It’s also possible to purchase collectible succulents and containers at the show. Anyone know what ‘Ikari Rajeh Nishiki’ means? The three-word cultivar name is Japanese and wasn’t translated on the tag. It was entered by agave expert Tony Krock of Terra Sol nursery in Santa Barbara, and is an Agave potatorum hybrid. Notice its blue color, wedge-shaped leaves and delicate striations.Ībove: Of all the plants in the show, this was my favorite because of its deeply indented sides, rust-colored spines and variegation. Don’t you love its long terminal spines?Ībove: One of the smallest agaves, Agave pumila. This plant is not for sale, nor is it available in any nursery hopefully it will be some day.Ībove: Agave victoriae-reginae ‘Variegata’.Ībove: Agave utahensis, from–no surprise–Utah. These cacti, native to limestone hills of Rio Grande in south Texas, are endangered in the wild and notoriously difficult to cultivate.Ībove: An aloe hybrid developed by Tim Harvey, who edits the journal of the Cactus and Succulent Society. Don’t the lines in its skin look like those of a computer chip? I wonder what it might be trying to tell us.Ībove: Best of show, an ariocarpus in bloom. The name means star-shaped.Ībove: Another astrophytum. It made it to the trophy table, and is from a teen-age boy’s collection.Ībove: A prehistoric-looking astrophytum. This diminutive Blossfeldiana liliputana is rare and difficult to grow. Sure wish I could get my hands on a few of those muffin-like pots.Ībove: Euphorbia horrida in a Mike Cone pot.Ībove: A display of collectible plants in one-of-a-kind pots, presented by California Cactus Center in Pasadena.Ībove: I was happy to see my trio of books for sale at the show (upper left). ![]() The vining foliage is deciduous.Ībove: Conophytum minimum. What makes this a succulent is the plant’s woody caudex, which is a water tank. The plant is owned by Keith Kitoi Taylor of the Sacramento Cactus & Succulent Society, who also created the highly textural pot. ![]() Those stiff leaves are like serrated knives.Ībove: A Dioscorea elephantipes on the trophy table. I’m not sure why these bromeliad relatives are in the show, but they’re certainly beautiful. Don’t you wonder how and why it would do that to itself? Ow!Ībove: A dyckia. Pulchellus you’ll remember if you took Latin in high school-it means beautiful.Ī twisted cactus, Eulychnia castanea spiralis. Echino = prickly, cereus = waxy, and ceroid cacti tend to be cylindrical. If all this Latin seems tiresome, consider how it describes the plant. ![]() More spirals!Ībove: Echinocereus pulchellus on the trophy table. Notice the Fibonacci spiral in the plant’s center.Ībove: An Epithelantha micromeris cluster in a container by Tucson potter Mike Cone. His work is characterized by embossed patterns.Ībove: Euphorbia gorgonis in a Mark Muradian pot. Not sure I’d want to take a bite, would you?Ībove: Judge Woody Minnich examines an unusually colorful Gymnocalycium mihanovichii.Ībove: A bonsai’d fig with its roots elevated in a Mark Muradian pot. Anyone for cinnamon rolls?Ībove: Hoodia, the African cactus that’s reputedly an appetite suppressant. Below are what caught my eye and photographed well, but they represent only a fraction of the unusual and beautiful succulents on display.Ībove: Agave victoriae-reginae, named after England’s Queen Victoria.Ībove: Mammillaria microthele on the trophy table. Pots aren’t merely containers, they’re works of art, and may be more valuable than the plant. Judges award ribbons and trophies based on how well a specimen is grown, its rarity, and how well it’s “staged” in its pot. The largest in the US is the annual Inter-City Show at the Los Angeles Arboretum mid-August. To see amazing succulents in elegant art pots, attend a Cactus & Succulent Society Show.
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