Where'd you get it?
At the Cascade Cactus and Succulent Odd Plant Show and Sale, of course.
Cactus and Succulent fans in the Pacific Northwest swarm to the CC&SS sale in droves for good reason. While nurseries in the area are carrying an increasing variety of Cactuses and other succulents, they're often a bit expensive and the variety is certainly more limited than what can be found when a group of enthusiasts shares their treasures. The prices here are also pretty darned affordable.
While it's a fundraiser for the club, these folks love propagating and sharing their enthusiasm with others.
There was one young man who'd come down from Vancouver B.C. to shop. I forgot to take a picture of his cart but it was full to overflowing. We chatted later and he showed me a picture of his new 1000 square foot greenhouse. His first was already full.
Euphorbia milii 'Peppermint Candy' caught my eye in several other people's carts last year. Fortunately, there was one waiting for me this time around.
Agave Titanota with several pups for only ten dollars. One does hate to pass up a bargain. The pups have already been potted up seperately.
Peter Liekkio of Pete's Pots and Plants has a knack for pairing plants with his pots! This one came home with me.
More of Peter's pot and plant pairings.
The pot in the lower right is no larger than a finger.
Agave parryi var. huachucensis. So handsome!
There were some rather unusual containers as well.
Another shopper's cart.
Cool Adromischus is another shopper's cart.
A huge Rat Tail cactus specimen. Oh to have space. Later, I saw how they wrapped this for it's new person to take home. Fascinating.
Probably best that this remained closed for the sale as the flowers smell like rotting flesh.
There were even begonias and bromeliads for sale.
My haul included a Boophone and the lovely blooming Cyrtanthus montanus. There's also a little Agave victoria-reginae 'Porcupine,' a variegated gasteraloe hiding beneath the Billbergia 'Fantasia.' A couple of swell echeverias and a spotted ledebouria in another of Pete's Pots are in there somewhere as well.
The sale always takes place the weekend after Labor Day so if you're in the region and like odd plants, plan to attend next year!
Nice haul! That Bromeliad would have come home with me in an instant, and the Agave titanota too, even though I already have a couple. I'm glad the sale was well attended and shopped, although I must say a few of the plants you showed looked rather sad. Succulents that looked like they'd been plucked off the bottom shelf at Home Depot (etiolated). The weekend after Labor Day huh? Maybe next year...
ReplyDeleteOh and, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!
Although the show and sale is a fundraiser for the club, they exercise little control over what's offered. Individual members request table space and bring what they want. Offerings run the gamut from meticulously grown and accurately labeled specimens to some that are less so. They're as varied as the club members themselves. For some, botanical latin seems to be a first language while others just like the shapes and easygoing nature of the plants.
DeleteThanks! The CC&SS sale has become my birthday celebration tradition & it was a delight.
The Euphorbia millii 'Peppermint Candy' is nice, do you know what color the flowers are? Some of those people are really obsessive. Hope you have a great birthday!
ReplyDeleteThe flowers are bright red. The CC&SS folks are a fun group. Thanks, just one more arduous step in the slow and painful trudge toward the grave:)
DeleteWell, those plants are pretty amazing to this midwestern gardener. But what really surprised me were the shopping carts! Boy, would that ever make it easier to shop if you didn't have to hold onto your plants while you trolled the aisles.
ReplyDeleteOh yes, all of our nurseries have carts and since this sale takes place at a nursery, folks just grab carts. Some sales have wagons but all have holding areas where you can stow purchases until it's time to check out.
DeleteSome cool and wacky succulents! It's been a few years since I've been to this sort of event, but it's where I got my totem pole cactus so I have fond memories. I do remember the crowds too, and that's definitely not my favorite way to shop. Needs must though, right?
ReplyDeleteThe nice thing about this sale is that the shoppers are always in such a great mood and love to talk about their plants. The venue is large so, even though there are a lot of people, the crowd wasn't oppressive.
DeleteI think, like that gentleman you met, you're going to need more greenhouse space! :)
ReplyDeleteThe nice thing about living in a big house is that there is lots of unused space that can hold plants for the winter.
DeleteThe best specimens disappear into thin air when (or possibly before!) the doors open on local C&SS sales here too. Picking up on the news contained in earlier comments: HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
ReplyDeleteSince I'm now a member, I should probably get a table next year and unload some of my duplicate plants and the pups that came from repotting so many agaves this spring. The added bonus is that I'd be there before the doors opened. (Right, like I need another plant.) Thanks for the birthday wish!
DeleteI do love weird plants, but mostly to look at while someone else takes care of them and has to build bigger greenhouses. :-)
ReplyDeleteIt's fun to think about a bigger greenhouse but really the one I have is more than large enough. Of course there will be quite a few more "house plants" stowed away upstairs this winter.
DeleteInteresting. That's about as far as I can go.
ReplyDelete