Recap: 2016 Sacramento Cactus & Succulent Society Show & Sale (part 2 of 2)

In part 1 of this post I showed you the outside vendor area at the 56th Sacramento Cactus & Succulent Society Show & Sale, held last weekend, May 7-8, at the Shepard Garden and Arts Center in Sacramento, CA.

Now let’s go inside the building to take a look at the plant show. Judging was held early on Saturday, and by the time the building opened to the public, all the award winners were properly labeled.

The first thing visitors might have noticed were these five shadow boxes. This year’s theme was “Olympic Moments.” These shadow boxes are created by SCSS members, and voting is open to the public. My brain isn’t wired for this kind of creativity, and I’m always in awe of what members come up with.

This is the main room of the Shepard Garden and Arts Center:

I don’t know off-hand how many people entered this year, but the caliber of plants on display was higher than ever before. The Inter-City Cactus Show & Sale held every August at the Los Angeles County Arboretum is widely considered to be the most prestigious cactus and succulent show in the U.S., both in terms of size and quality. But I think quite a few plants that were in our show this year would do very well at the Inter-City show.

Here is the 2016 Trophy Table. These are the winners of the various categories, as well as Best of Show.

I’m going to show you some of my favorites below. For a more complete listing, please go to this album on the SCSS Facebook page.

Best of Show and Best Crest: Obregonia denergii crest by Bill Munkacsy

Best of Show and Best Crest: Obregonia denergii crest by Bill Munkacsy

Best Cereus: Echinocereus engelmanii by Peter Beiersdorfer

Best Cereus: Echinocereus engelmanii by Peter Beiersdorfer

Best Succulent (Novice) and Best Agave: Agave ‘Kissho Kan’ by Greg Luteff

Best Gymnocalicium: Gymnocalicium mihanovichii by Bill Munkacsy

Best Notocactus: Notocactus magnificus by Oksun Avery

Best Succulent (Open): Adenia spinosa by Peter W

Best Caudiciform: Fockea edulis by Keith Taylor

The plants below didn’t win the highest trophies, but they still stood out to me for one reason or another.

Boophane disticha ‘Port Eizabeth’ by Keith Taylor

Albuca spiralis by Peter Beiersdorfer

Ariocarpus retusus by Steve Goodman

Euphorbia lactea ‘Variegata’ crest by Penny Newell

Opuntia vestida by Susan Ahlin

Ibervillea tenuisecta by Steve Goodman

Dioscorea mexicana by Gary and Ellen Stubblefield

Dioscorea mexicana by Gary and Ellen Stubblefield

Pachypodium densiflorum by Keith Taylor

Haworthia reinwardtii by Oksun Avery

Crassula pubescens by Peter Beiersdorfer

Dudleya species by Naomi Bloss

Faucaria tigrina by Steve Marilyn Lawson

Aloe ‘Sparkler’ by David Calibo

Pachypodium bispinosum × succulentum by Peter W

Agave toumeyana var. bella by Peter Beiersdorfer

Agave parryi var. truncata ‘Variegata’ by Dennis Ragasa

Agave parryi var. truncata ‘Variegata’ by Dennis Ragasa

Agave victoria-reginae ‘Albomarginata’ by David Calibo

Agave victoria-reginae ‘Albomarginata’ by David Calibo

I entered six plants this year. None of them won a “Best of” award, but I got several first places and second places. Considering that my focus isn’t on growing show plants (plus, my best plants are in the ground), I’m satisfied with the result. Here are my entries:

Agave petrophila and Agave pumila by Gerhard Bock

Dyckia marnier-lapostollei hybrid by Gerhard Bock

Aloe peglerae by Gerhard Bock

Euphorbia decaryi var. spirotricha by Gerhard Bock

Euphorbia flanaganii by Gerhard Bock

As usual, the lighting inside the Shepard Garden and Arts Center was terrible for taking photos. Because of the inconsistent mixture of light sources, it was impossible to adjust the white balance on my camera for decent results. No matter what setting I chose, I ended up with an unpleasant color cast. In spite of my best efforts at color correction, these images are not my best. But I hope you got an idea of the quality of plants on display this year.