Once again, Manchester Branch will be hosting the annual North West Cactus Mart on Saturday 4 May 2024, from 10.15 a.m. onwards. This year, the Mart promises to be the biggest ever, with a bumper selection of well-known nurseries and private sellers offering a tremendous range of quality plants to be snapped up, many of which can be hard to get hold of elsewhere, or are not normally found in garden centres.
Sellers attending include: Williams Cactus, Woodside Cactus, The Cactus Shop, Desert Plants, Anthony Clarke, Croston Cactus, Ian Robinson, Ralph Martin, John Gregory, Graham Charles, Royston Hughes, Dan Roberts, Ian Armstrong, Andrei Nitzu, Key Bailey ABC & S, Elizabeth Maddock, as well as stalls from Manchester branch members.
There is plenty of nearby parking available and the venue is all on ground level, so is easily accessible. Refreshments and all the usual facilities will also be available. Non-members are more than welcome to attend.
This is always a popular event with new and longstanding members, so arrive early because the plants won’t wait. When they’re gone, they’re gone!
Venue: St. Thomas More Church Parish Hall, Mainway, Alkrington, Middleton, Manchester, M24 1PP
Half a mile from J20 of the M60 ring road. What3Words: ///outer.hobby.flies
For any enquiries, contact Peter Bint, secretary@bcss.org.uk
We look forward to seeing you all!
43 Classes to enter and/or admire
Nurseries attending: TBC
Hot and Cold Food and Drinks.
Bacon Muffins, Paninis, Apple Pie & cream
and much more
Click here for a selection of photos from previous shows.
2023 North West Mesemb Show – Official Entry Form
2023 North West Mesemb Show – Schedule
IMPORTANT INFORMATION REGARDING CLASSES 21, 26 AND 28 – NEW FOR 2022.
Lithops are incredibly, and deservedly, popular and the show does not permit some of the choice, smaller growing species to compete against their larger growing brethren as fairly as they should so there is a need to split the species up differently to the present format to allow those species to ‘blossom’ and be seen for the beauty they possess. I have devised a new set of classes for the enhancement of the whole genus so plants from across the spectrum can be displayed rather than just the ones that naturally grow large. There will be three groups as reflected by the wording in the schedule.
Group 1: This includes plants from the following species: aucampiae, bromfieldii, coleorum, fulviceps, hallii, hookeri,lesliei, olivacea and terricolor/localis. These are species that can reach a quite large size
Group 2: This includes plants from the following species: dorotheae, gesinae, julii/fulleri, karasmontana, marmorata, naureeniae, otzeniana, pseudotruncatella, salicola and schwantesii. These are plants from more westerly aspects of South Africa and Namibia and sit more comfortably together for showing. Overall, they do not reach dimensions similar to group 1 plants.
Group 3: This includes plants from the following species: amicorum, comptonii, dinteri, divergens, francisci, geyeri, gracilidelineata, helmutii, hermetica, herrei, meyeri, optica, ruschiorum, vallis mariae, villetii, viridis and werneri. These are the smaller growing Lithops and amongst them are the hardest of the Lithops species to grow well.
The revision of the Lithops sections was not successful last year so I have revised the classes for Lithops following discussion with Roy Earlé. Hopefully this will be more appealing. The pan entry class 24 and the possibility of a Lithops collection in class 41 are unchanged but for classes 21, 26, 28 and 31 a wider choice is allowed this time. Classes 21 and 26 have no pot size restriction which allows for the ones that grow larger naturally to be displayed. However, classes 28 and 31 cater for those plants that are naturally small to have a chance to compete. The restriction here is that no matter which species is entered all plants entered must have only a single or a double head. This is more challenging but allows for a host of plants to be entered. I hope you will give it a real go this time.