PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — After spending two years among the foliage in South Philly’s FDR Park, the annual Philadelphia Flower Show is returning to its roots.
The 2023 event will be held in its usual venue, the Pennsylvania Convention Center.
The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society moved the show outdoors in 2021 and 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It moved up the dates as well, from March to June.
“We had to make make sure we were keeping everybody safe,” said PHS Chief of Shows Sam Lemheney. “Last summer, when we were making the decision, we really felt that it was the right decision to come outside again one more time, just to let COVID run its course. And I think it was the right decision to do that.”
Aside from those two pandemic years, the Flower Show has been held at the Pennsylvania Convention Center since 1996.
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Lemheney said there is a big difference between planning a show indoors versus outdoors.
“The forcing of the plant material really is the biggest thing,” he explained. “Taking the plants and tricking them to think it’s springtime when really we are in the middle of winter,” as the show is usually held in March.
“We have growers and participants that do this for us, and we are getting those cranked up and getting those ready to go, and we will be making those selections and those plants here toward the end of the summer.”
The 2023 show is scheduled for March 4 through 12. The theme is still in the works.