Some favorite Huntington CSS Show Plants 2016

Above, Gasteria 'Shining Star' on the trophy table
 
 You're a shining star, no matter who you are
Shining bright to see what you can truly be
That you can truly be


The Huntington CSS show seemed smaller this year, but the quality was excellent.  I believe the above plant is the same Gasteria 'Shining Star' that was so enchanting last year.  If you go to enough shows--dog, koi, various plants--you begin to recognize and follow the show careers of particular winners.  The Gasteria had special ribbons last year;  this year it was on the trophy table.   

No idea what this is, but the plant and staging are lovely.
 The trophy table:
 The show took up two rooms.  This one had Euphorbias, Agaves, Aloes, Caudiciforms, and such.
 And it also contained the trophy table--the best.
 The other room was smaller and was nearly all cactus.
 Nifty pot for this caudiciform, an Adenium, I think.  Maybe one too many rocks? 
 Nice!
 Not many Agaves.  This was labelled Agave patonii marginata, but is it A. appalanta 'Cream Spike'?  Choice, either way.
 You don't need a fancy pot to be a winner.  This plant, Cephalocereus senilis. reminded me so much of our old dog Hoover.  I miss that dog. 
His rump looked just like this, for a long time.  A big improvement over the time where it was bald.  I miss that dog.
 
The plant on the left is a arid-climate orchid(!), Eulophia petersii.  Yes, there is such a thing.  From Namibia eastwards and north to the Arabian peninsula.  Summer water, winter dry. 
 Yep that's an orchid.
 Gymnocalcium friedrichii.  Beautiful colors with the deep bronze contrasting with pink flowers on limey stems.
 I was puzzled about these.  Bog...succulents?!?  Huh?  The only plants at the show growing in little drinking glasses.  The labels were not...explanatory.
Miniature...bog...cactus?!?
 
Hydnophytum formicarium is an epiphytic myrmecophyte from the Philippines.  It forms a symbiotic relationship with ants;  the caudex acts as a home for the ants.  Ants in turn protect the plant and their waste acts as fertilizer.  Amazing, eh?  
 Ipomea platense there on the right, with the pink flowers.  Wow, huh?  The genus Ipomea includes morning glories, sweet potatoes, bindweed...
 At shows, Mammillarias are classified as hooked or not hooked.  There are a lot of them--over 1,000 species.  
 Mammillaria bueneckerii.  So many Mams have little pink flowers and snowy white spines, it's a bit of a surprise to see one with yellow flowers.

 More commonly seen Mammillaria with the white cast created by spines. 
Mammillaria...plumosa? An exceptional plant awarded a special recognition ribbon.  Like the Gasteria, I think I've seen this one at many shows, growing its way to the trophy table. 
 Sweet small Opercularia decaryi gets special recognition, too.  This plant is native to Madagascar. 
 This looked like a Begonia, but somehow I missed the tag, and my brief note says it's an Orchid. 
And the sale that was mostly shopped out, but that's great.  People went home with lots of plants, vendors went home with money instead of plants, and the club made some funds to pay for speakers at meetings.  Win-win-win.  A good time for all. 
 You're a shining star, no matter who you are
Shining bright to see what you can truly be
That you can truly be



Comments

  1. That gymnocalycium caught my eye too, what a beauty. Wouldn't it be great if we were all growing our way to the trophy table one day? Loved that turn of phrase...

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  2. Such a mix, high and low. Beautiful and well, ugly...but interesting. So did you buy anything?

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    1. Beauties or not, they are all dressed up in their Sunday duds, washed and brushed. It's...plant church!

      Purchases in previous post.

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  3. Smaller it may be, but still outshines our little show. So many winners. If I had to choose, it would be the Gymnocalcium. One too many rocks? I'd go further and say three too many rocks. They interfere with the wonderful balance between the plant shape and the vase shape.

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    1. Could not reply last night--no idea why. I think you are right about the rocks. You have that gift for design.

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  4. That Gasteria is truly beautiful. I swear that Adenium in the v-shaped pot is the one I saw in a Peety's Pots display at the CSS even in the SF Valley and that the Hydnophytum formicarium is the same one I saw at the CSS event at South Coast Botanic Garden, both of which support your contention that you're likely to see the same plants again and again as you attend more shows.

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    1. Nothing at all I can find about that Gasteria. Oh how I want one!

      It's nice to look back at old blog posts of shows and see how the plants have developed.

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  5. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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    1. Yes, 500+ species of Ipomea, something like that. I've learned to study and respect ALL the plants at CSS shows--some surprising adaptations to be discovered.

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    2. Huh? How did that get removed?!? Did I hit a key by error? Sorry! Not intentional!

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  6. Some pretty oddities there but I'm particularly taken by the Gasteria, beautiful rich colour!

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    1. The foliage has a glossy sheen, too. After staring at the plant for a while, I decided the color is like caramel. Yummy!

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  7. When I saw your picture of Cephalocereus senilis in a black plastic pot, I remembered somebody telling me that juried plant shows in the UK usually require everybody to use simple plastic pots to level the playing field. I don't know if that's true, but I quite like the idea.

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    1. I like that idea, too. That Cephalocereus was a first-place winner. At rose shows the vases are owned by the clubs and ignored.

      I do enjoy the staging of beautiful plants in beautiful pots, though. The best are expressions of some wonderful feature of the plant itself, a human made homage to a natural occurrence. But yes, it can go overboard and it does increase the cost...UK has at least a sense of egalitarianism that we've lost.

      There are always prize winners in plastic pots at the shows I've been to. I remember when I heard Kelly Griffin talking about judging at a San Diego show he said "it's all about the plant." I hope that is never lost.

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