Outstanding job Jo!!

...and nice branch you found for your Stephania, where did you end up getting it?

Recognize quite a few from the Intercity show last year.

Did you end up purchasing anything?

Thanks Caudex! I ended up going to another reptile/fish store to get the stick. It actually looks better in person. I just wish I had done that earlier so I could have had the vine trained onto it better.

I didn't buy a thing. My plant budget really got tapped out between CSSA and a recent Huntington sale I stumbled into. There were some really sweet plants though.

Joe,
Those are amazing pics!! ..and they are starting to peak my interest in more plants!!
You say you use picasa..do you find that better than PB?
Thanks
Christina

Christina: Thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed them. When I first started going to shows as a spectator, it actaully discouraged me a little bit. I figured, "How would I ever be able to find and grow such amazing plants?" Eventually that intimidation turned into inspiration and I became determined to take my collection to the "next level." It has been a slow process, but I really was proud of every plant I brought into this show. If I had been willing to play the game a little more (enter every class, even if the plant wasn't really show quality), I probably could have won first place overall. As it is, I am more than happy with the results, and for those that paid attention, I hope they'll notice that I ultimately favored quality over quantity.

I prefer Picasa to Photobucket primarily because there aren't all the obnoxious ads on the pages with your photos. Nothing detracts from nice plants and pictures more than some stupid banner ad. I also like the interface pretty well and the free storage is adequate: I've got 860 photos in my galleries, and am only using about 33% of my 1Gb of free storage. Be warned that to get maximum benefit from using Picasa online, you'll need to install Picasa on your computer. I know many people are trying to avoid the Googlification of their lives, and this might be a big turn off.

Those are some spectacular plants Jo! All of my cacti and succulents are such small little babies, and they're all so common too...but I would totally love to witness in person a plant show. I've never seen or heard of any coming to my neck of the woods in Canada. Perhaps I'm just not looking hard enough.

Is this show yearly for you? If so, do you plan on entering again next year? If you do I bet you'll do even better!

So when you bring a plant (or more) into a show, do you just plop them on a table in their category or do you have to sign them in or something? And lugging all those plants back and forth is probably pretty tedious and delicate work, no? I had a hard enough time moving just a few plants from one house to the next....and it was only a few blocks away. >_I have such a respect for people who grow plants as a hobby, let alone bring their plants to shows. The work and dedication that goes into those plants, and to possibly risk having them 'turned down' you could almost say. But I guess it's the pride you have in your plants that really counts. *Whistles* Love it!

ditto most of what bunny said and asked!
Thanks so much for the show pictures they are great!
I would love to go to a show.
I notice that all of the exhibts are in nice pots...no tacky plastic pots. Is that some rule or what?
I am in the Tampa area and the closest succulent society is in Sarasota (1.5 hours)...not convienent but do-able.
I really want a society here and think this area could support one.

Excellent plants Jo!! Congrats on your blue ribbons...you should be very proud of those plants, you've done an awesome job! Thanks for sharing!!

Very nice show. I really enjoyed seeing all the photos of some amazing plants, thank you for sharing them, and congrats on your wins!

Thank you all so much. The compliments are more than generous, and much appreciated!

This is indeed an annual show. In fact, all of the local societies have an annual show and sale down here in Southern California. It ends up being a whole season of shows, lasting late spring to late summer! I suspect I will do much better next year as well. Mostly because the two people who beat me will be forced to move up into Advanced, while I still get another year as a Novice. Plus, I am intending to enter *two* car loads next year! ;-)

I can't speak to any other club's show, but the way it works at ours is pretty casual. On Friday, you bring in each of your plants and place them on the appropriate table. Then you fill out a little card, yellow for novice and purple for advanced, with your name and scientific name of the plant. You simply place the card with your plant and voila! its entered. You take a final count and write your name and the number of plants you've entered on the master list and your done.

Hauling the plants is a lot of work, especially for those of us interested in fat plants. I suppose it ends up being a painful experience for all those cacti growers too. What is truly amazing is the amount of work the vendors put in hauling their wares and show plants. These people are moving a dozen flats of 4" plants, *plus* a bunch of gorgeous show plants too. I suppose a number of plants get damaged in the move, but so long as you are careful, it isn't like anything really gets ruined. I had a pot tip over (that really tall Dorstenia) but I just repotted it there, it wasn't a big deal. For the risk involved, the reward of sharing our plants with a curious public and the adulation of your peers is well worth it.

While there is no formal rule about what type of container your plant is in, there is a deeply ingrained tradition of using relatively muted, earth-toned ceramic pots. More and more the pots are being considered as much a part of the hobby as the plants themselves. Actually, for all I know, it has always been like that, but even in my short experience that would seem to be the case. Technically, only 10% of the plants "score" is from staging, but in practice, that just isn't true. There was a particular guy at this show who had some really stellar plants in pretty unique pots. I personally loved them, I know some others did too. The judges on the other hand, hated them. Time after time, plants that should have won on their own merits, were losing to plants with more conventional pots. Given that condition is supposed to account for 70%, and size/difficulty account 15% it is hard to deny that the container and staging factor more into what plants win than what is stated in the rules. In short, there were a couple of plants there in plastic nursery pots, but if you want to be one of the "cool kids," you've got to stage your stuff in fancy oxide-stained ceramic! :-)

I quite often forget the stupendous luck I have in living in SoCal. Even a small show like ours is really full of some amazing plants that could easily be among the world's best. I wish that everyone on this forum could experience a show, but between geography and climate, it just isn't possible. For those of you lucky enough to be able to participate in a local club or show, it is an opportunity you shouldn't pass up. For everyone else, all I can do is post pictures!

Watch it there Jo! Your gonna start a north/south rivalry ;o)

Let me tell you, it's no easy task hauling plants in for a show. I brought in 32 and I'm feeling it in my hips, upper back and arms.

JUST ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!!!

Joe,
Thank you very much.. I just installed Picasa 3 onto my pc last night. I actually have switched over to GoogleChrome as my Internet browser, much faster and easier than Internet Explorer, but thats a different thread on a different topic! lol..
Again, your plant collection is amazing! I have a few little gollums, well, its strange because they have leaves of pretty much every crassula Ive ever seen on them! Someday I hope they will be like your "monstrose"!!
They are a true inspiration to us plant lovers!!
Thanks again, Christina

Wonderful plants, joscience! I'm very jealous!
Planting in the ground surely has its advantages, but one of them is definitely not being able to haul them around to shows and letting others enjoy them!
I guess I'll just have to have my own show in my own backyard some day!

Thanks for the photos!
Cheers,
Tristan

Tristan: I suppose it is one of those "the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence" (or is it the caudex is always fatter?). Sure, it is nice to show off, but I would probably choose having a yard of my own over being able to show my plants. Plus, you can always do what Caudex does, and just dig 'em up and stuff them into pots for shows! Although, that probably wouldn't work too well with your full grown Fouq's! :-) Anyway, we all certainly enjoy getting to look at your plants in photos, so that's something!

Congratulations, Jo!
Excellent display. Well earned, indeed.
Thanks for showing,

Josh

Jo,
Didn't you have that flaniganii in one of your own creations?

The problems with grounding then showing is the recovery time, you have to plan ahead. Depends on the species the amount of time it takes. The Cyphostemma (or Adenia, Fockea, Adenium etc) for example, the 1st year I took it out of the ground and potted it grew very little due to the massive root loss. This is it's 2nd year potted and it has put on some size and is growing faster.

A tree (Bursera, Operculicarya, Commiphora, etc) will take 2-3yrs to bounce back.

My next plant that I will dig up for showing is Adenia fruiticosa, maybe next season or the year after. It has gone from a stick about an inch diameter to over 4 in 2years!

That is a third, separate flanaganii in my own pot. All of them, including the one I traded with you are all from a $15 pot of them I bought a few years ago! The most recent one I staged in my own pot has one of the heads dying, so I decided not to enter it in favor of the other two and the arida. Unfortunately, I only entered plants in two of my own pots. I just didn't have the right size for most of the plants I entered...

I'm looking forward to a future zig zag plant entry by you . And staged better than the crappy beat up old clay pot mines in.
Congrats on all the great plants,Jo. Seeing you post them here before they became stars has been fun.