Schedule of Events

Exhibit Hall Foyer

Exhibit Hall Foyer

Missouri Main Stage

Garden Center magazine Editor Patrick Alan Coleman will present an overview of data from Garden Center’s 2024 State of the Industry study, highlighting key insights from participants about the overall health of the industry, most profitable departments, revenue changes and much more. For those who read the 2024 report, this talk will be a deeper dive into the research that was not previously presented. Patrick will also share preliminary insights from the 2025 State of the Industry report, data which is being collected now.

Missouri Main Stage

Ready to boost sales and connect with today's customers? Join this interactive session and learn how to transform Garden Media Group's 2026 Garden Trends into concrete sales strategies. Garden Media's president and trendspotter, Katie Dubow, will dissect three to four of the company’s key trends, provide actionable advice on product selection, irresistible visual merchandising tips, effective cross-merchandising ideas, and targeted marketing strategies. Whether you're aiming for a store refresh or simply want to stay ahead of the curve, this session will give you the insights you need to thrive in 2026.

Missouri Main Stage

Today's customers want more from their shopping experience — are you ready to deliver? Square's annual Future of Retail report is based on insights from 4,000 consumers, revealing trends in evolving shopping preferences, and actionable tips you can implement in your garden center today. Join a conversation with Claire Allen, Retail Product Marketing Manager at Square, and industry expert, Anthony Domico, IT Manager at Vinland Valley Nursery as they unpack this year's key trends, and share real life examples on how they’re using these insights to grow their businesses. What you’ll learn: How to reach more customers by creating seamless in-store and online experiences, how to build a resilient business by adding new revenue streams, the latest consumer payment and communication preferences, how loyalty programs and personalized offers can keep customers engaged, and more. Join us for actionable strategies to boost sales, strengthen loyalty, and fuel growth this year and beyond.

Kansas City Session Room

Tim spent two decades working in garden centers before joining The Garden Center Group in 2019 to help members with financial analysis and management. In this session, Tim will detail what he is tracking in the Group’s Weekly Department Review – which includes insights from more than 110 member garden centers – including transaction counts, average sales, inventory levels, general trends, and other KPIs, as well as key insights from the 2024 Profit and Loss Study. This session will help garden centers benchmark their businesses and provide attendees with the opportunity to get advice on the biggest financial questions and challenges facing IGCs today.

Missouri Main Stage

The idea that a family business “will take care of us" is a common one — but it only becomes true if you plan for it. All leaders need to formalize a plan to exit the business or role, and it’s important that transition of a company you’ve devoted your life to is strategic and not left up to chance. In this session, we’ll dive into how Reems Creek Nursery navigated not only succession planning, but also a sale leaseback and business relocation. Susan Reavis, a second-generation owner, and her son-in-law, co-owner David Williams, will share the challenges and triumphs of developing a succession plan to transition the company from Susan to David, executing a sale-leaseback strategy, and what factors led to them deciding to move their business to a new location. Moderated by Chris Cimaglio, a certified exit plan advisor and succession planning expert and managing partner of BEST Human Capital & Advisory Group and PivotPoint Business Solutions, attendees will walk away with best practices and tips for building a solid succession plan that ensures business continuity.

Missouri Main Stage

Stephanie's grandfather built Stuckey's into an empire — a roadside oasis that redefined America. How did he do it? What lessons can we learn from W.S. Stuckey that can be applied today? Stephanie finds wisdom in the past to define her future and how she runs Stuckey's.

Missouri Main Stage

Exhibit Hall Foyer

Kansas City Session Room

For the first time in history, 5 generations collide in the workforce: The Silent Generation, Baby Boomers, Generation X, Millennials, and Generation Z. However, the workforce faces mass retirements from the Baby Boomer generation every day. Generation Z is quickly infiltrating the industry, and Millennials are stepping up to take over the preceding leadership positions, bringing new ideas surrounding technology, management and communication styles, company culture, and personal and professional values and expectations. In this seminar, we will share various perspectives inspired by professionals across the four prominent generations in the workforce today (Boomers, X, Millennials, and Z) providing insight into what once was versus today’s reality.

You will learn the following:

• What the current understanding of the state of the industry is from the perspective of each generation, as well as thoughts and feelings on these changes
• How leaders are managing and accommodating today’s workplace standards on company culture, communication, and work-life balance
•  Advice and insight on best practices when it comes to working alongside various generations and implementing and embracing change.

Missouri Main Stage

The spotlight is on AI (Artificial Intelligence) and how businesses can use this technology to increase efficiencies. Independent garden centers that take time to learn more about it and use it as a tool are going to win. This session will break down both the capabilities and limitations of AI, and how retailers can use the technology to support everything from customer service to education to email marketing to automating recurring tasks. Knowledge has always been a key differentiator for IGCs, and this talk will break down how businesses can retain that advantage while enhancing other aspects of their stores.  

Kansas City Session Room

Learn how to overcome labor shortages, grow revenue, and optimize inventory by leveraging AI. In this session, we’ll cover tactical tools and insights — relevant to all green industry owners and operators!

Kansas City Session Room

An employee’s perception of the workers' compensation process is just as significant as the quality of care provided while they are recovering from an injury. Employers have the power to have a positive impact based on effective communication and detailed information shared with healthcare providers. Rob will review cases in which both communication and documentation have benefited or hindered this experience, and he will share strategies to help businesses mitigate prolonged work injury claims.

Missouri Main Stage

Cleveland-based Petitti Garden Centers opened its 10th retail location this spring. President A.J. Petitti says he’s been hoping to open a store in Bath Township, Ohio, for two decades. The process to purchase the building started in May 2023, and after a lengthy rezoning process, construction began in March 2024, with the former office building transforming into a light-filled 30,000-square-foot garden center. Two greenhouses for Petitti’s live plant material will also be on the property, which happens to be right next door to a Lowe’s. In this session, Petitti will share lessons learned from the process, which was more expensive and complicated than when the company built three garden centers in 2018. He’ll share what has evolved in the building process, why the location was right despite a big box being next door, and what other owners should consider when expanding.

Missouri Main Stage

Join two trailblazing horticulture industry business owners as they discuss proven strategies for building a resilient and rewarding company culture—one that supports both your people and increases your bottom line. This session will dive into the tangible benefits of financial transparency, why profit-sharing may be a more practical option over bonuses, the long-term value of investing in full-time team members, and how cross-training during the onboarding process and beyond can prevent burnout and boost morale. You’ll walk away with tips for implementing these strategies at your garden center to attract solution-focused, career-minded professionals, increase retention, and create a more stable, empowered, and productive workforce.

Kansas City Session Room

For more than five decades, Sloat Garden Center has built a pottery business rooted in long-standing relationships and international sourcing. In this candid, numbers-backed session, Zack Straus, president and CFO, breaks down how you can increase your margins by not solely relying on distributors — without sacrificing quality, convenience or selection.

We’ll explore how direct importing — even at a small scale — can yield significantly higher gross margins on pottery (including freight, taxes, and delivery), compared to the typical margins most retailers see. Learn how one container per year can cut your cost of goods and how options for how smaller companies can benefit.

Missouri Main Stage

Independent garden centers have long offered more than plants and have created experiences and offerings that set them apart from big box competitors. In this panel discussion, leaders from exceptional, Kansas-City area garden centers will dive into the various ways they’ve created a “third place” and ideas that have helped make their company’s destinations. Family Tree Nursery has long focused on experiential retailing, and its in-store café in Shawnee has been so successful that the company added a coffee truck at its Liberty store and plans to build out a permanent cafe in the Overland Park location. Colonial Gardens has 400+ public events on their calendar for the 2025 season – everything from Alpaca Brunches to Plant Bingo from Music in the Garden to Farm-to-Table Dinners. These experiences and spaces – made possible in part with efforts to create unique zoning – drive engagement with customers. Colonial will also explain the effects of the business’ current restructuring and how efforts in creating these experiences are a driving force for not only traffic and increasing the average order value (AOV), but how this community outreach has helped foster a devoted and supportive clientele. Each speaker on the panel will share key lessons and takeaways on how they’ve built and created these additional revenue streams and branding opportunities that complement their garden centers and have helped transform their businesses.

Chicken N Pickle

Join us as we wrap up the conference and celebrate the independent garden center industry with a casual evening of conversations, connections and friendly competition at the Kansas City-founded Chicken N Pickle.

This roof-top reception will include plenty of food (sourced from local farms) and an open bar, thanks to the generous support of our sponsors, Endless Summer and First Editions. Attendees also have access to pickleball courts and yard games, including cornhole, ping-pong and life-size Battleship.

After an engaging week of learning and networking, come unwind, play and hang out with us!

To attend the Garden Center Conference & Expo Chicken N Pickle After Party, attendees must be registered with a Conference & Expo Pass and must add on the reception during the registration process when registering for the event. We encourage anyone interested in participating to register as soon as possible as space is limited and this event will reach capacity. Each attendee must register themselves.

Please note: Expo Only Pass holders are not eligible to attend.

CLICK HERE for more information.