What are the dates?

The IAS Show/Sale is coming up on the weekend of September 20/21 at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden in Coral Gables.......If you're a plant lover, I suggest you head over to the IAS website, take a quick look, then do a quick search for photos from the show.....prepare your mind to be boggled.....it's a great weekend, filled with great place,friends and fun, and plants galore. If you're not an IAS member...ummmm...why not?.....It's a great bunch of folks and the benefits to be gained make the cost of membership a bargain.

Folks,

Just FYI, I've posted the show information on aroid.org.
We've got Marc Gibernau coming over from France to give a talk on pollination this year - it should be a good one.

--Albert

Here is a link that might be useful: IAS Show Information

Is Fairchild going to rape everyone again and charge a $20 admission just to get through the gate like they started doing for the Ramble every November?

I decided that I would never again attend a sale event at Fairchild after they started doing that. It was $60 for my family to get through the gate before we even purchased one plant. The entry fee for events used to be something reasonable like $5-7. I know many many people (including vendors of more than a few types of plants) that are boycotting Fairchild because of their excessive fee charging not only to the public but also because of their huge fee gouging to the vendors, making them have to mark plants up to such ridiculous prices to try to make any profit that no one will buy them.

Interesting take on it, I suppose....In the part of the country I live in, aroids, especially rare or choice ones, are essentially impossible to come by, and when they are, the prices make a gardens entry fee a pittance compared to the plants made accessible at the show.For my money, the IAS Show/Sale isn't just about profit, it's about plants and plant people.It's about renewing friendships and acquaintances, about meeting like minded people from around the world and sharing experiences.I hope that entry fees to a wonderful garden and a great show/sale doesn't keep anyone from attending.If you love plants, particularly aroids, drag your behind to Fairchild in about a month, and have a blast, I know I will.

For most of the people who live here in Florida and used to go to Fairchild routinely just to spend a nice day out, or as part of a trip down to Miami or Coconut Grove or a stop-by on the way to go diving in the Keys, the relatively new $20 entry fee (I guess it shot up from $7 to $20 about 3 years ago?) is astronomical and makes the decision for you whether to go or not to go at all.

They are also bad about weasling out of honoring the "reciprocal" agreement that you supposedly get with becoming a member of many national botanical gardens.

We stopped going to Fairchild altogether. So have many Floridian plant collectors of all kinds. They seem to be ALL about money now. The last show and sale we went to was pitifully small and very overpriced.

If its a once in a lifetime thing for you, maybe its worth it. But as gardens go, they have priced the everyday casual visitor out of wanting to go there.

someone sounds a little bitter..
i suppose you didn't make the woc (world orchid congress)either....
that's perfectly ok by me
i have been a member since 95 and president of one of those poor clubs that has their show at ftbg....
i dont know where you live but i know of no other site on the east coast that presents as wide a variety of exhibits/shows
all shows have their ups and downs
i personally like to have a bulb or plant in my hand before i buy it.. not that phytophthora or rhizoc are such big problems anyway!!!!!!!!!
but i digress :)

I'm planning on going this year; it'll be my first time, but it's not the first time I've been to Fairchild... the earliest I can remember I've gone was during Mr. Stinky's second inflorescence.

I just went recently to the Mango Festival and got a mango tree... I also got some mangos, and after potting them and hoping, I now have 5 champagne mango trees growing from seed!

I will admit the prices have gotten steep, but I did purchase the membership from them, so it's easily just walking in with three other people free. :) I've forgotten how much I missed it.

I'm hoping to get some plants I've been eying at the IAS show/sale... if not, then I'll just wait until the fall when they start going dormant and hope I'm lucky enough ti purchase them from various sources.

My work schedule has changed so much this year that I may not be able to attend. I hate not going but there will always be next year.
Are you all members of the IAS? I usually tell them at the front gate that I am with the IAS and they let me in. Not sure if thats the policy but it has been working for me.
Michael M.

not attend?.....NOT ATTEND?....did you say.....NOT ATTEND?....now how on Earth is it that a good Carolina aroider is going to let a minor triviality like a 'work schedule' get in the way of the IAS Show? Don't make me come over there and confiscate your collection.......

No, amorphomike, I'm not "bitter". Not in the least. Its just my opinion that, haveing been to Fairchild many times in the past when it was more affordable, and knowing what they have there and seeing all there is to be seen, I guess I have seen it, and whereas I might have gone back again to review it for the price of $7.50 per person, I just wouldn't do the same at the price of $20 per person. Just economics weighed against a known thing.

I won't belabor your point but looking at FTBG and IAS 's take on this it is very clear.....If everyone had your attitude there would be no venues to hold these meetings or exhibits. I suggest you become a member of IAS or FTBG and (gulp) volunteer or help make this an even better event...I reinterate that you won't find a better show and sale in America for aroids. But enough of this ,I'm drying out from Fay and trying to see which Anaphylum wrightii seedlings I am going to donate to the Society for either the auction or the sales table...

Living in the UK the "equivalent" botanical gardens to Fairchild for me are Kew and Wisley. Admission charges in USD are $24 and $15 respectively - although I am a member of both as I visit regularly. When we holiday in Florida I always try to visit Fairchild (and Marie Selby ($17), Mounts ($5 donation), etc,). Unless you live next door to these wonderful gardens the cost of travelling to them these days makes the entrance fee very reasonable considering the fabulous plants on display - even when there are no special shows on. Many volunteers keep these gardens going so I am happy to support them.
I wish I was in Florida at the time of the IAS Show!

OK....sooooooo.....it's less than 3 weeks to the IAS show.....real plants sport a spadix, and real plant lovers dig Aroids, so anyone worth their sphagnum best be bribing their travel agent for some cheap tix to Miami.....anyone caught not attending will have to relinquish their collection to those who do attend......

OK.....looks like nasty Mr Ike is heading south toward Cuba and points to the West.It's less than 2 weeks to the Show.....Anyone going? not going? willing to offer creative bribes for the acquisition of plants you been looking for, dreaming of, lusting after?.......C'mon Aroid lovers! Why little minor annoyances like work, paying the bills, etc get in the way? Hit the discount flight sites and get yourselves to Fairchild...(spoken in the voice of Donald Trump) ..."It's gonna be 'UGE!"

OK....so here's the deal....it's Tuesday evening...we're departing for the IAS Show tomorrow afternoon.....If you love aroids and are NOT going.....WHY NOT?.....it's going to be an A Number1 certified 'good time had by all'...and besides....etiquette, protocol, and at least one well hidden regulation dictates that those who don't attend must sacrifice their choicest specimens to the collections of those who do.....AROIDS RULE....be there or be....a milkweed.......

Hi,

I just had to post.

First of all , I love Fairchild's, and was real excited about going and seeing the aroid show.

I was only able to go on Sunday. I love all the plants that I bought.

Unfortunately , I walked away from some because they were not labeled ,
or they were not priced.

If the plan is to enticed "newbies" to the world of aroids,, this isn`t the way to do it.

Defiantly not professional..

I grew up here in South Florida with a basic knowledge of aroids, yet I saw plants I didn`t recognize.

If a friend gives me a small plant and tells me its " some kind of anthurium" I really don`t care.. it is FREE

But, if I am going to shell out some of my hard earned money, I want to know what I am buying so I can add the name to my list of plants. I don`t think that is expecting to much.

I did NOT spend the all money I had intended to.

I will try again next year. :)

Interesting observations, which elicit several responses....first.....it is truly unfortunate that you were not able to attend prior to Sunday. Having aided in setup of the Show/Sale and attending all day on Saturday, I can confidently say that most of the plants left by Sunday, nice as they were, had been handled by a great many, and so it's quite likely that ID tags/price tags had disappeared, NOT through any action or choice by the sellers, and the IAS members are easily some of the most professional it has been my pleasure to meet....that being said...the plants WERE still at the show....and even on Sunday, a great many of the people circulating the room were some of the world's leading authorities on aroids. If you are shopping anywhere, for anything, and see something you like....and it has no price tag...do you leave without it, or inquire as to the price? It is unfortunate that you chose not to acquire plants that you liked for that reason. In the absence of an inquiry AT the show, please peruse the Aroid-L listings and you will find collectors worldwide acquiring identification of unknown specimens. My suggestion...if you see it...and you LIKE it....BUY IT....the membership of the IAS is always available and willing to assist in identification. Please frequent the website, Aroid-L, and come back to the Show/Sale next year...and don't be shy....we're a very personable group, and will be happy to answer questions.

First of all , other than the selection, it shouldn`t matter what day I was there.

Secondly, I feel I must clarify my statement. There were many plants marked with a tag
that simply stated AGLAONEMA, ALOCASIA , CALADIUM and so forth.

The tags were there .......... just not enough information.

So it was not a case of " missing tags" just "incomplete tags"

Like I said before...... I will try again next year.

In a perfect world, I suppose all name/price tags would stay in place forever....regardless...as I previously suggested...if you found something you LIKED...and the price was within your acceptable range....why on Earth would you not ASK someone what is was while AT the show? You were surrounded by experts!...and failing that...as also previously stated...if you LIKE the plant..and WANT it...BUY IT...you can always ID it later....and oddly enough...some plants come to shows WITHOUT positive ID..they might have lost tags at the supplier,might have had tag removed, or might be an unidentified hybrid...most of us have plants in our collections that we can't positively name as to species or hybrid parentage...but we still enjoy them.....