6 new products spotted at IGC Show

The 2016 IGC Show Chicago kicked off at Navy Pier on Aug. 16, and Jeff and Cheryl Morey celebrated their trade show’s 10th anniversary. In addition to keynotes, educational sessions and entertainment, about 500 exhibitors showcased their plants and products. We rounded up some of the products that caught our eye during the show.

New technology to help garden centers sell more plants and connect with customers could be found throughout the IGC Show. The Perfect Plant is one such company, which offers a tailored, interactive program to help customers find plants they are looking for by several categories, like color, habit, and sun and shade requirements. Garden centers can also use search data to discover trends and patterns.
MICHELLE SIMAKIS
LED Habitats showcased their wooden LED light systems that feature an aesthetically pleasing spectrum and design. They offer a variety of sizes and other indoor growing products, including pre-planted seed mats and planting trays.
MICHELLE SIMAKIS
Local Plant Pro helps garden centers connect with new and existing customers through a peer-to-peer app that allows users to ask specific questions and get expert advice from independent garden centers in their area. IGCs can also send push notifications through the app about frost alerts and sales. The app was developed by Changing Seasons Landscape Center, a full-service garden center in Marion, Ill.
MICHELLE SIMAKIS
Recycled flatware was transformed into dragonflies, frogs, fish and other garden creatures made by Paul’s Metal Petals, which features decorative stakes made in the USA. One of the Battle Lake, Minn.-based company’s signature products, Drunken Dragonflies, get their name because they balance on a spoon and move with the wind.
MICHELLE SIMAKIS
Urban Agriculture Co. offers a wide variety of flower, herb and vegetable grow kits that include everything a gardener needs to be successful, including the seed, soil and a container. At the show, they also showcased their new craft cocktail kits that come with a featured plant ingredient, like basil, that customers can grow themselves. All products are organic, and many pieces from the kits are made from recycled materials.
MICHELLE SIMAKIS
Floral Elixirs are flower-infused mixers that can be added to champagne, wine, sodas and liquor to create cocktails and add flavor and color. The elixirs are handcrafted with real flowers blended with pure cane sugar. Customers can buy single elixirs or Floral Cocktail Kits that feature five choices, including “Champagne Lovers” and “The Tiki Lounge.”
MICHELLE SIMAKIS
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