Croton Society Meeting Saturday, May 14th

[Jeff Searle]

Ron,

That's quite an extensive , and impressive list of crotons that your bringing. I see one of two things happening, either were going to run out of time for the auction, or people will run out of money! Should be very interesting......


Jeff

 

[Moose]

Maybe we will have to caffineate the auctioneer. Perhaps Rob could spell our traditional auctioneer. He is getting "long in the tooth" and a young guy could probably get it done?

I think my donated rooted cuttings will go fast and cheap.

LOL a greying moose

 

[Judy Glock]

Do we have a head count as to how many Crotonheads will be attending this
event?

 

[waykoolplantz]

Cleaning up & chipping plant debris...getting the place looking good for y'all

See you Saturday

 

[Moose]

Judy - we do not have a head count. I believe that Carol Graff is handling the RSVP's. I guestimate that there will be close to 50 attendees. I am bringing 5 guests.

I am heading down to Goulds, FL this morning to get the rooted cuttings out of the mist house. I will store them in moose land and deliver them to Mike's garden on Friday afternoon. I will give a tally of what cultivars that are coming this evening, hopefully with a couple of pictures.

It may be a good idea that people bring their own lawn chairs. A side dish will also be welcome for lunch. I will bake muffins for breakfast, Mike is getting juice and bagels. For lunch I will be bringing a tomato and cucumber salad. Andrea Searle has graciously voluteered to "cater" the main entres.

There should be a few cold beers available, people may want to bring their favorite flavor.

This appears to be shaping up to be an outstanding event!

Best regards to all!

Ron.

 

[Phil Stager]

A few items for the auction:
1. L to R: Gonzallez, Fishbone, Joannis
2. Prince Philip, Baron le Compte, Maryland
3. Island Breeze, Gilbert Cutler
4. Gilbert Cutler

along with a few 1 gal Gen MacArthurs and a few air layers I'll cut just before driving over (New owner can supply own soil).

 

[Moose]

A few items for the auction:
1. L to R: Gonzallez, Fishbone, Joannis
2. Prince Philip, Baron le Compte, Maryland
3. Island Breeze, Gilbert Cutler
4. Gilbert Cutler

along with a few 1 gal Gen MacArthurs and a few air layers I'll cut just before driving over (New owner can supply own soil).

Wowie Zowie !!! That is extremely generous Phil.

 

[Moose]

Here is a list of rooted cuttings the moose is bringing for the auction with quantities next to the name. They were "stuck" on Valentine's Day and are well rooted. There are 37 different cultivars and a total of 88 plants.



Kentucky (2) Leopardia (1) Pink Eburneum (2)
Rheedii (3) Ovalifolium (3) Ram's Horn (3)
Eburneum (5) Queen Victoria (6) MacAdoo (1)
Yellow Mrs. Iceton (2) Majesticum (2) Corkscrew (2)
Lord Belhaven (4) Multicolor (1) Van Buren (2)
Baron le Compte' (4) Miami Beauty (1) Piecrust (2)
Baron Rothschild (1) Charles Rutherford (1) Revelation (1)
Robert Lavolois (5) Dr. Frank Brown (2) William Jennings Bryan (2)
Fishbone (1) Davis # 1 (1) en's Beauty (2)
Charmer (1) Carmen Christian (1) Christian's Landscape (2)
Jungle Queen (1) Dayspring (2) Reliant (5)
Twist & Point (1) Rembrandt (1) Pride of Winterhaven (8)
Christmas (4)


There are also some Neoregelia "Fireball" (15) that I brought up to Mike's last Saturday for our auction as well.

We have 38 RSVP's as of this afternoon. Should make for a fun time for all!

Moose

 

[Jeff Searle]

Just found out that a few "out of town " family members are coming in on friday and will be staying with us for a few days. Not at all interested in crotons( go figure) and will not be joining us on saturday. Something about just lounging around the pool all day. Probably better off....

But I'm coming...

 

[Moose]

Just found out that a few "out of town " family members are coming in on friday and will be staying with us for a few days. Not at all interested in crotons( go figure) and will not be joining us on saturday. Something about just lounging around the pool all day. Probably better off....

But I'm coming...

Mike has a pool and food and a great garden and ...

 

[Borgy230]

Ron, can you post the schedule for the day here!?

 

[palmisland]

Here ya go, Proposed Itinerary (draft)

9:00 am Early Bird – Continental Breakfast
10:00 am Early Croton Tour by Rob van der
11:00 am Croton ID Section – cultivar Identification
11:30 am Palm Tour by Ryan Galivan
12:30 pm BBQ with Pot Luck victuals
1:00 pm Greetings, introduction of Honored Guests and Officers, Announcements
1:30 pm Later Croton Tour by Rob van der and Judy Glock
2:30 pm Auction of Plants
3:30 pm Intermission (Auctioneer Break)
3:45 pm Completion of Auction of Plants
4:15 pm Trading corner

 

[junglegal]

Extremely bummed. I can't make it. No pet sitter after all.

 

[Borgy230]

I wont be there until 1130 or noon, so first tour will have to be by Ron, I already notified him.

 

[Palmarum]

I am still going through the 380 or so photos taken during the Croton Society meeting and the post tour at Jeff's, but I took a few straight from the card to post. It was a great meeting with perfect weather and I think there was not a single 'hiccup' in the action all day, except for the beer related ones...

- A brief shot during the early Croton tour, with a little palm action mixed in...

- There was no shortage of plants for the auction. The selection saw itself as the first stop for those who had just arrived at the meeting.

- The lunch was both well prepared and well received, as seen here by Forum members Phil Stager (Phil Stager) and Ricky Ginsberg (fawnridge). They got first dibs at the spread.

- Members share a laugh in between the air layering demonstration and the auction.

Ryan

 

[Palmarum]

- The auction was one of the highlights of the day as people were grabbing chairs and taking up positions before it even started.

- Auctioneer Jeff Searle did his best to get every dollar possible for each plant. He is seen here getting people interested in this 'Angel Wing' croton that had better than usual coloration.

- Jeff and Judy Glock look over the auction plants earlier in the day.

- "Ok, what are we doing first?" Attendees began arriving at 9:00 in the morning and they waited for the first tour to start.

Ryan

 

[Palmarum]

- Early in the first tour, we were doing both crotons and palms to a degree.

- In the afternoon a small group made their way over to Jeff Searle's for a short post tour with beverages of their choice, including the now famous Brandy Slush(ies).

-more photos to come...

Ryan

 

[Phil Stager]

Manythanks to our host, Mike Harris, for opening his splendid garden to us; great meeting old and new croton heads and putting a face to some of the mystery handles on this site; and a big attaboy to our photographer, Ryan.

 

[ScotTi]

Looks like a very good meeting/tour. Wish I had made the trip. Thanks for the pictures and waiting to see more.

 

[Bullwinkle]

It was a great meeting,It was nice to put some faces to the names of the posters.Mike has an incredible garden with a great collection of Attaleas and Arengas.

 

[Crazy for Crotons]

It would have been nice to attend. I can't wait to see more photos. What plant was most expensive at auction?

 

[Moose]

Ray - I believe that the larger Captain Gilbert Cutler went for $57.00. The smaller Captain Gilbert Cutler and Maryland were 2nd & 3rd but the monetary amount escapes me.

All were generously donated by our member from the west coast Mr. Stager.

 

[Moose]

It has been three and one half days since the garden tour. Only ten pictures out of 380 taken? Not a respectable %, how about some more photos Ryan?

 

[palmisland]

Here's some of photos of Mike's place. Magnificent, sweeping views down to a lake with enormous palms & bamboos as a backdrop.

 

[palmisland]

View from back porch.
One of the few (OK the only) log home I've seen in South Florida.
Dufus. along with 2 buddys have free roam of the entire 5 acre estate.
View from opposite side of the lake, looking up at house.

 

[palmisland]

Here's our host Mike & some of his rare Coccothrinax.
OK, now on to some of Mike's Crotons.

 

[palmisland]

Croton beds are scattered around the property, under rare trees & rarer palms.

 

[palmisland]

Auction crotons under an immense Ficus. More tomorrow.

 

[Plant Nut]

Here's our host Mike & some of his rare Coccothrinax.
OK, now on to some of Mike's Crotons.

Hey Moose: Your ID signs were not only a hit during the tour but great for the posted pictures too. Job well done! Thanks

 

[palmisland]

First is a garden tour,complete with the oooos & ahaaas. Mike has some incredibly rare palms, a collection of Baobob trees, rare bamboos, a Ficus that would cover my entire lot & crotons everywhere. Next up is lunch

 

[palmisland]

After lunch we were treated to an air layering demonstration by Jim & Judy Glock. Jim explained how to remove the outer bark layer without removing the outer layer of your thumb. The much anticipated Croton auction followed. In the second pic, Mike gives his "don't even think of outbidding me" look. Our experienced auctioneer Jeff, squeezes a few more Croton bucks out of the more than willing attendees.

 

[palmisland]

Rick get up close & personal with his new purchase. Bidding on some went over "market" price. The garden chatting went on & on. Everyone had a awesome time in an awesome garden.

 

[palmisland]

Much thanks to Mike for opening up his magnificent estate to us! Here's a parting shot of Mike's rare double coconut "Coco De Mer".

Thanks Mike!

 

[Moose]

Randy - thank you for posting these pictures of the festivities. It is very much appreciated.

Our "designated photographer" for this event appears to be missing in action?

 

[Palmarum]

The photo topic on the meeting is still coming, I have had a very hectic week of crazy proportions, including last minute photography and a bad car accident involving a family member, so do not worry, the photos are coming.

Ryan

Randy - thank you for posting these pictures of the festivities. It is very much appreciated.

Our "designated photographer" for this event appears to be missing in action?

 

[Jeff Searle]

What meeting?

 

[Moose]

What meeting?

What photos ?

 

[Moose]

Ryan - its been 24 days since the tour and two weeks since your post. Any chance we could get some pictures posted ?

The photo topic on the meeting is still coming, I have had a very hectic week of crazy proportions, including last minute photography and a bad car accident involving a family member, so do not worry, the photos are coming.

Ryan