BCSS - Forum

MatDz wrote: ↑Wed Jan 19, 2022 7:35 am I am not a mesembryanthemomane myself (but I germinated and subsequently killed a few pots, so am heading there!), but about one I guess - I remember reading in CactusWorld how Terry S. was preparing his Conophytums to shows doing exactly that

I thought the aesthetic of shows was to have the plant as close as possible to its optimum appearance in the wild.

Pattock wrote: ↑Wed Jan 19, 2022 12:05 am An excellent presentation, as you say. However, I would say Ian was showing how to make lovely photographs of your plants. As he said, he is selling dreams.

Recording your plants would be my mugshot style - one from the front, one from the side and one of the scene of the crime. Remember to include all the aliases in the description.

Trimming the beautiful, protective dried leaf sheaths from a conophytum so that it looks better? Comments from mesembryanthemomanes, please. The plants in my dreams have all sorts of strange and wonderful forms.

I might dust the next plant I photograph. Or at least blow on it to dislodge any debris.

We see plants (& animals) differently. Some people find the need for verbiage. Others can, in one image, tell the whole story, accurately and with some interpretation which others describe as artistic.

el48tel wrote: ↑Wed Jan 19, 2022 8:44 am We see plants (& animals) differently. Some people find the need for verbiage. Others can, in one image, tell the whole story, accurately and with some interpretation which others describe as artistic.

If you manicure or, Heaven forfend, Photoshop your plant, you aren't telling the whole story and you aren't being accurate. I have spent too much time with botanical articles and punks, hippies and goths to like the glossy Sunday supplement kitsch aesthetic of artistic plant photography. De gustibus et coloribus non est disputandum.

Pattock wrote: ↑Wed Jan 19, 2022 7:38 pm

el48tel wrote: ↑Wed Jan 19, 2022 8:44 am We see plants (& animals) differently. Some people find the need for verbiage. Others can, in one image, tell the whole story, accurately and with some interpretation which others describe as artistic.

If you manicure or, Heaven forfend, Photoshop your plant, you aren't telling the whole story and you aren't being accurate. I have spent too much time with botanical articles and punks, hippies and goths to like the glossy Sunday supplement kitsch aesthetic of artistic plant photography. De gustibus et coloribus non est disputandum.

Your opinion
Not fact

Don't forget the talk this Tuesday
Topic: Karen Zimmerman - Aloes on my Mind: Exploring Aloe Hybrids One Generation at a Time
Time: Tuesday 1 February 2022 at 7:30pm (GMT/UCT)

Meeting ID: 867 1666 1721
Passcode: bcss

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86716661721?p ... hyUzlsQT09

Karen is the succulent propagator for the Huntington Botanical Gardens Desert Collections, a huge potted collection outside of the public gardens. She has worked at the Huntington for nearly 20 years. She has always been drawn to growing plants and at the age of 10 a local nursery gave her an envelope of pine seeds, and she can still remember the deep excitement and awe when they germinated!

Karen still gets that same ‘Christmas morning’ excitement when a batch of new Aloe hybrid babies germinate. For her it is even better when they start to develop some character, often very early on with the first true leaf. Despite careful breeding for specific traits such as colour, size or toothiness, unexpected anomalies can appear in any breeding, especially given how complex these Aloe hybrids have become with generations of species and crosses in the mix. The standouts are, of course, the ones she craves!

In this talk Karen starts with an overview of the genus Aloe, distribution, and diversity of species. She talks a little about the work of hybridisers up to the present, with a special mention of Kelly Griffin, who has been her inspiration. Karen will show parent plants and offspring, some that became good enough to name and distribute, and others that become disappointments, and will also show some promising babies and future possibilities.

Phil_SK wrote: ↑Tue Feb 01, 2022 6:21 pm Thank you!

My pleasure!

Great talk with some amazing hybrids. Thank you Karen and the team that organised the talk. As Ralph said, I hope more make their way over here soon. Roll on Jeremy Spath in a fortnight!