The 2027 Summer Summit will be held in Denver, Colorado

Dates: August 2-4, 2027

In conjunction with the CSU Flower Trial Garden event and the Colorado Destination Days Opening reception

Your hosts: All-America Selections, Home Garden Seed Association and National Garden Bureau

Hotel: TBA

Registration will open in January 2027

Past Events:

The 2025 International Plant Trialing Conference was a “Huge Success!”

Plans are being made to hold this event again in October 2028

Some of the panel presenters gathered for a photo at the end of the event, thanks to Nursery Management/GIE Media for this image.

All-America Selections (AAS), North America’s leading plant trialing program, and its parent organization, the National Garden Bureau (NGB), have successfully concluded the 2025 International Plant Trialing Conference.

The event, held at the Embassy Suites Hotel in Bloomington, Minnesota, drew more than 160 plant trialing experts from four countries, establishing it as a crucial meeting point for breeders, brokers, growers, academics, and public gardens across North America. The location offered the added benefit of allowing attendees to visit active trials at Bailey Nurseries and the University of Minnesota.

The conference achieved its goal of fostering meaningful connections and equipping participants with advanced tools to enhance their trialing expertise. A total of 45 industry experts and thought leaders led more than 20 specialized panel presentations covering a wide variety of trial types and techniques.

Highlights of the successful three-day event included:

A dynamic panel discussion featuring representatives from leading breeding companies, who shared their perspectives on the needs and innovations shaping today’s plant trials.
Highly attended breakout sessions on popular professional topics, such as “Careers in Trialing,” “Trial Management Apps and Software,” and “Characteristics of a Successful Trial Manager.”
Structured and informal networking opportunities facilitated new connections and peer-to-peer learning across global lines.

Attendees widely praised the conference for its welcoming atmosphere, like-minded attendees, well-organized sessions and broad range of educational takeaways.

Comments and Testimonials from 2025 attendees:

“The 2025 International Plant Trialing Conference provided great information for beginning and existing plant trialing programs from seed to consumer.”

“It is always encouraging and refreshing to be among so many great minds in the industry!”

“It was a unique pleasure to be able to connect with, and learn from, trial managers from all over the country and a very worthwhile experience.”

“It was great to experience how open the people are and how willing to share their own experiences whilst all being from different companies. It adds well to this great “friends-of-the-industry” feeling I got from this event.” – Wouter van der Veeken

“This was a great bunch of people who are passionate about plants (new and old) and figuring out what does well and where!”

“The International Plant Trialing Conference was an invaluable experience for my growth and development as a Trials Coordinator. I was able to network with other professionals in the Plant Trialing world, and learn more about the importance of trialing, for different sectors of the Horticulture industry. Attendees were exposed to the differing trialing perspectives of breeders, growers, botanical gardens, academia, & data collection/management companies via informative panel discussions. The breakout lunch and dinner sessions provided an awesome opportunity for networking and continued round-table discussions. Overall, I am amazed at everything I learned in just 2 days! I look forward to attending the next conference in 2028!” – Dakota McFadden, Trials Coordinator at Smith Gardens

“The International Plant Trialing Conference provided an opportunity to connect with other trials coordinators in the industry & helped me learn more about the value of my work to the industry and the resources available to me.” – Kerri Martin, Darwin Perennials

“IPTC was such an amazing event. So many people to network with, great seminars! The panel format was so engaging. I will definitely be recommending this to people in the future!”

“Great to see what others are doing with trials. Loved meeting international collaborators.”

“The IPTC was a great place for me to establish new connections and reinforce relationships! Everyone was very welcoming and willing to share all of their insights, it is always great to speak with people who understand the intricacies of trialing.”

“The IPTC conference was an amazing experience! For an early-career trial garden manager (University-based) this conference was the perfect opportunity to meet other University trial garden reps to discuss what they do. I also got to meet so many reps from breeding companies that I’ve emailed but never met in person! I’m looking forward to the next IPTC! ~Emily Moore, UMN West Central Research and Outreach Center

Attending the International Plant Trialing Convention for the first time was a game-changer for me as a marketing manager. I went in expecting performance data; I left with a year’s worth of storylines, partnerships, and practical tactics to better connect consumers and industry partners. What impressed me most was the depth of insight behind the trials—clear performance metrics, regional notes, and honest conversations about supply, timing, and execution. The networking was exceptional and uniquely cross-functional. I was able to connect with people you don’t usually meet at tradeshows or other industry events—who helped me think through the purpose, relevance and importance of trialing to our business. I came home with fresh partnerships, media angles, and a clearer roadmap for launch season. If you’re in plant marketing and want both inspiration and actionables, this convention delivers.” -Beverly Ogburn, Young’s Plant Farm

“The IPTC was an extremely helpful conference that connected me with other industry leaders in plant trialing. Being relatively new to plant trialing myself, this conference helped me put my program in the right direction and will make me a more valuable player in the field” -Sierra Hau, Gardenworld/GrowingColors