More Weird Wonders From the InterCity C&S Show 2019

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Still dreaming of Pachypodium namaquanum   Great idea for a fabulous hat.

While it is far too hot to go outside, while half-watching TV coverage of a scary wildfire on the east side of the Santa Ana mountains  (the firefighters are doing a tremendous job), might as well look back at this year's Intercity C&S Show 
Official LA Arboretum Greeters
Mom taking care of the kids while Dad takes a walk. 

A few of the 1,500 some plants on display in August 2019 at the LA Arboretum
Very happy Adenium in a very cool container
Various caudiciforms
The common name of Euphorbia platyclada is "Dead Plant".  No, really. 
Haworthia truncata
Mammilaria longimama
Many mammilarias
Clean neat Stenocereus

Gethyllis britteniana a bulbous plant from the Northwest Cape and Namaqualand (winter rainfall).  In a plain black plastic pot.  It's all about the plant, in the end. 
I've been going to this show for years, but still always see plants I've never heard of--and can't imagine.  
 Conophytum bilobum
 Cheridopsis denticulata
Like a lump of dough that has risen too much, or a mushroom cap.  Raphionacme burkei is native to Angola and Zimbabwe


 Looks like a pineapple.  The top is a flower cluster.
 No a fan of the container.  Plant is cute.  Label was "Crassula". 
 Bulbous plants like Boophone and Eucomis. 
Think about how difficult some of these plants are to move without damage (both to the plant and the human mover). 
How do you move this?  
Not all quite so scary--some (apparently) as fuzzy as a teddy bear, but look close--spines are there. 
Obregonia denegrii is endemic to Tamaulipas, Mexico.  Monotypic, there is only one species in the genus.  It is endangered in the wild. 


My sole purchase:  Boswellia sacra.  Frankincense.  Not an impulse buy;  I actually went hoping but not expecting to find one.  Big price for something so small.  Boswellia is in the Burseraceae family. 
Has it grown at all, in a month?   I think it has.  Anyway, I haven't killed it.  This is a full sun desert plant, but a tiny rooted cutting is too small for full summer sun...I think. 
 At home my far more humble plants are getting better care this summer.  Humble though they are, they deserve it.
A Bursera I've had a long time, slowly getting fatter.  
No, I won't plant any of you in a beer can!





 

Comments

  1. ksSeptember 5, 2019 at 5:47 PM

    Oh to have my Haworthia truncata look like that ! Might happen on around my 110th birthday.

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    1. Hoover BooSeptember 6, 2019 at 11:02 AM

      Yes that Haworthia has been growing a good long while to get to that size. Bravo to the patient and skilled owner!

      Delete
  2. AlisonSeptember 5, 2019 at 10:08 PM

    The lump of dough is fascinating. "Dead Plant" actually made me laugh out loud.

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    1. Hoover BooSeptember 6, 2019 at 11:03 AM

      The thing about common names instead of botanical nomenclature is that the common name often applies to more than one plant. In this case, "Dead Plant" can apply to just about all of them!

      Delete
  3. Kris PetersonSeptember 6, 2019 at 10:25 AM

    Further proof that the intercity show is the best ever.

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    1. Hoover BooSeptember 6, 2019 at 11:04 AM

      No argument there.

      Delete
    2. luv2gardenSeptember 7, 2019 at 6:50 AM

      Went looking for Frankincense plants last year for a friend. Found only one seed source and they were out. Seems to be rare. Keep us informed of how your little fella does.

      Delete
    3. Hoover BooSeptember 7, 2019 at 7:08 AM

      luv2, from what I have read the seeds have a very poor germination rate, about 3%. Rooting cuttings are the way to go. I was fortunate to have found a plant for sale.

      Delete
  4. NellSeptember 6, 2019 at 8:34 PM

    Pachypodium namaquanum 'Sideshow Bob'

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    1. Hoover BooSeptember 7, 2019 at 7:09 AM

      ?????

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    2. Hoover BooSeptember 7, 2019 at 10:49 AM

      Denise provided the cultural reference. Can you believe I've never watched the Simpsons? Strange But True. I do see the strong 'Sideshow Bob' resemblance!

      Delete
  5. Lisa at GreenbowSeptember 7, 2019 at 5:24 AM

    Almost everything you highlight on your blog is a new plant to me. I have learned a lot and become familiar with many plants that I would never see I my area. This plant show is something else. I love hats too.

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    1. Hoover BooSeptember 7, 2019 at 7:14 AM

      The world of plants is endlessly amazing. So vast, so much to learn. Your Flipendula amazing me, we do not have those here. No winter chill to enable them to sleep, and not enough water for them to grow.

      Hats are fun. I love the old movies from the 1930s and '40's with the ladies hats, some beautiful, some hilarious.

      Delete
    2. NellSeptember 7, 2019 at 3:59 PM

      Almost my favorite line in any movie ever - - Ninotchka, newly arrived from Soviet Union, after studying a hat in a store display, moves on shaking her head: "It won't be long now, comrades."

      Delete
    3. Hoover BooSeptember 8, 2019 at 1:29 PM

      Yes, probably my favorite old-movie hat joke! There are more than a few sprinkled throughout that era, even some hat commentary in a Raymond Chandler mystery or two.

      Delete
  6. Denise/agrowingobsessionSeptember 7, 2019 at 9:50 AM

    Re Nell's comment: "Sideshow Bob" is from The Simpsons. My pachy nama/half men just started sprouting leaves, so it's alive. Your own collection is looking fantastic considering it's been through summer. Well done!

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    1. Hoover BooSeptember 7, 2019 at 10:48 AM

      Oh, the Simpsons. Not a show I have ever watched, for some reason unknown. I looked him up, and yes, a strong resemblance.

      Happy your Pachy is alive! They are so cool.

      Delete
  7. Anna KSeptember 7, 2019 at 4:15 PM

    How cool that you found (and are growing) Frankincense!! There was certainly an amazing assortment of plants I mostly haven't heard of either. I would find a collection like that overwhelming, and definitely humbling, as it would reinforce how very little I know about both plants and horticulture. (Which is why this hobby of mine is so darn fun, as there is never an end to what is left to learn.)

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    1. Hoover BooSeptember 8, 2019 at 1:31 PM

      There q quite interesting NYT article about Frankincense inspired me to look for a plant. Yes exactly, there's so much to learn it's never boring.

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  8. NellSeptember 7, 2019 at 7:05 PM

    Can't get over the unearthly smooth flawlessness of the Cheridopsis denticulata. Just a lot of perfection at this show; judging must not be easy.

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    1. Hoover BooSeptember 8, 2019 at 1:38 PM

      Those people sure know how to grow plants. Lots of them are very very difficult out of habitat.

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    2. NellSeptember 8, 2019 at 6:56 PM

      Speaking of know-how and perfection: That. Adenium. Having it in full flower for the show must take some doing. And, as you say, a container that really contributes to the vignette, with its echo of the subtle bark-like collar at the base of the plant. My.

      It's surely a good omen for your frankincense-let that you already have a family member that's thriving. Best wishes for the same success!

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    3. Hoover BooSeptember 9, 2019 at 8:08 PM

      Yes magnificent Adenium.

      Thanks! I hope I can grow that tiny thing into an actual plant.

      Delete
  9. danger gardenSeptember 7, 2019 at 9:35 PM

    I was introduced to “dead plant” during the Toronto Fling. Now I have one and love it!

    ReplyDelete

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