Tropical Fern & Exotic Plant Society - Annual Auction - 2019

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Tropical Fern & Exotic Plant Society

Annual Rare & Exotic Plant Auction

Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden - Garden House Auditorium

 

Society website: http://tfeps.org/index.htm

Monday Evening, October 28th, 2019

Meeting Begins at 7:30pm, Auction Preview 7:00pm

 

With Fall, comes the event season of the S. Florida plant world. The highly anticipated auction of the Tropical Fern & Exotic Plant Society is scheduled for the evening of Monday, Oct. 28th. The auction has become one of the best, entertaining and fun events for bidding on rare and unusual plants. Ferns are a key focus of the evening, but literally any plant may show up for auction. I have often seen plants for auction representing species and plant families that I have never seen before. In addition to the plethora of wonderful plants that find their way to the auction tables, Palm species always seem to find their way into the auction by way of many sources. Follow the link above for more information on the auction and the society. It is always a fun night for the plant fanatics in S. Florida.

I have attended many of the auction meetings and the array of plant material never ceases to amaze myself and other attendees. Of what material may be for auction, I do not know. It really can be anything. Rare plants that first appeared decades ago and thus disappeared, may re-appear at this very event. I have heard that certain rare Crotons may be among the selection. If I do receive info that should be posted (certain plants and the like) then I will post it here. I haven't always been able to post photos from the event, but follow the links below to previous topics where I have. I did post a lot from last years' auction. There should be many familiar faces from the Forum and some incredible plants...

TFEPS Annual Auction - 2018

Link: https://www.palmtalk.org/forum/index.php?/topic/58241-tropical-fern-exotic-plant-society-annual-auction-2018/

TFEPS Annual Auction - 2015

Link: http://www.palmtalk.org/forum/index.php?/topic/47491-tropical-fern-exotic-plant-society-annual-auction-2015/&do=findComment&comment=728565

TFEPS Annual Auction - 2013

Link: http://www.palmtalk.org/forum/index.php?/topic/39283-tropical-fern-exotic-plant-society-annual-fall-auction/&do=findComment&comment=608735

Ryan

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- Finally found a copy of the evening's post card. It had eluded me. I have heard rumors about what plants (and people) may appear at the auction, but nothing confirmed. If any rumor gets elevated to fact, I shall post it here. The event ought to be interesting, it always is.

Ryan

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What a past weekend and upcoming week in the Florida plant world...

The Rare Plant auction is tonight. The plant selection remains a mystery but that is part of the fun. I recommend getting there early to make sure you get a parking spot near the old entrance. It is a much shorter walk compared to the journey from the new entrance. Plus, having more time to preview the plants is always preferred. The evening and food spread often has a Halloween theme, but any culinary favorite may be found.

Ryan

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The Auction was a blast. I hadn't seen so many people have that much fun at a meeting (or auction meeting) in a long time. There were a ton of plants. They represented families and horticultural groups from all over the plant world. As expected, I saw many that were completely new to me and it was fun to see them for the first time.

Due to some hellacious traffic from one end of Broward county to the middle of Miami-Dade, my party and I were late in arriving to Fairchild. We had to look hard for a parking spot. I did not have my usual browsing time to both look through the selection and to take individual photos of the plants. We arrived near the end of dinner with a few moments before the auction started, so I ended up grazing through the buffet while bouncing back and forth from the plant tables. Attendance was high. So high in fact they needed to go and find more chairs. I was one of the last to register for an auction paddle (paper plate) and I was the 67th person to get one.

Monday, Oct. 28th, 7:22PM

- There were about a dozen tables set aside for plants and they were all full. The late plant arrivals found themselves on the floor, by the doors and squished in on the tables somewhere. The plant tables lined the front of the stage and ran along one side of the Garden House auditorium. Most of the plants were tagged some others were not. I believe some plants never had a name to begin with. Many of the taxa were represented by a lone specimen, but some groups and multiples of the same plant did make their way into the selection. Certain plant collections were made available as a set. There was one group of four, newly hybridized and named Begonias that were donated as a set. One bid would get them all. (B,C) As soon as I brought my camera to bear, the dinner was almost completed and attendees were beginning to take their seats. They quickly realized rears outnumbered seats, so they attacked the nearby supply closets for more stacks of chairs.

- An old and well-grown specimen of Tillandsia flexuosa was growing on a driftwood post. It was hanging off a recently emptied chair cart. It is one of our native Bromeliads and had way too many heads to count.

- The plant selection tested ones identification skills. It is fun to get one plant to family, but then you read a genus on a tag that is completely new to you and it all turns to 'Wow, what is that?'.

- Cordylines were few in number, but those on display were quite showy, like this Wiley's Gold. (B,C) I was going through the selection as fast I could. I had to stop to photograph this Aechmea tayoensis that anchored the end of one table.

Ryan

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- A tight shot showing the mix of plants in one spot on one table. The selection was all mixed with no differentiation. What determined what plant was in what spot, depended solely on when it arrived. Another S. Florida native, Crossopetalum ilicifolium, Quailberry, was front and center.

- A Goeppertia (Calathea) majestica cv. 'White Star' was showing off an incredible color pattern. It was one of several 'Calathea's' inhabiting the tables. The aforementioned Begonia collection can be partially seen in the lower-right of both images; mostly its sign can be seen.

- Two views of the same spot, one with flash, the second without. The plant mix was so varied, there was something for everyone.

- One of the longest and complex names I have ever posted, Cattleya Orchidglade 'SVO' HCC/AOS × C. Chocolate Drop 'SVO' AM/AOS. It has a long lineage and a mix of the alphabet to prove it. (B) The Orchid theme was strong throughout the evening. In addition to award-winning hybrids there were also species' orchids. An unlabeled Schomburgkia was riding an S-hook as it waited to be auctioned.

Ryan

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- Wielding a camera gives one certain rights at a buffet, such as the grab and eat technique. The spread had been hit hard prior to our arrival, but there was still a lot to eat, especially the desserts, which seemed to keep coming. Must eat moar...

- The Society was getting things ready and explaining the details to the audience. Bidding increments increased as the bids increased to speed up the bidding process. Totals were being recorded at a table off to the right, and the back-right corner was turned into a holding area; so no storing of won-plants at one's feet.

- With the details finished and the introduction of Jeff Searle as the evening's auctioneer, the auction was underway. (B) From the stage, the plants were many and the plant hungry were waiting. There was no real end to the dinner time, so snacking and eating continued throughout the night, myself included.

- The pace of the auction was fast as there was a lot of material to go through. Paddles went up all over and assistants were ready to point them out.

Ryan

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- Each plant was chosen and brought up to the front and then was auctioned off. Added information was given for specific plants. Details were given out over the microphone while others were shouted out from the crowd. "Shade!" "Sun!" "Partial Sun, not a lot of water." etc. Certain plants got a little more of an introduction. (B) Jessica of Freund Flowering Trees, Inc. came up and took the microphone to describe one of her donations. I didn't catch the name but it was a rare flowering tree for sure.

- Travis Searle was on hand to transport plants from tables to the front area. An Alocasia 'Polly' was next. (B) An unnamed Aglaonema was being shown to the crowd as it was receiving bids.

- Travis holds up a Calyptrocalyx sp. 'Boalak' as Jeff reads the tag. (B) Lenny Goldstein shows off a Giant Tree Fern, Angiopteris evecta, to the audience as it receives multiple bids.

- Before describing another one of her donations nearing its auction, Jessica was telling me about this tree, Bauhinia grandidieri, another one of her donations and a rare member of this vast genus of flowering trees, vines and shrubs. She was showing me photos of it on her phone. It is a dwarf, growing maybe 6 ft. (2m) in height and spread with very delicate-looking, light lavender to off-white flowers. The tiny Bauhinia leaves were already full size for this species.

Ryan

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- The Aechmea tayoensis was next to have its time in the spotlight. After being introduced to the crowd it was carried around as people were firing bids at it left and right.

- As bidding ended on a plant, it was carried to the holding area in the far corner. The winning bid and the bidder's number were repeated to the record keepers on the left and were copied to a post-it note, then attached to the plant. You only had to pay once for all your plants, either at the end of the auction or whenever you were ready to leave. (B) We tried to keep moving plants to the front tables as space was created.

- One plant would receive a flurry of bids, while others... not so much. (B) A very large Dieffenbachia, Dieffenbachia sp. 'Mary Alice', a plant introduced by Jeff himself, was next to be auctioned.

- Travis holds and tilts a small fern as Jeff carefully reads the name. (B,C) Interesting moments get created when an off-hand remark or misinterpreted gesture gets turned into a joke. Hard to describe the details, but Jeff was making fun of someone in the back of the room. I will let you guess who was the target.

Ryan

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- "Psst... could you move that variegated Ficus up so it can be auctioned next? Thank you." I heard this at least three times and could not move it any closer to being auctioned without throwing it at the podium. The variegated Ficus deltoidea was popular to say the least. The winning bidder could have sold cuttings of it.

- With Lenny's assistance, the Tillandsia flexuosa was carried to the front where it was introduced to the masses. After the name, came the bids. Lenny was carrying it around the room as the bids got higher and higher. Added information mentioned that most of the plant turns red when mature, followed by bright red tubular flowers, on each and every head or rosette.

- When the situation calls for it, some added prodding is needed to get the highest bids. Jeff goes mobile and moves about the crowd while taking bids and talking up the plant at the same time. He moves closer to legendary grower and collector Marie Nock while tempting her and others with the plant. (B) Jeff moves around to the back as the bidding calms down and is reduced to two active bidders. He is egging them on as people start laughing. Jeff is getting closer as he gets reaction from grower and collector George Zammas laughing on the far left and Forum member Kurt Decker (kurt decker), lower right with the hat.

- Next up, a mango with a story. An attendee brought forth a collection of mango seedlings that were a direct descendant of a mango tree that was planted in a property not far from the garden by David Fairchild himself. Chatter from the crowd was loud and I missed some of the story, but apparently these offspring were some of the first to be produced by the unique tree.

Ryan

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- A wheeled media cart was pressed into service as a portable podium for auction plants. Some of them were quite heavy, as it seemed concrete was a suitable medium. (B) Up next was this fascinating aroid which I believe was a species of Philodendron...

- I didn't notice it before it came up for bid, but it turns out to be a strictly lateral-growing, terrestrial species. It only grows along the ground and not up the trunks of trees or as an epiphyte. The donator of the plant, on the left, came up to describe the plant. Due to kids screaming nearby I didn't get the name. (B) With Lenny's help, a multiple-grown, Chamaedorea glaucifolia gets a parade through the middle of the crowd.

- Jeff points out bids as it was time to change batteries. (B) Palms were represented throughout the auction, from start to finish including plants small and large. Lenny walks a seedling Copernicia fallaensis back and forth in front of the audience as Jeff takes bids.

- Attendees began to pay for their plants and leave for the evening as late arrivals filtered through the back of the room. (B) From the stage, most everyone is focused on the next aroid up for bid, while others are focused on getting attention at all costs. Can you spot the dork?

Ryan

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- It was time to bid on the previously mentioned Bauhinia grandidieri. Soon after it was introduced, Jessica began her description of the plant, while standing immediately to my left. It was a popular plant among the remaining attendees. A nice description goes a long way to stir up interest and fervor in a plant. (B) The selection of tropical flowering trees continued with a 3 gal. Portlandia grandiflora sitting on the cart. The plant was sporting a single large flower bud.

- Yes, it's him again. FM. Scott Cohen (Scott Cohen) came to the front to describe one of his donated plants. Jeff and others were giving him a ribbing about something, probably about the tiny size of the plant he was describing. (B) Not every plant has to be rare, just has to be a plant. A 3 gal. Fiddle-leaf Fig, Ficus lyrata, was next and enjoyed a small flurry of bidding. It was possibly the most adaptive and versatile plant of the evening.

- The crowd began to thin out, as people were waiting for specific plants. Won or lost, they headed out after the plants were auctioned. The attendance was mixed from all over Florida, as some came from far and wide to attend. I knew of a few that had a much longer ride home than I did.

- 9:41PM - Travis took a seat and borrowed my paddle to bid on a few plants he wanted. He didn't get them this time. (B) The last photo I took of the evening shows the remaining plants at around a quarter to ten. They went quickly as those remaining to bid on them showed no reserve.

 

A fun evening for myself and others for sure. This auction is one of the best for plants in the southern part of the state. It never disappoints the desire for rare and unusual plants. It is always so well organized and the Tropical Fern & Exotic Plant Society go to great lengths to make sure the auction is great year after year. They have meetings, sales and other events throughout most of the months. Check out their website and their calendar of events to find out when they take place.

Ryan

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[Jeff Searle 945]

Ryan,

   A big thanks for taking the time to capture this fun and unique event that only happens once a year. There was a tremendous amount of rare and exotic plants from all over the world that were up for auction. We really do have some great collectors and growers here in south Florida. Many thanks to all the society members that help putting this exciting night together. A great group of plant people!!!

Jeff