Show Report -A Cactus and Succulent Show

 JUST A DOG SHOW WILL HAVE A DOG THAT SEEMS TO WIN ACROSS THE COUNTRY, SO IT IS WITH SOME PLANTS. THIS IMPRESSIVE SPECIMEN OF ABROMEITIELLA ( OR Deuterocohnia),COMES FROM THE GREENHOUSE OF PLANT COLLECTOR ART SCARPA. IT DIDnT COME IN FIRST AT THIS SHOW, BUT IT HAS AT MOST EVERY OTHER EAST COAST SHOW, FROM NEWPORT TO BOSTON. 

Yesterday we attended the Massachusetts Cactus and Succulent Society show, held at Tower Hill Botanic Garden in Boylston, MA. I’ve been trying to resist collecting cacti and succulents, but one can stay away only so long. Attending a show like this is very inspiring, we brought along a friend of ours who had never been to a plant society show, and she left with a tray of plants, and I think I can sense that this won’t be the last time she goes to a society show.

DYCKIA and related species have striking leaf forms, and a collection of like-species is sharp!

Plant societies shows often have plant sales, tables where members sell cutting and starts from their own collections, and specialist nurseries who sell plants often not found anywhere else. I left with a tray of Gasteria species and Haworthia species, as well as a large Bulbine caulescens from the rare plant auction which I was trying to avoid, but this caught my eye ( and ear) as I was passing by.

Cacti shows are incredibly broad, and include often more types of plants than you might expect. It’s not all thorns and prickles, since these societies are a collective of many types of members, those who specialize in one genus like Sanseveria or Haworthia, or those who are fascinated by caudiciform plants ( those plants that look like dead roots, but are actually plants that have swollen stems or trunks which hold water. Then there are Agave’s, Dyckia, bromeliads, living stones, bonsai, african bulbs, desert cacti, flowering cacti, euphorbia’s and more. Look for more info online about a cacti or succulent society near you, for this is a group which is younger, more active and one that focuses on a very growable plant type for window sills and city apartments.