Dave, I'm sure the Society would like you as a member and a vendor - there's certainly a place for someone selling succulent-garden starter plants that are grown well and bug-free. It's interesting that you also are growing Cistanthe guadalupensis - that's a great plant for the SouCal growing area and is underrepresented in San Diego gardens (Bonus! - Cistanthe-member plants are commonly known as 'pussypaws'). Coincidentally enough, there was a show last night on folks who dive with sharks - one of the best places to see great white sharks is off Guadalupe Island, which is where C.g. comes from (it and a few islets). They were diving from a boat, so my posting here is coming full-circle with your most-recent picture. Speaking of pictures, if you're judiciously posting off-topic pics (and large ones at that), you might want to put just a thumbnail up in the post, rather than the whole picture. Some folks here are on dial-up.

Stan, most of these same sellers are also at the San Jose sales (in Santa Clara) *twice* a year. Have you tried attending those? That would be easier to get to for you, and you'll find some of the same plants and pottery there. Sometimes these are better, because you get first dibs on rare plants in Spring before the larger summer sale. I've found some real nice ones there. In the East Bay, you could also try the UCB sales for succulents (but that can be a parking nightmare which is worse than in SF). These sales and shows are driven by the local C&S societies, so if there was one based in Oakland, I don't see why it wouldn't happen there as well. Is that group now defunct? The traffic and parking issues are certainly pitfalls for sellers but the tradeoff is having a larger venue and more potential buyers. This sale turned out to be one of the best years ever, so despite the economy, bridges and traffic, people are still spending on plants. The prices are definitely higher this year, but not more than what you'd find on eBay or the online growers, especially for the caudex plants. The cost of the space there is up this year and staff is down..and the sellers are certainly not getting rich doing this, and most are just supporting their hobby. But you'll still see them driving up from central California and even Arizona to participate.

Xuan, I'm so glad to hear that you enjoyed the show and sale. We have it every year at the same time (4th weekend in July) so if you get back this way again come and see us. If you come back in a different month send me an email and I'll let you know what other C&S sales are going on. We have nine C&S societies here in Northern California, and there are shows/sales almost every month from April through October. Now I know what you meant about changing the soil. I have purchased plants from certain vendors before and if I didn't change the soil they would die. It had nothing to do with the quality of the vendor's soil; it had everything to do with the differences (however slight) in our climates. Since you're taking the plants back to Vietnam I would repot when I got home. This is because of your high humidity if nothing else. I would add more rock, perlite or pumice to the mix. I would also NOT move the plants into terra cotta pots since the plastic pots dry out faster and that's what you want, especially for Vietnam. Once you've learned how to grow them in your climate you could adjust the pots and/or soil to that which works best for you. I think you will find that you WILL have to water on occasion. Also, many succulents like having filtered light; others need to stay out of the afternoon sun. I don't know where you're staying, but there are a couple of places in Berkeley where you can buy more succulents - The Dry Garden on Shattuck Avenue and the UC Berkeley Botanical Garden on Centennial Drive (http://botanicalgarden.berkeley.edu/). Of course our home improvement stores also have succulents at reasonable prices although many times they don't have names on them. If there's a Home Depot (http://www.homedepot.com) or a Lowe's (http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=home) near where you're staying you could check them out too. Good luck, and have a very safe trip home! Marilyn

Not a chance, but hope those who can will take TONS of pics!