Nice price for the Brighamia! That's like the 2 I just purchased, probably from the same grower.

Love the Aloe and Tylecodon! ram looks to be field grown and dub up recently.

Caudex: The wire bracing of the A. ramossissima does betray its origin. It was dug up about a month ago from a landscaped yard in San Diego. The guy who put it up for auction wanted to keep it, but just literally didn't have that much space! Makes me really want to see what he wanted to keep instead of the Aloe!!! Do you know if you can root cuttings on these? There is a small branch halfway up on the back which I'm going to prune off...

If you bought the Aloe Josh,you just leapfrogged between that plant and the Pachy you dug up,past a couple of decades of potted plant growing.
I'm going in the opposite direction with my Bombax.Instead of keeping small as before-I'm trying to make a large potted plant out of it.From a 6" pot a couple of years ago to a 3 gallon this year and to -hopefully- a 15 gallon next year.More to that plant than trunk..i like the red new leaves and when it flowers...Here in the bay area(and my point) sometimes to see something grown different is the opposite of that same in soucal.I hope that makes sense.

Stan: I so wish I could have gotten that Aloe. But at a closing price of $700(!) it far exceeded both my budget, and available space. I've never been a big fan of Aloes, but I'm a total sucker for these pachycaul ones! I can understand going the "opposite" way with your Bombax. Why don't you just put it in the ground instead of messing with pots? I agree that they are worth growing for the foliage alone, especially the young red growth you mentioned. Also, the trunk will still get the beautiful mottled green skin, which is another great feature of these. Anyway, if you change your mind a few years down the road, there isn't anything a little digging and pruning won't "fix"!

Great photos and wonderful ideas. Going to find a bonsai pot and do the leaning thing with my Bombax. Love it!

Mike

Jo,
$700 may have been out of your budget, but that's a great price for that specimen! I seen plants a 1/3 that size go for $500.

Fairly easy to root, this one went from callus to what you see below in 6mo.
{{gwi:653681}}

Tree Aloes can be tricky, most people will end up rotting them out before they root.

This thread made my day! I am a cactus and succulent lover! I missed this auction( didn't have any money) But will plan to attend the next one! I want to join some local cacti and succulent society in the Southern California area. I already plan to attend the next meeting for the LBCC!

Thanks for the pics!

Chokolate: I'm glad you enjoyed the photos, I sure enjoyed taking them! Depending on exactly where you live, there are a few top-notch societies here in L.A. I live in Santa Monica, and am a member of the Sunset Succulent Society, which meets in Marina Del Rey. There is obviously the Long Beach Cactus Club (the longest running succulent society in the US), and the San Gabriel Valley Society, which meets somewhere out in the I.E. I'd guess there is something way up in the Valley, and at least a few in OC too.

These societies are more than just a way to meet people and have fun. They are also a great way to find exceptional plants at truly fair prices. I bought this Euphorbia cylindrifolia for $20. It wasn't staged in that pot when I got it, but I was happy to pay that and the grower was satisfied too.

{{gwi:653683}}

{{gwi:653685}}

Jo! Thanks for the info. I live in Compton near Long Beach. I will look into some of the other societies. I plan to move to the IE in the next year or so but work in Long Beach. So I will probably split my time between both areas. LOL. Thanks for the extra pic! The last set of pics look great!