I didn't make it to last year's local Cactus & Succulent Society show and sale but I made a point of getting there last weekend. Like the 2022 sale, it was held in a nearby art center only fifteen minutes away. It's a smaller venue than the local botanic garden provided in the prepandemic days. Based on my earlier photographic record, there were fewer show tables and seemingly less sale plants.
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| I arrived about an hour after opening on the first day of the sale when rain was in the forecast so it wasn't as crowded as these events usually are |
I gave the show tables most of my attention. The light inside the art center's exhibit space was dicey and I had repeated problems focusing my camera so I only took closeup shots of selected plants.
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| Show table 1 (the tables weren't numbered but I've done so to keep them straight) |
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| Closeup of 2 plants from that first table, Mammillaria formosa (left) and Melocactus conoides (right). The Mamillaria looks like a fancy decorated cake to me. |
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| Show table 2 |
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| Clockwise from upper left are closeups of: Aloe dorotheae, Dyckia 'White Whiskers', Euphorbia andpria, Euphorbia canariensis, crested Euphorbia lactea, Euphorbia stellata, and Rubutia tiraquensis |
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| Show table 3 |
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| L-R: hybrid Dyckia, Machairophyllum albidum, and noID Fockea |
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| Show table 4 |
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| Closeups from upper left: crested Aeonium 'Sunburst', Cotyledon pendens, Graptopetalum mendozae, and Pachypodium breviraule |
I also took photos of some of the plant sale tables.
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| One vendor's display from multiple angles |
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| Another vendor's display, including a Trichocereus in flower (lower left) |
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| Colorful Aeoniums and Echeverias (left), crested Euphorbia grandidens and Melocactus matanzanus (middle, IDs are guesses), and a variety of other cacti (right). I didn't process what I assume was an Agave 'Sunglow' in the background in the third photo until I reviewed my photos. Everything on this sale table had looked pricey but I may have caved for that one if I'd been more attentive. |
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| Snippets of 2 more sale displays |
There were also pots for sale. As I've lost some of my favorite pots to clumsy critters in recent years, I'm always looking for more; however, the pots were generally on the expensive side so I passed and put my money into plants.
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| Beautiful pots by succulent collector Jim Gardner |
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| Pots for sale by other vendors |
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| I laughed at the saying on this planted pot but didn't check its price. If that "5" on the tag, meant $5 I blundered in leaving it behind even though I'm unsure what the plant was. It looked like a Clivia to me but that isn't what the tag suggests. |
I took home just four plants.
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| Clockwise from the upper left: crested Aeonium 'Sunburst', hybrid Aloe sinkatana x jacunda, Crassula streyi, and Pelargonium carnosum |
One plant's in a pot but all four found homes in my renovated succulent bed, which I'll show sometime soon. I'm still doing some tweaking there.
Best wishes for a wonderful spring weekend!
All material © 2012-2024 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
