold in order from 11:00 am Eastern, so send us your footprint goals before then and we plan around the space you get.
We need design sign-off by early May 2027.
- January 19, 2027Cultivate booth sales open; we help you choose a footprint and position.
- Early May 2027Design sign-off, plant bench layout and hanging sign drawings approved.
- May to mid-June 2027Production in Fishkill, NY; graphics proofed against your plant photography and pot colors.
- Late June 2027Booth and fixtures ship to the Fern advance warehouse for Columbus.
- In the days before openingMove-in; our project manager runs the install, the hanging sign goes up with convention center riggers, and benches are staged for your live plants.
- July 11–13, 2027Trade show days, then dismantle after the 2 pm close on Tuesday and return freight.
Purple planning timeline. Official move-in, freight target and order deadlines come from your exhibitor kit and assigned schedule; we confirm them against your booth when you book.
Printable budget & deadline sheetCultivate exhibitor questions
Questions exhibitors ask us before Cultivate
How much does a booth at Cultivate 2027 cost?
Growers and breeders usually start with a 10×20 rental, which runs $7,500 to $15,000 with us; a custom 20×20 island with display benches runs $50,000 to $120,000. Plant benches, reservoirs and high color rendering lighting move the figure most. Booth space is a separate AmericanHort invoice, and Fern bills show services.
When do Cultivate 2027 booth sales open?
AmericanHort opens 2027 booth sales on January 19, 2027 at 11:00 am Eastern, and space goes in order, so returning exhibitors and new applicants should be ready that morning. We need design sign-off by early May 2027 to build in Fishkill and ship to the Fern advance warehouse in June.
How much is booth space at Cultivate?
AmericanHort lists inline space at $1,875 per 100 square feet for Premium and Plus members and $2,575 for non-members. Corners add $300, endcaps $500 and islands a $3,000 flat fee, and main-aisle space adds $300 per 100 square feet. That is the space alone; the booth itself is our proposal.
Can we rent a booth for Cultivate, and what does a rental include?
Yes. A rental covers the walls, your printed graphics, lighting, counters, shipping and installation, and we can pair it with custom plant benches. Many growers and breeders rent the structure and invest in display benches they reuse at Farwest and other regional green-industry shows.
Can we set up our own booth at the Greater Columbus Convention Center?
Yes. The building is non-union, so your staff can load, unload and assemble a booth without a union card, and outside contractors pick up a worker pass from the Fern Service Desk. Suspended signs are the exception: convention center personnel hang and remove them, and we order that service for you.
What are the hanging sign and height rules at Cultivate?
Under the cubic content rule you can build to 25 feet, as long as nothing reaches into the aisle airspace. Standing or hanging signs are capped at 25 feet tall and 75 pounds, and free-floating banners hang at least 12 feet above the booth floor. We draw the sign to those limits and book the riggers.
What does drayage cost at Cultivate and who pays it?
You pay material handling to Fern, by weight, whether crates come through the advance warehouse or straight to the dock. Our Columbus planning figure is about $130 per hundredweight for 2026 and 2027 with a 200-pound minimum. We weigh your crates and put the drayage estimate on the proposal before anything ships.
Do you handle Fern orders for Cultivate?
We read the Cultivate Exhibitor Service Kit, order carpet, electric, material handling, cleaning and sign rigging through Fern, and keep you copied on each order. You see every fee on our proposal first, so the Fern invoice holds no surprises when the show closes.
Can we reuse our Cultivate booth at other shows?
Our benches and walls are built in modules so one booth serves Cultivate in July, Farwest in Portland in August and the Nursery/Landscape EXPO in Houston. Between shows we store everything, refresh graphics for the new season and ship to the next advance warehouse on schedule.
Before you sign with anyone
Five questions to ask any exhibit builder for Cultivate:
- Is every fee on the proposal, including what the show contractor bills?
- Who builds the booth: your own shop or a subcontractor?
- Will your project manager be on the floor for install and dismantle?
- What exactly is in the rental, and what is billed by the show?
- Where does the booth go after the show, and what does storage cost?
Common situations
Already own a booth? We refresh the graphics, repair what is worn, ship it, install it and store it between shows. You keep the structure you paid for.
Exhibiting from outside the US? We are your team on the ground: freight to the advance warehouse, show-service orders, installation and storage, with one project manager answering your emails in your time zone.
Short on time? A rental with your graphics can be ready in two to three weeks. We tell you on the first call what is realistic for your date.
Get a proposal
Tell us about your Cultivate booth
What happens next
- We reply within one business day with questions about your products, goals and footprint.
- You get a concept rendering and a fixed proposal, usually within a week. Every last fee listed upfront, in full, on paper.
- We build in 30–45 days, ship to the advance warehouse and install before the hall opens.