My local succulent society spring show
I belong to the Johannesburg Succulent society and they had a show this past weekend: this is held at the local botanical gardens and specialist nurseries and hobbyist growers growers get a weekend to show off their plants and sell to the public. I brought 3 different kinds to sell, sold a few, worked at the hospitality table and tried not to go wild buying plants. Below are a few plants from the exhibition where members show off their treasures and win awards.
Many of the plants I am showing here are slow, difficult to grow and very old. It makes me feel very incompetent because I've killed quite a few of these over time
Aloe erinacea from the deserts of Namibia and probably 15 or 20 years old
Leuchtenbergia principis - definitely the biggest that I have ever seen
A huge Gymnocalycium that's part of the botanical garden's collection
A selection of Euphorbia favourites:
Euphorbia decepta with a bunch of brave aloe seedlings. They germinated and thrive even though this isn't a plant that gets watered often
Euphorbia clavaroides is a medusoid species that grows in the province where I live
A caudiciform Euphorbia species, In nature the large caudex is underground and only the leaves and flowers can be seen. Collectors grow them exposed and this makes the plant easier to kill but someone is clearly getting it right here
A giant Euphorbia obesa that's also had a few seedlings germinate at the base
This Astrophytum is really old
Argyroderma only grows one pair of leaves a year: counting the old dry leaves here will give you an idea how old this one is
Trichodiadema
This beauty is Tylecodon rubrovenosus also from the Western desert areas.
Tulista marginata from Ashton and a cute little cactus that germinated in the pot some years ago. I have a few of these and so far, I'm managing not to kill them although mine are much smaller and younger.
I took many more pictures but I'll try and avoid causing death by scrolling. Next time, I'll show the plants that I came home with
Death by scrolling 🤣 I instantly stopped scrolling because I didn't want to kill any delicate succulents haha I have a few succulents I've managed to keep going but focus mostly on flowers and veggies. In fact I don't think I've ever bought a succulent. Mine were all gifts at some point. That first aloe photo is striking with the white "accents". And the Gymnocalycium is really pretty. I like the pattern the leaves and needles make. Looks like a fun show 👍
It was fun, thank you. You are lucky if you don't feel the urge to buy tons of plants hehe
Is the entire country celebrating succulents at the moment? The talk of town is the last week's Calitzdorp succulent fair. I've never been and every year I'm given plenty reason to regret it. Now your photos......
I'd love to see the Calitzdorp show! I think it was accidental that they were both on at the same time. JSS previously did the show in October
Stunning looking succulents. 😃
I have one growing right beside my desk in a self-watering pot. The main head sprouted little ones, but this main part is now shriveling up. The baby heads look healthy. Am I correct in assuming that this is natural, and the little heads will carry on the tradition if I keep them in soil?
It depends on the plant. Post a picture?
It's already night-time here, but I'll take a snapshot tomorrow. :)
I took a pic of the succulent this afternoon. The main head is shriveled up but these smaller heads are still alive.
Ok, those are Sempervivum, aka houseleeks or hen and chickens. The babies will continue growing even though the parent plant died, just make sure that the leafy parts are close enough to soil for them to be abler to put out roots. Sempervivums are tough and really like to grow outside in the sun. They are Alpine plants from Europe and they can withstand frost and snow (although not Canada grade snow levels)
Fantastic! Thanks for this great description. Sunlight levels are falling as the seasons turn. Our zone remains relatively warm for most of the winter thanks to the Pacific air, so these plants could probably make it. I have a spare set of grow lights, so I'll set that up.
They look so Alien as plants. We have one on our window sill which was looking very sad, a few weeks ago I gave it some water and now it is taking over. We have a saying here 'That Succulents thrive on neglect' But this one has proved me wrong.
While they don't like being watered too often, they don't thrive on neglect. They are more like goldilocks plants: everything should be "just right"
wow, this is awesome
Yes!
Thanks @ewkaw!
You're welcome :)
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Some of these succulents reminded me of the series "Star Trek" Why? I have no idea!:)
They are very out of this world!
Beautiful plants and fun to see!
Looking forward to photos of your new plants and good luck with them!!!
Thank you! I'm just repotting and potting a few of them
That's right, you need to transplant.
I have noticed that when I don't transplant, many of them die!
Amazing the sheer variety of life on this planet. Succulents are so intriguing.
Yes! Sadly the variety is diminishing as we destroy the planet and poach the plants 😌
Hopefully, seeds are preserved somewhere. Restoration is coming our way. I feel it.
Wow those plants looks so strange and unique.
So beautiful, great work!🙂
Thank you!
Some lovely plants there 🙂 made me happy watching this.
Happy growing 🌵☀️🌺🌼🏜
Thank you! I try
Definitely a good show, there are some plants I didn't even know about.
Which ones are new to you? You'll see some more unusual ones when I show what I bought 😁
I didn't knew Aloe erinacea, I think I had seen Euphorbia clavaroides but I had forgotten the name, and Trichodiadema as well.
The white flowered Trichodiadema is uncommon, I have a purple-flowered one at home
I didn't really like it at first but now that I've been researching I think I need one haha.
Haha, of course you do!
They are all gorgeous in their own unique ways. 👍
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