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Seeing The Light

Flower stem emerging from Aloe petricola; Leucospermum 'Tango' first flowers color up   No gardening today.  The wind is ripping branches, leaves, and flowers from shrubs and trees today.  At least it's a cold Santa Ana this time, not hot, and a strange one, because the sky is grey with clouds instead of the usual tannish with blowing dust.  A low pressure system from the south and a high pressure system from the north are meeting to squeeze Great Basin air, sending it roaring through our neighborhood.  The neighbor's dead Eucalyptus rocks stiffly, like Frankenstein's Monster walking; the live Eucs, with considerable grace, sway.  An occasional leaf blown hard, hits window glass with a plunk.  Birds are absent.   Indoors, I look at garden photos and consider light.   Late afternoon light: Midday light: Late afternoon: Midday: Advantage, late afternoon.   Overcast morning: Sunny morning: Advantage overcast.   Late afternoon, really too late, but with the sun behind
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Inter City Show 2019 Trophy Table

 Agave utahensis, Best Agave 

 The InterCity Cactus and Succulent Show, held every August at the LA Arboretum, did not disappoint this year.  It was an excellent show with some 1,500 plants on display.  There was also a large plant and container sale.  
 The show:

 The sale:

The Trophy Table honors the best of the best. 

 I tried but missed some of the plants.  Beloved also took some photos and got some of the ones I missed.  Not all the name tags are readable and some of the trophies reflected light or didn't get photographed, so some of the categories are guessed.
Aloe castilloniae, Best Aloe Species(?)

 Aloe 'Inflamed', Best Aloe Hybrid.  In looking back at past shows, this was also the winner in 2017, a bit smaller than it is now. 
  Peniocereus maculatus(?), Best Cereus(?).  Best Ariocarpus on the lower right
 Best Astrophytum.  Charming with those curvy spines
 There was a Best Crested Succulent(?) and Best Crested Cactus(?).  This is the Succulent.  Also Best Crassula, C. columella, out of focus on the right
Best something.  Graceful, don't you think? 
 Ceraria namaquensis, Best Novice Exhibitor
 Rarest plant at the show, Commiphora quercifoliola
 Copiapoa cinereria
 Cyphostemna humile, Best caudiciform
 Best Dyckia.  'Battle Star' is the cultivar name.
Echeveria subridgida, Best Echeveria 
 
Best plant made of concrete
Euphorbia abdelkuri,  Best Non-Madagascar Euphorbia(?) 
 Euphorbia francoisii ssp crassicaule, Best Madagascar Euphorbia(?)
 Fouquieria purpusii,  Best Fouquieriaceae
 Gymnocalcium castinalosii ssp perecious, Best Gymnocalcium
The Lithops may have been a "Best Collection" award.  There's also a Haworthia at upper right, Best Variegated below it, and a bit of Best Echinocereus on the upper left
  Mammilaria humbold/tii/tiensis(?), Best Mammilaria(?)
 Operculicarya decaryi,  Best Bonsai Styled Plant.  Another winner there on the lower right, tag unreadable
 Operculicarya decaryi, same species as above but this one was the best Anacardiaceae.  A more natural appearance
 The always lovely Pachypodium namaquensis.  There were several for purchase at the plant sale and I was sorely tempted.  Love those wiggly leaf margins!
 Pygmaeocereus familiaris
 Stenocereus eruca,  Best Staging
 Sulcorebutia arenacea has brilliant golden flowers. 
 Tephrocactus bonnieae
 Turbinicarpus pseudopectinatus, Best Crested Cactus
Turbinicarpus alonsoi, Best Cactus (something unreadable).  
 Hope you enjoyed seeing these strange and wonderful champions of the show.  Which is your favorite? 

Comments

  1. Kris PetersonAugust 11, 2019 at 8:30 PM

    Thanks for doing a great job documenting the trophy table - there are so many fantastical species and genera I've never even heard of. This is the best C&S show by far and I will make it there one day. (Hubby was celebrating his b-day so I didn't try to try to alter his plans for the weekend.) My favorites are a toss up - Pachypodium namaquensis and Operculicarya decaryi.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hoover BooAugust 12, 2019 at 2:02 PM

      Dear Husband's birthday is important! Hope you and he had a delightful day.

      I love those fluted leaves--got a photo of a Manfreda at the show with the same fluting--will put that one in a 2nd post. It was a beauty, too.

      I looked back at the TT post for the 2017 intercity, and it appears O. decaryi is pretty easy to grow outdoors in SoCal--the one in the Arboretum's Madagascar garden seemed to be thriving.

      Delete
  2. NellAugust 11, 2019 at 8:34 PM

    That Dyckia 'Battlestar'! Dazzling.

    And then the Gymnocalcium, which glow like Marilyn Monroe.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hoover BooAugust 12, 2019 at 2:04 PM

      Yes, the Dyckia, the brown was so brown, and the silver spines so silvery! The Gymnocalcium is probably as tricky to handle as poor MM was...

      Delete
  3. luv2gardenAugust 11, 2019 at 9:16 PM

    Beautiful, weird and amazing! The more natural form of the Operculicaryi reminds me of one of the Ents from Lord of the Rings. Would be fun to have this staring at you as you clean the house. Thanks for the show tour. Did you buy anything?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hoover BooAugust 12, 2019 at 2:06 PM

      Yes, it bestows the feeling of an Ent, or Addam's Cousin Itt! It would certainly make house cleaning a little more fun.

      Bought one thing--will post it soon, if I don't kill it first.

      Delete
  4. danger gardenAugust 11, 2019 at 10:23 PM

    I really enjoyed them all—so thank you for that—but I think I’m sticking with the Agave utahensis, best agave, best in show....

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hoover BooAugust 12, 2019 at 2:08 PM

      How about those spines, eh? Danger incarnate!

      There were stunners of a Mangave and a Manfreda at the show as well. Future post.

      Delete
  5. AlisonAugust 11, 2019 at 10:27 PM

    I think my favorite was Best Something. Looks a bit Pachypodium-ish to me. I like the graceful neck and topknot of leaves. And I have a thing for caudiciform plants.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hoover BooAugust 12, 2019 at 2:10 PM

      Yes I loved the elegant curve of it. Something in Apocynaceae--Pachypodium, Oleander, Plumeria, and suchlike.

      Delete
  6. StasherAugust 12, 2019 at 7:20 AM

    Fabulous, thank you for sharing pictures of these stunning plants. My favourite Madagascar Euphorbia.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hoover BooAugust 12, 2019 at 2:12 PM

      They had those at the sale--another tempting plant!

      Delete
  7. Denise/agrowingobsessionAugust 12, 2019 at 10:27 AM

    I saw that Madagascar euphorb on the sales table and was intrigued but didn't bite. I ogle all the tables but never systematically, just drifting to whatever catches my eye -- plenty! -- so appreciate this BIS review. My Pachypodium namman. has lost its leaves, and I can never keep straight their dormancy issues. It looks solid, but all those at the show had leaves....

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hoover BooAugust 12, 2019 at 2:26 PM

      Saw them too, but limited myself to a specific shopping list. DH took a lot of photos so I could wander...then he wandered and I took a lot of photos. We both missed things the other caught. Double the fun! There was a lot to look at--I was exhausted when we got out of there.

      I had to start keeping a list of winter vs. summer dormancy to keep them all straight. Aloes are tricky--some are summer growers, some winter.

      Delete
  8. Lisa at GreenbowAugust 15, 2019 at 4:01 AM

    These plants don't look real to me. They look like great works of art.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hoover BooAugust 15, 2019 at 6:23 AM

      I feel like I'm walking through a sculpture gallery at those shows. They do seem like art works--and they are, the art of nature!

      Delete
  9. Gerhard Bock (Succulents and More)August 16, 2019 at 11:42 AM

    I MUST GO NEXT YEAR. The end.

    ReplyDelete

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