Recap of 2015 Sacramento Cactus & Succulent Society Show & Sale (part 1)

As you may know, I’m involved in the Sacramento Cactus & Succulent Society, an organization well worth supporting if you like succulents and live in the greater Sacramento area. At $15 a year, it’s a bargain, too! Aside from monthly meetings every fourth Monday and occasional field trips to regional destinations, the major highlight of the club’s annual calendar is the Show & Sale that takes place the first weekend in May. A lot of hard work goes into this event and then, before you know it, it’s all over—until next year. This was the 55th Show & Sale, and there’s no reason to think there won’t be a 56th on May 7 and 8, 2015.

Here are some photos I took of the vendor area in the courtyard of the Shepard Garden and Arts Center in midtown Sacramento. Tomorrow’s post will focus on the judged show/exhibition inside.

The calm before the storm: sale area early on Saturday morning, a couple of hours before the crowds arrived

And the crowds did arrive right on time at 9am on Saturday!

Turnout was great…

…and people were buying

It’s not hard to see why

Flowering cacti are irresistible

I, on the other hand, was drawn to non-flowering succulents, like this Sansevieria pinguicula…

…this Dyckia ‘Brittle Star’ hybrid…

…this fantastic variegated Agave parryi…

…and this Agave ‘Snow Glow’. Unfortunately, my want list always exceeds my budget. The plants I desired the most were also the most expensive. The Agave ‘Snow Glow’ was $65 and the variegated Agave parryi $125. Not outrageously priced considering demand and rarity, but too rich for me.

Echeveria agavoides ‘Ebony’, one of the current “it” plants in succulent circles. Relatively hard to find but not all that different from the species (the leaf tips and margins are a little darker, especially when grown in the sun). I had no problem resisting the $50 price tag on this puppy!

JD Wikert’s succulent grab bag is always popular—and at $10 an outstanding value

JD’s hypertufa pots were very reasonable as well—$8 for this one

Connie Equibel’s sassy ladies were beautiful and quirky as always

Donna Taylor had a large selection of her whimsical pottery

Her pottery is very popular in the B.E.S.T. Succulents and Containers group on Facebook

Mark Muradian is well known on the California C&S show circuit. His pottery is in high demand, and he’s an entertaining guy who knows how to ham it up for the camera!

Just a small selection of the dozens of pots Mark brought

This one and…

…this one were my favorite Mark Muradian pieces at the show but unfortunately not in my budget

In case you’re wondering what I ended up bringing home, nothing!

Just kidding. Of course I bought stuff. Two boxes full. I forgot to take pictures of the boxed plants, but here they are (I’ve already moved a few of them to larger pots):

Clockwise, starting lower left: Agave parryi ‘Variegatus’ (as labeled), Gasteria acinacifolia (best guess), Boophone disticha, Agave parryi ‘Variegatus’

Boophone disticha, a lovely but very slow-growing South African bulb

Labeled Agave parryi ‘Variegatus’, this looks like the same plant I’ve admired at the Ruth Bancroft Garden many times before. I’ve also found Internet references to an essentially identical cultivar called ‘Excelsior’. I’m happy I found these two at the sale; the larger one was $12.50, the smaller one $9.50.

Found at JD Wikert’s booth, this NOID agave was only $4 and I liked the cross-banding and bud imprints. I’ll be interesting to see what it might be.

Three tree aloe seedlings. JD Wikert collected the seeds in Southern California from what he thought was an Aloidendron ‘Hercules’. For $5 worth a gamble! These babies are already spoken for and will soon go on a long journey to their final destination.

Kalanchoe luciae ‘Fantastic’ for a friend

And finally three new Mark Muradian pots for myself