Cultivate’26 connects growers, landscapers and outdoor living professionals

By Heidi J. Ellsworth. 

Through education, innovation and relationships, Cultivate’26 showed how horticulture is shaping the future of outdoor living. 

When OutdoorCoffeeShop® traveled to Columbus, Ohio, for Cultivate’26, we knew we were heading into one of the biggest gatherings in horticulture. What we did not fully expect was how directly the conversations would connect to outdoor living. Everywhere we turned, there were ideas contractors and landscapers could use to help customers create outdoor spaces that are healthier, more beautiful and built to last. 

A great place to start was with Heritage Landscape Supply Group during their hospitality events. Those gatherings had the kind of energy I love at shows like this. People were catching up, talking through what they were seeing on the floor and sharing what is really happening in the field. With strong industry partners supporting the events, the conversations showed how connected this industry becomes when growers, suppliers and contractors are working toward better solutions together. 

I also had the chance to sit down with Susie Anderson, marketing and project manager for Heritage Landscape Supply Group’s agronomics division. Susie talked about the work Heritage is doing with greenhouse and nursery growers while supporting the vendors who help those growers protect and strengthen their plants. For me, that conversation made the connection very clear. The same thinking that helps growers raise healthier plants is part of the story contractors are telling when they create landscapes that are beautiful and easy to maintain. 

Susie reminded us that Heritage reaches well beyond agronomics. The work they do touches the full outdoor environment in turn helping bring plant health, water management and design support into the spaces homeowners and commercial property owners enjoy every day. That is exactly why OutdoorCoffeeShop was there. We want to help contractors find the companies and ideas that make those outdoor spaces stronger from the ground up. 

That same theme carried into our visits with Heritage vendor partners. BASF had a fun LEGO® activity that pulled people in, but the real conversation was around helping greenhouse and nursery professionals protect their crops and improve plant health. The same was true across the show floor, where vendor conversations kept coming back to the support professionals need to do their best work for customers. 

Walking the show floor, I kept thinking about the conversations contractors and landscapers have every day with homeowners and building owners. People want outdoor spaces that look beautiful, but they also want those spaces to make sense long term. That is what made Cultivate so valuable. The ideas we found were not just interesting show pieces. They were practical solutions professionals could bring into the spaces they design and maintain. 

That came through clearly in my conversation with Eric Bishop of Urban Organics, a family owned compost and soil company based in Ohio. Eric shared how the company takes horse stable bedding that would otherwise head to a landfill and turn it into healthy, living compost. Because the bedding starts with clean wood shavings and natural organic material, Urban Organics can create a more consistent foundation for soil health. That careful process is behind the company’s Sweet Peet products, which serve garden centers and landscape professionals across the region. 

Eric also talked about Deep Roots; the newer brand Urban Organics is growing for a broader national audience. I loved hearing how they are taking that same family business mindset and building products for today’s growers. The line includes options that support both indoor and outdoor plants, giving homeowners and professionals another way to think about soil health. It was a great reminder that beautiful landscapes really do begin below the surface. 

Foremost was another booth that pulled us right in because sometimes the difference in an outdoor living space is that extra pop of color. Erica Santa, Foremost’s marketing director, shared how the company produces and sells young tropical plants from farms in Guatemala, Costa Rica and Central Florida. She was especially excited about curcumas because they bring dramatic color and beautiful foliage to containers that can move with the seasons. In warm climates, they can shine outside, and when the weather changes, they can come indoors. 

Then there was Woollets, and I have to say, this was one of those products that made us stop and ask more questions. Karen Mayhew, who runs the women-owned company with business partner Elaine Becker, explained how they take waste wool from sheep and turn it into a soil amendment and slow-release fertilizer. The wool is processed into small pellets that expand in the soil and help hold water where plants need it most. For contractors, that can mean less watering and healthier planting while also supporting a product that gives farmers a fair market for wool that might otherwise be thrown away. 

We also could not miss the plant introductions. Terra Nova Nurseries’ Heuchera FYRE WING Series brought the kind of creativity that makes this show so fun. It is the kind of plant story that gives contractors and garden centers something fresh to share with customers who are looking for something different. 

That is what I appreciated most about Cultivate’26. It was not just a show about plants; it was a reminder that every part of the green industry is connected. What growers are learning and producing today will show up tomorrow in the outdoor living spaces customers enjoy every day. 

OutdoorCoffeeShop will continue sharing these stories because this is exactly where our industry is going. Contractors are being asked to know more while recommending solutions that help customers make better decisions about their outdoor living spaces. Cultivate gave us a front-row look at the people and companies helping make that possible, and we are excited to keep bringing those conversations to the industry. Be sure to visit OutdoorCoffeeShop and watch our Cultivate coverage on the OutdoorCoffeeShop YouTube channel to hear directly from the industry leaders we met along the way.