A General Admission Ticket provides access to the Plant Expo starting at 10:00 AM, after VIP ticket holders have entered. This ticket gives you full access to all vendors, displays, and offerings throughout the day, allowing you to explore the entire marketplace at your own pace.

A VIP Ticket grants you early access to the venue, at 09:00 am, allowing you to enjoy one full hour of exclusive shopping before the event officially opens at 10:00 AM. You’ll be among just 400 other VIP Ticket holders, ensuring a more personalized experience.

Both VIP and General Admission tickets grant access to the Gauteng Plant Expo and allow you to enjoy the full event experience. The primary differences are entry time and added benefits:

VIP Tickets:

VIP ticket holders receive early entry at 09:00 AM, one hour before the general public. This provides a calmer shopping environment and first access to vendors, rare plants, and limited-quantity items.

General Admission Tickets:

General Admission ticket holders enter at 10:00 AM and enjoy the same event experience once inside, but without early access and without a goodie bag.

In summary: VIP offers early access and added benefits, while General Admission provides standard entry at 10:00 AM.

The Gauteng Plant Expo, hosted by Rays Retail Nursery, connects plant growers of unique, exotic, and new-to-market plants with a passionate community of plant enthusiasts. The event allows customers to ask expert growers for advice on specific plants and growing tips for their existing plants. It’s also a great opportunity to source everything your plants might need.

Hosting the event at a suitable venue that can accommodate both the large number of visitors and vendors comes with significant costs. Unlike other expos, we have a large number of small businesses attending, which means they cannot shoulder the full cost of the venue rental on their own. The entry fee helps cover these costs and ensures a high-quality experience for all attendees.

Unlike traditional garden or specialty plant shows, this expo is designed to bring together vendors and enthusiasts from across the entire niche plant-collecting community. It’s not just for gardeners—it caters to a wide range of plant lovers, including those passionate about succulents, indoor plants, Clivia, Hoya, carnivorous plants, terrariums, and more. With a focus on the diversity of plant collecting, this event offers something for everyone, from casual plant lovers to serious collectors.

We’ve made the decision to not sell tickets on the day for several reasons:

• Dedicated Staff & Planning: Our staff works hard to provide a smooth experience, and selling tickets on the day can slow down the entry process and create unnecessary confusion.

• Uncertainty & Logistical Challenges: Day-of ticket sales often create uncertainty, making it harder for us to plan properly and ensure we’re fully prepared.

• Better Experience for All: By moving ticket sales online, we can focus on creating a better, more organized event for everyone. On-the-day sales can cause delays, long queues, and logistical issues that just make things more complicated and frustrating for both staff and attendees.

To ensure everyone has the best experience, we recommend purchasing your tickets in advance!