FORT LAUDERDALE, FL — Fort Lauderdale is known as “the Venice of America” due to its more than 300 miles of navigable inland waterways and it’s also one of the world’s largest cruise ship ports with 3.6 million people cruising out of Port Everglades each year. But for a few days in January the city is abuzz for another reason, as over 6,000 people flock to the Broward County Convention Center, here, to celebrate the tropical plant industry. For anyone who grows, buys, or sells plants, or supports the people who do, the Tropical Plant Industry Exhibition is the place to be.

TPIE, produced by the Florida Nursery, Growers & Landscape Association and now in its 42nd year, took place Jan. 20-23 under the banner “Inspire, Innovate, Create,” and it didn’t disappoint. This year nearly 6,200 people were in attendance and filled the lush, garden-like atmosphere of the 200,000-square-foot exhibit hall.

Prior to the trade show, the TPIE Road Show with education on the go provided two separate opportunities for participants to learn how to enhance their design and marketing skills. The groups began their day with classroom instruction and then boarded buses for educational tours, one targeting garden center owners and managers who visited three premier garden centers in Fort Lauderdale, while the other focused on interiorscape professionals who headed to Homestead to visit three production facilities featuring pest management practices, color options and plant varieties for green wall applications.

TPIE’s opening session, “Trends and Mindsets-Creating Success Today by Anticipating Tomorrow’s Consumer Trends,” featured international trend watcher and analyst, Christine Boland, who gave her take on social, retail and consumer trends and ways to apply this information to increase sales and profits.

Then the exhibit hall opened with more than 400 exhibitors in over 800 booth spaces representing all sectors of the plant and landscape industry, most from Florida but others from around the U.S. and the world. Plant growers, breeders, suppliers of containers, packaging, grower supplies, material and equipment all exhibited their products, while buyers gathered around the booths conducting business. Interestingly, it was not uncommon to see exhibitors negotiating amongst themselves to make their own purchases.

Jennifer Nelis, director of communications and public relations at FNGLA, told The Produce News that it was a very successful show.

“Reports from exhibitors on lots and lots of orders being placed, reflecting the rise of business to parallel the industry’s economy,” said Nelis. “Definitely a sense that business is on the rise for Florida growers.”

Nelis shared a couple of additional positive surprises from TPIE. “In lieu of professional entertainment at the opening day reception, Suntory contracted with a local Future Farmers of America program to provide the entertainment. The value typically spent for that entertainment was given to the FFA club as a donation to enhance [its] programs,” Nelis said. “Also positive was a raffle for the National Foliage Foundation. In addition to businesses committing funds toward industry education and research, the raffle alone brought in nearly $3,000 in revenue. And the winner of the drawing, Regina Thomas from Farm Credit of Central Florida, donated half of her $1,000 prize back to the NFF; so $500 for her and $500 back into NFF’s industry research and education,” said Nelis.

AIFD designers taught various sessions in the TPIE Create Theater on how to incorporate upcoming trends into tropical plant designs and innovative repurposing ideas to encourage creative thinking in relation to new sales opportunities for foliage and tropical plants.

There was plenty of cool stuff at TPIE 2015 and there were many awards presented. Buyers were able to vote for their top 15 favorite plants and products, and there were judge’s choice awards, best booth awards, best show theme award, most unusual plant specimen award, etc. (See some of the award winners on page 80.) I personally think I earned the Most Tired Feet Award, but it was well worth every step.