My house is full of plants, enough that I’ve lost count. Houseplants have the same suspicious math as tattoos: One is rarely the final number. I propagate cuttings in jars of water, regularly rearrange corners of the house in pursuit of better light, and like to imagine the entire collection is improving the air. That affectionate obsession is the premise of PlantCon International, which comes to the Seattle Convention Center Aug. 15-16.
PlantCon’s beginnings were considerably smaller. In November 2020, founder and CEO Kenny Kong began organizing outdoor gatherings in Houston, hoping to give people a safe place to meet during the pandemic. At first, he was unsure whether anyone needed such a space. Then people started showing up. “I remember being absolutely amazed at how many people turned out with cuttings and advice and stories, different walks of life, who all loved plants in some way,” Kong says. People returned to later gatherings with updates about plants they had exchanged. “Something so simple started a community of love and warmth in a difficult time.”
PlantCon founder and CEO Kenny Kong turned pandemic-era plant meetups in Houston into a national convention.
The gatherings also solved a practical problem. Local sellers often posted plants online throughout the week, leaving buyers to crisscross Houston to retrieve them. The meetups gave everyone one place for pickups, plant exchanges, and growing advice. By 2022, the project had become Houston Plant Market, which organized neighborhood markets and seasonal events. PlantCon followed in 2023.
The growth since then has been slightly less manageable than a pothos vine. The nonprofit has expanded beyond Texas, with 2026 events in Los Angeles, Chicago, Seattle, and Atlanta. It has also launched People of PlantCon, a podcast about the growers, collectors, and businesses that make up the larger plant world.
The Seattle edition brings together 200 booths filled with plants and all the things that begin accumulating around them. The market ranges from beginner-friendly varieties to collector specimens, along with pots and growing supplies. Local growers will share the floor with sellers from elsewhere in the country and overseas.
The weekend’s programming goes well beyond basic plant care. One workshop teaches participants how to remove tissue-cultured plants from their flasks and acclimate them to a home environment. Another pairs carnivorous pinguicula with dragonstone to create a miniature living landscape. Guests can also try their hand at bonsai or build a jewel orchid terrarium. Presentations cover fertilizer and the particular frustrations of growing plants in the Pacific Northwest. There is also a plant competition and Plant Bingo. Presentations are included with admission, while hands-on workshops require separate tickets.
“There is music when you walk through the door, our staff is all excited to have you, some are dancing and laughing,” Kong says. “There are workshops, sometimes reptiles, and even presentations to simply help you learn how not to kill that plant you just bought.”
“The biggest thing I want people to take away from the experience is that when they leave, they feel better than they arrived,” he says, “and of course leave with a few plants.”
Anyone planning to attend should probably clear some space before leaving home.
