It was not as large as I expected, but it was fun and I took photos. I will post a few when I get some time.

Clerking for a team of judges is very educational -- I really learned a lot about what they are looking for in a well grown plant.

I entered 2 plants for the first time, they scored blue ribbons, so that was cool. At the sale I was very restrained and only bought one plant, Neo 'Tangerine', love the color.

I clerked for a show up in Irvine back in the 80's. After that experience I'd never want to be an actual judge. They'd find fault with the Pope!

Have a look for yourself:

Naomi and Margaret shopping:
{{gwi:498558}}

Sale tables:
{{gwi:498560}}

{{gwi:498562}}

Big tillandsias for sale:
{{gwi:498564}}

Display tables:
{{gwi:498566}}

{{gwi:498567}}

Everything pineapples:
{{gwi:498568}}

{{gwi:498569}}

{{gwi:498570}}

{{gwi:498571}}

{{gwi:498572}}

{{gwi:498573}}

Best foliage and best in show:

Vr. fosteriana 'Red Chestnut'
{{gwi:498574}}

T. ionantha 'petite' -- this thing was tiny!
{{gwi:498575}}

T. xerographica
{{gwi:498576}}

Hohenbergia leopoldhorstii
{{gwi:498577}}

Thanks for the pics Kim. There looked to be some nice pickins' there.
That T. ionantha 'petite'? Mmmm...that's not an ionantha but a T. aeranthos 'miniata' or "Mini Me", the name depending on who's stock it comes from.

Uh-oh, I wouldn't expect Jim Wright to mix up his plants. In any case, the judges didn't pick up on it. The whole plant was smaller than a tennis ball, totally cute.

coincidentally was in San Diego and read Kim brom alert so had to go. "some" pix are blurry.

{{gwi:498579}}

{{gwi:498581}}

{{gwi:498582}}

{{gwi:498583}}

{{gwi:498584}}

{{gwi:498585}}

{{gwi:498586}}

{{gwi:498587}}

{{gwi:498588}}

{{gwi:498589}}

{{gwi:498590}}

{{gwi:498591}}

{{gwi:498592}}

cheerios.

Kim, what was the nicest plant you saw? Jim might've had the tags mixed up on his plants. Check out the aeranthos on Rainforest Flora's site and judge it with your photo.

Here is a link that might be useful: linky-dink

Shows what I know because most of the plants in Kim's and Patusho's photo's look better to me than best of show winner.

Thanks for adding your pics, Patusho!.

Gonzer, you want me to pick just one??? The photos are of my favorites, excepting the photos that didn't come out well. Too many cool plants! And I think you are correct about the plant name, I don't see T. ionantha 'petite' anywhere in a cursory search, and pics of T. aeranthos at Rainforest Flora match very well.

Stan, it's all subjective and a matter of personal taste. I've grown to really appreciate the translucent patterned leaves of a well grown vriesea, but still get a thrill out of a wildly colored neoregelia, a heavily spotted billbergia, or a toothy aechmea. Sometimes I can't take my eyes off an alien-looking form, just because it's so different.

There's no accounting for taste; but for sure the judges exclude plants that have too much damage, that are too immature to be a good specimen, or too old to show well. A good example is Patusho's photo #5: the judges lingered over this plant, but it was decided the plant was too small and should have been grown in more light to bring out the banding and color more. Obviously, as a judge, you'd have to be very familiar with the species to make those judgements.

Worse, plants submitted that have scale, mites, spiders and spiderwebs, lots of water spotting or mineral buildup are marked down, and honestly some plants really should not have been entered. The wrong pot can be a small crime, especially if it's cracked or dirty; oversize and undersized pots seemed to be smaller crimes. A neat top-dressing ensures more favorable opinions than a weedy or messy top layer.

My camera takes pictures that look larger than life on the big screen, and then I could really see the shortcomings of some of the entries that I had not noted while standing next to them. Some of the plants I thought were gorgeous actually had a fair amount of scale under the leaves!! Big no-no!

Our society inspects for scale and they are not allowed entry into any show and must be removed from the premises.
I would not show my plant next to a scaley one. I take great care to insure I keep scale out of my collection and sure won't allow a show to contaminate my plants