On the road: Key takeaways from Cultivate’26

In mid-July, The GIE Media Horticulture Group spent several days in and around the Greater Columbus Convention Center for Cultivate. Here are a few highlights.

By Matt McClellan, Editor

Published September 08, 2026 | Updated September 15, 2026

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Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in the September 2026 print edition of Nursery Management under the headline “Cultivate’26.”

Robb McCormick

Above: AmericanHort Chief Economist Charlie Hall packed the keynote ballroom for his talk examining the industry’s economic performance. One takeaway: managing costs is becoming more important than chasing growth. Read our full recap.
Matt McClellan & Katie McDaniel

Above: Last month, you may have read about TALI in our LEAP Forward column. TALI, which stands for Terrestrial, Autonomous Laser-based Inventory, is a management system that counts trees, measures caliper and compares annual canopy growth. It’s being developed by Heping Zhu at the USDA Agriculture Research Service station in Wooster, Ohio, as well as other collaborators. Adam Clark, engineering technician at USDA-ARS ATRU in Wooster, led a demonstration of TALI’s capabilities at Cultivate. Many forward-thinking nurserymen were in attendance.

Above: Terra Nova Nurseries caught a lot of attention with their Heuchera Fyre Wing series. Each of the seven colors has deeply-cut, lacy foliage, imaginative names and matching fun dragon characters. The series received a Retailer’s Choice Award from the Garden Center Group.

Above: The biggest social media buzz of the show might have been when Martha Stewart was on the move. The home and garden legend toured the trade show on Monday, July 13, riding through the aisles on a golf cart, flanked by her head gardener, Ryan McCallister, and with security personnel keeping her path clear. She made several stops, notably at Star Roses and Plants, where she observed the Martha Stewart Rose, a hybrid tea rose in the Bloomables collection, and Miracle-Gro, a company in which she serves as chief gardening officer. Watch our video of the frenzy surrounding a celebrity sighting at Cultivate.

Above: New AmericanHort president and CEO Lionel van der Walt sat down with editor Matt McClellan at Cultivate’26 for an exclusive interview to discuss his background, his first impressions of the industry and his goals for leading the association. Watch the video.

Above: The GIE Media Horticulture Group was proud to welcome the following leaders into the Horticultural Industries Leadership Awards Class of 2026 (L-R): Angelo Petitti, founder, Petitti Garden Centers, Casa Verde Growers and Petitti Family Farms; Ken Fisher, who retired this year after a decade as AmericanHort’s CEO; Danny Shreckhise, owner, Shreckhise Nurseries; Vicki Lima, owner, Lima Greenhouses and Vicki’s Garden Center; Kelly Marcum, owner, Marcum’s Nursery; Peter Kruger, global product sourcing & development director, Ball Horticultural Company. A special thank you to Sprayer Depot, who helped make the 2026 HILA ceremony at Cultivate’26 possible. Look for profiles of each honoree in future issues, starting with the cover story of the very issue you’re holding.
Robb McCormick

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