MANTS 2027Baltimore booth costs, dates and deadlines: exhibitor guide
Order-writing in January: MANTS 2027 booths at the Baltimore halls
- Event dates
- January 13–15, 2027
- Exhibit hall
- January 13–15, 2027 (Wed–Thu 9 a.m.–5 p.m., Fri 8 a.m.–1 p.m.)
- Venue
- Baltimore Convention Center, Baltimore
4.9 client rating3,000+ exhibitorsIn business since 201510,000+ booths built
Quick answers
MANTS 2027 in 30 seconds
The short version for MANTS exhibitors. Each MANTS figure is sourced further down the page.
- When is MANTS 2027?
- January 13–15, 2027, at Baltimore Convention Center, Baltimore.
- When is the hall open at MANTS?
- January 13–15, 2027, Wed–Thu 9 a.m.–5 p.m., Fri 8 a.m.–1 p.m.
- How big is MANTS?
- 10,800+ attendees, 890+ exhibitors (2026 edition).
- What does a 10×20 booth cost all-in at MANTS?
- A Purple rental runs $7,500 – $15,000 with design, graphics, lighting, install and dismantle included. Space and show services are billed separately by MANTS.
- For MANTS, what is the next exhibitor deadline?
- Cancelling exhibit space after this date forfeits the entire fee: October 30, 2026.
Official MANTS 2027 links: MANTS 2027 floor planMANTS 2027 registrationMANTS 2027 hotelsMANTS 2027 scheduleMANTS 2027 booth space
Everything about MANTS 2027 in one place
MANTS 2027 fact sheet
| Official name | MANTS 2027, the Mid-Atlantic Nursery Trade Show |
|---|---|
| Event dates | January 13–15, 2027 |
| Exhibit hall dates | January 13–15, 2027 (Wed–Thu 9 a.m.–5 p.m., Fri 8 a.m.–1 p.m.) source |
| Venue | Baltimore Convention Center One West Pratt Street, Baltimore, MD 21201 |
| Organizer | Mid-Atlantic Nursery Trade Show, Inc. (sponsored by the Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia nursery and landscape associations) |
| Size (2026) | 10,800+ attendees · 890+ exhibitors source |
| Who attends | Landscape contractors, garden center owners, nursery and greenhouse growers, landscape designers, grounds managers and buyers; 84% authorize or influence purchasing (2026) |
| Next deadline | Cancelling exhibit space after this date forfeits the entire fee: October 30, 2026 source |
| Nearest airport | Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI) Light rail runs from BWI Marshall to downtown, per the MANTS travel page |
| Hotels | The Visit Baltimore Housing Bureau, which books the MANTS hotel block Official hotel page → |
| Official website | mants.com |
Official MANTS resources
MANTS 2027 calendar
MANTS 2027 dates and deadlines
Every date the organizer has published for MANTS, in order, with a link to the page that states it. The next date is highlighted.
- Cancelling exhibit space after this date forfeits the entire feeExhibitors source
- Early-bird registration ends ($20 per person, then $30)Attendees and extra exhibitor staff source
- New Product program submissions closeRegistered exhibitors source
- Exhibitors selected for the media presentation are notifiedNew Product entrants source
- Exhibitor move-in, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.Exhibitors source
- Move-in 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.; badge pickup opens 11 a.m. in the Pratt Street lobbyExhibitors source
- MANTS 2027 opens, 9 a.m.Exhibitors and attendees source
- Final half day, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.; move-out followsExhibitors source
01 Purple at MANTS 2027
Order-writing in January: MANTS 2027 booths at the Baltimore halls
We build MANTS booths that let a grower or hardgoods supplier write spring orders across a counter, with plant material staged the day before opening. Shepard handles show services, and Baltimore display install beyond a short staff allowance is Carpenters' work, so our project manager books the labor.
- Jan 13–15, 2027 · Baltimore
- 890+ exhibitors in 2026
- Sold out, waitlist open
What makes MANTS different, and how we build for it
MANTS has held every winter show at the Baltimore Convention Center since 1981 and calls itself one of the only horticulture trade shows in the country with no classroom education.All learning happens across the booth counter, while the Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia sponsor associations run their own conferences separately. The floor is sold out with a waiting list, exhibitors guard their years of seniority, and the 2026 show drew nearly 3,200 non-exhibiting buying companies. Exhibitors bring live trees, liners, pavers and equipment, and the Baltimore Convention Center's Diversion by Donation program collects the leftover plants and booth furniture when the Friday half day ends.
Plant availability, pricing and delivery windows for the spring install season, hardscape and lighting samples they can touch, and a rep who can quote a job list on the spot.
New plant introductions and branded programs that will sell off a bench in April, pre-season order terms, and point-of-sale material they can picture in their own store.
Liner and young-plant sources, containers, growing inputs and equipment, compared side by side across the halls in three days, with time to sit down and settle next season's supply.
Your team in Baltimore
Two shops behind your MANTS booth
We build in our own production shop in Fishkill, NY, and our Las Vegas hub, ship to the Baltimore Convention Center, and install with our own project manager on the floor and vetted local labor. Expect a 30–45-day build for MANTS, secure storage and a pre-show QA.
The booth is lit and stocked when your team reaches the Baltimore Convention Center. You just show up.
Inside MANTS 2027
Rules that shape your MANTS booth
Every MANTS exhibitor must contract directly with show management and may not sublet or share space with an unregistered company; violators face booth closure and loss of seniority. We design one brand per booth and keep partner products under your name.
At MANTS, electrical, water fill and drain, air, internet and audio-visual must be ordered from the Baltimore Convention Center's exclusive subcontractors, not from Shepard. We size lighting and irrigation demos to the circuits and water lines we order for you.
No one enters the MANTS floor without a badge, and during move-in exhibitors get color-coded wristbands at the staging lot, security or the show office. We register the install labor under your booth so install on January 11 and 12 starts without delays.
MANTS is sold out, and new exhibitors enter through a free waitlist application; cancellations after October 30 forfeit the whole exhibit fee and no-shows lose future space. We build kits that grow by one unit at a time as your space increases.
Programs worth planning for
Free for registered exhibitors: entries close December 11, 2026, go to registered media and the on-site Media Room, and a few are picked for an in-person media presentation, with notice by December 18.
Banner and window-cling sponsorships are the most popular, sold first come, first served, alongside named tiers such as Platinum, Gold, Silver, the Charles Street Lobby and the shuttle bus.
The Baltimore Convention Center collects live trees and plants, lumber, pavers, planters, promotional items and booth furnishings for local nonprofits; exhibitors register by QR code before move-out and mark items with blue tape.
MANTS is the East Coast's January green-industry marketplace, sold out with 890+ exhibitors in 2026; choose it over TPIE when your buyers are mid-Atlantic landscapers and garden centers rather than tropical foliage buyers. Compare MANTS with the other consumer products shows we build for →
consumer products at MANTS
The industry behind MANTS, in pictures
02 Booths & pricing for MANTS 2027
Popular booth sizes at MANTS
MANTS sells space in 8×10 or 10×10 units and exhibitors join them into larger footprints: the 2026 floor held 1,530+ booths for 890+ companies. Space is sold out, so you build on the footprint you already hold. We recommend a 10×20 or larger with a seated order counter and plant material at the aisle.
A printed back wall with your availability list and photos of mature plantings, a bench of live specimens at the aisle and a two-seat counter for writing spring orders.
Above: Funskool, a Purple inline booth
See 10×20 rental booths →
Multiple product lines, a small meeting nook
Above: Bright Starts, a Purple inline booth
See 10×30 rental booths →
A grower or hardgoods island with a small planted landscape, a paver or lighting vignette lit like a backyard at dusk, and a meeting table for garden center accounts.
Above: ACI Workwear, a Purple island exhibit
See 20×20 rental booths →
For equipment makers and large nurseries: machines on the floor, a planted display buyers can walk through, a sales office for key accounts and storage for catalogs and samples.
Above: Amazon, a Purple large-format exhibit
See 20×30 rental booths →In Purple's MANTS price
- A 3D rendering of your MANTS booth, revised until you approve it
- The structure, printed graphics, counters and storage your MANTS plan specifies
- Lighting plus power distribution within the booth at MANTS
- Setup and teardown, with our project manager on the MANTS floor
- Show-service orders and deadlines for MANTS, tracked on your behalf
Billed by MANTS and its contractor
- Booth space (paid to the organizer)
- Drayage, or material handling, when it is not in the MANTS space rate
- Electrical service, internet and rigging at the Baltimore Convention Center
- Booth cleaning and any union labor the Baltimore Convention Center requires
Rates to plan with for MANTS:
- Drayage, Purple's Baltimore venue guide About $140 per cwt, 200 lb minimum, Purple's 2026–2027 planning figure
- Staff badges $20 each to Dec 4, 2026, then $30; two free per unit source
- Hotels, 2027 MANTS rates $112 to $188 a night across the MANTS block source
- Parking, Lot C $10 to $25 a day, free shuttle to the halls source
Before you sign, your proposal already estimates each of these show charges, so the MANTS total is on paper.
All-in 2026 rental ranges: design, structure, graphics, installation and dismantle are included, and custom MANTS builds are quoted per project. Want an exact number for Baltimore? Use the booth cost calculator or the 2026 booth cost guide.
Send us your booth size for MANTS and what the space needs to do. You hear back within one business day, and a rendering with a fixed MANTS proposal usually follows within a week. No charge.
At MANTS, your team walks into a lit, stocked booth. You just show up.
03 Built by Purple
Built by our team: booths to compare for MANTS
Case study · Jack & Pup
Jack & Pup at a pet industry trade show
Built to stay busy all show long: a full dog-house booth that visitors instantly understood and could step inside.
Different product, same goal: Jack & Pup's dog-house booth let people grasp the product by stepping inside it, which is what a planted MANTS display does for a garden center buyer.
Read the Jack & Pup 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 Purple client reviews
Trusted by exhibitors including
04 Designing for nurseries, growers, hardgoods and landscape product suppliers at MANTS
Four things we get right for MANTS exhibitors
1Live plants staged on move-in Tuesday
MANTS move-in runs Monday, January 11 from 10 a.m. and Tuesday, January 12 until 6 p.m., the night before the halls open. We build the structure Monday and leave Tuesday for live material, so trees and perennials arrive from a cold truck as late as possible and look fresh at 9 a.m. Wednesday.
2No classroom, so the counter teaches
MANTS runs no education sessions; every conversation happens on the floor. We give your booth a demo surface for planting, pruning or installation tips, a screen loop of mature plantings, and printed growing guides, so landscape contractors leave with the advice they came to Baltimore for.
3Built for orders, not browsing
MANTS reported that 84 percent of its 2026 attendees authorize or influence purchasing and nearly 3,200 buying companies came. We plan a seated order station with power for a tablet or printer, a price and availability board at eye level, and lead retrieval ordered with your staff badges.
4Leave the plants in Baltimore
The Baltimore Convention Center's Diversion by Donation program takes live trees and plants, lumber, brick pavers, planters and booth furnishings for Baltimore nonprofits. We flag donated items with the blue tape the program asks for and ship home only the structure, which trims return freight after the Friday 1 p.m. close.
Concept rendering
Your proposal for MANTS includes a rendering like this one
See the MANTS booth in 3D first: layout, graphics, lighting and where products sit, revised until it is right and before any panel is cut. Pictured: a Purple concept for ProGo.
Start my MANTS conceptFloor at a glance
Where you could be at MANTS 2027
MANTS takes 300,000 square feet of contiguous exhibit space at the Baltimore Convention Center, the most available on one level. Booths are listed by number and hall letter on the MANTS interactive floor plan.
Exhibit halls, one contiguous level
Open January 13–14 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and January 15 from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.; food service is set up throughout the halls on show days.
Our advice Your hall letter goes on New Product entries and media materials, so we print it on the booth header and every handout.
Pratt Street Registration Lobby, third floor
Badge pickup opens Tuesday, January 12 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.; the Show Management Office sits one floor below and opens to exhibitors at 7:15 a.m.
Our advice Pick up badges Tuesday while we finish the booth, so your team walks straight to the floor at opening on Wednesday.
Charles Street Lobby
The second registration lobby, open from 8 a.m. on show days, with food service; MANTS sells it as a named sponsorship location.
Our advice If your booth sits near the Charles Street entrance, we face your strongest graphic toward it, since many buyers enter there.
05 Baltimore Convention Center · Baltimore
Logistics for MANTS 2027, handled
Shepard Exposition Services is the MANTS general service contractor and sends every exhibitor login details for its online kit: tables, carpet, labor and shipping. Electrical, water fill and drain, air, internet and audio-visual come only from the Baltimore Convention Center's exclusive subcontractors. Two full-time employees get a short window, roughly sixty minutes each way, to handle the display without a carpenter card; past it, display work belongs to the Carpenters and freight to the Teamsters, since Maryland is not a right-to-work state. MANTS hands out color-coded move-in wristbands at the staging lot, security or the show office. Our project manager leads install with vetted Baltimore labor.
MANTS exhibitors can find this building's hall rules, drayage estimates and freight deadlines in our Baltimore Convention Center exhibitor guide.
What Purple handles
- Booth design and build sized to your MANTS footprint
- Shepard orders for carpet, tables, labor and freight to the advance warehouse
- Electrical, water and internet orders with the convention center's exclusive providers
- Move-in timing so live plant material arrives Tuesday
- Diversion by Donation flagging and return freight for the structure only
- Our project manager on the Baltimore floor from move-in to dismantle
Your MANTS timeline, from move-in back
MANTS New Product program entries close: December 11, 2026. Entries go to registered media before the show, so send us your new product names and photos by early December and we match the booth graphics to them.
Design sign-off for MANTS is due by early November 2026.
- Late October to early November 2026Booth space confirmed through your MANTS seniority; we lay out the footprint on the 2027 interactive floor plan and plan plants, hardgoods and equipment.
- Early November 2026Design sign-off, about ten weeks before move-in; Shepard and Baltimore Convention Center utility orders drafted.
- November to December 2026Production in Fishkill, NY over 30 to 45 days; New Product entries filed by December 11 and staff badges bought before the December 4 early-bird close.
- Late December 2026Crates ship to Shepard's advance warehouse on the date in the kit; your live plant delivery is booked for Tuesday.
- January 11–12, 2027Move-in Monday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Tuesday 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.: structure first, then plants, lighting and graphics checked by our project manager.
- January 13–15, 2027Show days; dismantle starts after the Friday 1 p.m. close, donations are flagged for the convention center, and the booth goes to storage.
Purple's planning timeline for MANTS. We confirm the official move-in, freight target and order deadlines for the Baltimore Convention Center against your booth when you book; they come from your exhibitor kit and assigned schedule.
Print the MANTS budget & deadline sheetTravel to MANTS 2027
Getting to MANTS 2027: airport, hotels and parking
Fly in
Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI)
Light rail runs from BWI Marshall to downtown, per the MANTS travel page
Park
Lot C at Camden Yards, $10 to $25 a day with a free MANTS shuttle (2027)
Find the venue
Baltimore Convention Center
One West Pratt Street, Baltimore, MD 21201
Travel facts from mants.com.
MANTS by the numbers
MANTS year by year
How MANTS 2027 compares with other consumer products shows
The consumer products shows closest to MANTS on the calendar, with the latest size each organizer has published. Each show name opens our consumer products exhibitor guide for that show.
| Show | Dates | City | Latest published size |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dallas Total Home & Gift MarketDallas Market Center | January 6–12, 2027 | Dallas, TX | 200,000+ buyers a year (2027) |
| Surf ExpoSurf Expo | January 6–8, 2027 | Orlando, FL | 2,000+ retail companies · 600+ brands (2026) |
| ATA ShowArchery Trade Association (ATA) | January 7–10, 2027 | Indianapolis, IN | 7,500+ Supershow consumers attendees (2026) |
| NRF Retail's Big ShowNational Retail Federation (NRF) | January 10–12, 2027 | New York, NY | – |
| Halloween & Party ExpoClarion Events and the Halloween & Costume Association | January 11–13, 2027 | New Orleans, LA | – |
| PPAI ExpoPromotional Products Association International (PPAI) | January 11–14, 2027 | Las Vegas, NV | 10,000 distributors attendees · nearly 1,000 exhibitors (2026) |
| Atlanta MarketANDMORE | January 12–17, 2027 | Atlanta, GA | 15% rise (2026) |
| MANTSMid-Atlantic Nursery Trade Show | January 13–15, 2027 | Baltimore, MD | 10,800+ attendees · 890+ exhibitors (2026) |
| Northern GreenMinnesota Nursery & Landscape Association (MNLA) and Minnesota Turf and Grounds Foundation (MTGF) | January 19–21, 2027 | Saint Paul, MN | ~4,500 attendees expected (2027) |
| Sports Licensing & Tailgate ShowEmerald | January 20–22, 2027 | Las Vegas, NV | 115 License to Buy exhibitors (2026) |
MANTS exhibitor questions
Questions exhibitors ask us before MANTS
When is MANTS 2027?
MANTS 2027 runs Wednesday, January 13 to Friday, January 15, 2027. Wednesday and Thursday run a full 9-to-5 day, while Friday opens at 8 a.m. and closes at 1 p.m. Exhibitor move-in is Monday, January 11 and Tuesday, January 12.
Where is MANTS held?
At the Baltimore Convention Center, One West Pratt Street, home to every winter MANTS since 1981. The show uses 300,000 square feet of contiguous exhibit space, the most the building offers on one level. Future shows stay in Baltimore: January 5–7, 2028, January 10–12, 2029 and January 9–11, 2030.
How many people attend MANTS?
More than 10,800 horticulture professionals, counting exhibitors, attended MANTS 2026, with more than 890 exhibiting companies and nearly 3,200 non-exhibiting buying companies. In 2025 the count was 10,460 attendees and 923 exhibitors. Pennsylvania was the top attending state in 2026, at 18.8 percent of survey responses.
How do I get a booth at MANTS 2027?
MANTS is completely sold out and keeps an exhibitor waiting list. New companies submit the free online waitlist application on mants.com and can request as much space as they want; space opens as current exhibitors leave. Subletting or sharing a booth with an unregistered company is banned, so there is no shortcut through a partner's space.
How much does a booth at MANTS cost?
MANTS does not publish its space rate; exhibitors receive it with their contract. For the booth itself, a 10×20 rental from us runs $7,500 to $15,000 and a 20×20 custom island $50,000 to $120,000. At MANTS the price moves with live plant staging, planted landscapes, carpenter hours in Baltimore and freight weight.
Can we set up our own booth at the Baltimore Convention Center?
Only briefly. Your own full-time employees, two at most, get roughly sixty minutes at each end of the show to work on the display without a carpenter card. Beyond that, prefabricated display work is Carpenters' union work and freight is Teamsters' work in Baltimore. We file as your exhibitor-appointed contractor and order the union labor, so your team can focus on stocking plants.
Who is the general contractor for MANTS?
Shepard Exposition Services is the MANTS general service contractor. Shepard emails each exhibitor its kit login, and that kit covers tables, chairs, carpet, labor and shipping. Electrical, water, air, internet and audio-visual are ordered separately from the convention center's exclusive providers, per the MANTS exhibitor FAQ. We place both sets of orders and put every line on your proposal.
Can we bring live plants and trees to MANTS?
Nurseries and growers fill the MANTS floor with live material every January, and the convention center even runs a program to donate leftover trees and plants afterward. We schedule plant delivery for the Tuesday of move-in, plan water fill and drain from the venue's providers if you need it, and keep heavy containers on floor protection.
What are the MANTS 2027 exhibitor deadlines?
Staff badges beyond your two free passes per 8×10 or 10×10 cost $20 each through December 4, 2026, then $30. New Product program entries close December 11, 2026, and selected exhibitors hear by December 18. Move-in is January 11–12, 2027. We need design sign-off in early November to build in time.
What is the MANTS New Product program?
It is free publicity for registered exhibitors: you submit new plants, products or services by December 11, 2026, and MANTS shares every entry with registered media before the show and in the on-site Media Room. Organizers pick a few entries from different categories for an in-person media presentation and notify them by December 18.
Is MANTS open to the public?
MANTS is a green-industry trade show, and everyone needs a badge: no one is admitted to the floor without one. Registration costs $20 per person through December 4, 2026 and $30 after, for all three days. MANTS also bans suitcasing, so a company not registered with show management may not work from anyone's booth.
Where should MANTS exhibitors stay and park?
MANTS contracts rooms at hotels within walking distance, booked through the Visit Baltimore Housing Bureau; the Hilton Baltimore Inner Harbor and Hyatt Regency connect to the building, at $188 and $167 a night for 2027. Cars park at Lot C at Camden Yards for $10 to $25 a day, with a free MANTS shuttle.
Is MANTS worth exhibiting at?
For East Coast nurseries, growers and landscape suppliers it is the January order-writing show: 890+ companies exhibited in 2026 and most attendees buy or shape buying. The return comes from booking meetings before January, staffing all three days, and building a booth where orders get written, since there is no classroom program to pull buyers away.
Can we reuse our MANTS booth at other green industry shows?
A modular MANTS booth can travel to TPIE in Fort Lauderdale a week later, iLandscape near Chicago in February and Cultivate in Columbus in July, with graphics swapped for each audience. We store it between shows and refresh plant photos for each season.
Before you sign for MANTS
Five things to ask every builder quoting MANTS:
- Does the proposal list every fee, including the show contractor's bills?
- Who builds the MANTS booth: your own shop or a subcontractor?
- Will your own project manager be at MANTS for install and dismantle?
- What does the rental include, and what is billed by MANTS?
- Where does the booth go after MANTS, and what does storage cost?
Common situations
Already own a booth? We refresh the graphics, repair what is worn, ship it to the Baltimore Convention Center, install it and store it between shows. You keep using the structure you already paid for.
Exhibiting from outside the US? We are your team on the ground in Baltimore: 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 before MANTS.
Get a proposal
Tell us about your MANTS booth
What happens next
- You get a reply within one business day, asking about your products, goals and footprint at MANTS.
- Your MANTS concept rendering and fixed proposal usually arrive within a week. Each MANTS fee listed upfront and in full, on paper.
- Production runs 30–45 days, then we ship to the advance warehouse and install before the MANTS hall opens.