Cultivate Experiences

Morning Jolt! Keynote

AmericanHort State of the Industry Address 

8:00 AM - Battelle Grand Ballroom

Learn where our industry stands today and what the future holds. Our experts will provide insights on how to plan and navigate the changing market climate driven by rising costs, while also managing business challenges like labor and product availability. The latest thoughts on the political climate and regulatory policy and opportunities will also be shared.

Ken Fisher, President & CEO, AmericanHort

Craig Regelbrugge, Executive Vice President Advocacy, Research & Industry Relations

Charlie Hall, PhD, Chief Economist, AmericanHort

Hear from the industry’s most experienced leadership team

State of the Association - Ken Fisher, AmericanHort President & CEO

Inside Washington Perspective – Matt Mika, AmericanHort Vice President Advocacy & Government Affairs

Economic Update - Dr. Charlie Hall, AmericanHort Chief Economist

Women In Horticulture

A powerful, inspiring networking experience

12:00 PM - 1:30 PM - Short North Ballroom

This is a ticketed event, $65/person, which includes lunch. You may register when you register for Cultivate.

How to Stay Inspired

When You’re So Darn Tired

If anyone knows how to hold everything together with grace while feeling completely exhausted, it is the women in this industry. You lead teams. You solve problems. You manage details. You support everyone else. And somehow you are expected to stay positive while doing it all. This session feels less like a lecture and more like a deep exhale with a room full of women who get it.

Christine brings humor, real stories, and practical tools that speak directly to the experience of women who care deeply about their work and often put themselves last. Participants learn how to “compose and dispose” of worry so stress does not follow them from greenhouse to office to home. They uncover what truly restores their energy instead of relying on habits that simply keep them functioning.

Together, the room laughs, reflects, nods in recognition, and reconnects with the part of themselves that first loved this work. Christine shows how to use levity to strengthen relationships, how to flip the inner script when self-doubt creeps in, and how to choose an emotional state that supports both leadership and personal wellbeing.

This is uplifting without being fluffy. Practical without being heavy. Fun without being forgettable.

Media Sponsors

Retailers' Choice Awards

Cultivate Live! Stage on the trade show floor

by The Garden Center Group

AmericanHort is pleased to once again partner with The Garden Center Group to bring you the Retailers’ Choice Awards at Cultivate. These awards showcase the best new products to bring excitement and a high level of interest to garden retail stores in the coming season. Products are chosen by volunteer judges who search the Cultivate trade show floor for award winning products. Awards will be announced at this special program on Monday afternoon.

If are interested in being a judge for these awards, contact Danny Summers.

Unplugged

Unplugged is also an opportunity for celebration!

8:00 PM - 10:00 PM - Gaswerks 487 Park St, Columbus, OH 43215

The GrowerTalks/Ball Horticultural Company Young Grower Award and Green Profit/The Garden Center Group Young Retailer Award are presented to worthy candidates who demonstrate passion, creativity, leadership, and a desire to excel. Winners of the 2026 awards will be announced beginning at approximately 8:30 PM.

Awards brought to you by: GrowerTalks|Green Profit magazine, AmericanHort, Ball Horticultural Company, The Garden Center Group, and BASF.

Hosted by the AmericanHort GenNext Community, everyone is encouraged to make this THE networking event of their Cultivate experience. Come to Cultivate’s popular Unplugged event where you can relax, be yourself, and network with people with the same passion for plants, ambition for success, and hopes for the future of our industry. 

OSU Cultivar Trials

4:30 PM - 7:00 PM - Buses Depart from Connector

Don’t miss this brilliant showcase of more than 200 annual and perennial varieties on display at The Ohio State University Cultivar Trials. The trial gardens offer the opportunity to evaluate landscape and container performance in typical Central-Ohio conditions. Also come to enjoy a reception featuring live music, food, and drink, including a selection of Ohio wines (for those of legal age), compliments of the Department of Horticulture and Crop Science and the Ohio Grape Industry Committee. 

Free shuttle rides from the Convention Center are available at the Transportation Desk beginning at 4:30 PM. Final departure from OSU back to downtown Columbus is at 7:00 PM. Open to all attendees.

Franklin Park Conservatory & Botanical Gardens

5:00 PM - 7:30 PM - Buses Depart from Connector

If experiencing landscapes, botanic gardens, and conservatories makes your heart sing, you'll want to be sure to check out Columbus' own Franklin Park Conservatory and Botanical Gardens. You have our permission to get totally excited about an evening in the garden. Once onsite, there are two tour options available.

Free shuttle rides from the Convention Center are available at the Transportation Desk beginning at 5:00 PM. Final departure from Franklin Part back to downtown Columbus is at 7:30 PM. Open to all attendees. If you can’t join the tours on Monday, your registration pass will grant you free admission to Franklin Park Conservatory any time during Cultivate

Tour of the Scotts Miracle-Gro Foundation Children's Garden

Featuring sixteen different interactive experiences celebrating the Ohio landscape, the Garden's focus is on introducing and connecting children to the natural world, as well as renewing that connection for their parents and caregivers.

Tour of the Conservatory

The Conservatory’s extensive gardens and art collections pulse with life and bring the truly exotic wonders of nature right to you. Explore over 400 species of plants from around the world.

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