April Showers Bring Exhibit Flowers
Spring is here, and we’re here to declare that plants are a terrific
way to make your exhibit more inviting.
Just a few plants can go a long way toward warming up your booth and help
to turn passers-by into visitors. As with any other aspect of your exhibit
program, however, some care is required. Plants can be beautiful -- or
they can be problematic.
Here's what the experts told us to help make sure your exhibit is beautiful:
-- It’s not a good idea to water your plants during a trade show.
Conditions at trade shows are notoriously unpredictable and convention
center air is usually dry, so you do need to water the plants. However,
this must be done before the show. Watering on the show floor is asking
for trouble, because any excess water will immediately end up on your
booth’s floor, bringing a bit of soil along with it and generally
making a mess.
-- Because they’ll need to last for two to three days or longer
without watering, you want to stick with hardier plants that won’t
wilt under less than ideal conditions. Ferns and Ficus plants are exhibit
perennials. Flowering plants from the colorful anthurium genus can be
ideal for adding an exotic touch to your exhibit.
-- Hardy palms of various sorts are also frequently seen at events. Kentia,
Cat, and Queen Palms are all solid and attractive choices.
-- Consider the cacti. Certainly, these desert succulents can’t
be beat for hardiness and are, logically enough, an especially good option
for outdoor events in dry climates. Depending on your exhibit’s
theming, these often surprisingly attractive plants can be a terrific
option, though there are some obvious, prickly safety concerns to keep
in mind with many cacti species
-- And consider your overall show schedule when deciding on plants. Unless
you do an unusually high number of shows annually, you’ll probably
end up giving away or discarding your plants after every show. Shop accordingly.
MDS would like to thank the management of two outstanding Southern California
nurseries for their expert advice on this issue our newsletter: Jeff Hatch
of The Plant Stand and Mark Zurek
of Newport Greenhouses. You can contact Newport Greenhouses by calling
949-552-9619 or by sending an e-mail to calgreenhouses@sbcglobal.net.