2026 San Francisco Succulent Expo

Presentation Schedule | Location | Vendor List
Facebook Event | Volunteer Signup | Showing Plants | Become a Member for Early Entry


Click to download sharable graphic

June 19–21, 2026

At the San Francisco County Fair Building in Golden Gate Park.
( Directions )

Free and open to the public:
Saturday 10 am – 5 pm
Sunday 9 am – 5 pm

Members-only early sale access:
Friday 3 pm – 7pm
Saturday 9 am – 10am

Members can also skip the entry line all weekend!. We will check memberships at the door.

We often think of succulents and cacti as “desert plants”, but the truth is more complex. Many are at home not in true deserts, but rather in semi-arid and seasonally dry climates. Some even come from wetter areas in the tropics & other unexpected places.

Detailed show information and weekend presentation schedule below.


Featuring

  • 40+ Plant vendors selling unusual species of succulents & cacti you can’t buy at stores.
  • Hand-made pottery created for succulent plants
  • Plant Hotel (store plants while you shop)
  • Exceptional specimens on display in the “Beyond the Desert” plant show
  • Expert growing advice, live planting demonstrations.
  • Habitat & conservation info.
  • Proceeds support the SF Succulent Society’s monthly programs and further our mission of education, conservation, and propagation
  • Our friends from the SF Bromeliad Society will also be participating.

Did we mention it’s a large sale? This video of the sale gallery was shot on Saturday morning before we opened in 2024.


Make your experience more enjoyable

  • BYOB – SAVE TREES: Please bring your own box to shop and take plants home
  • Please plan to pay by card or tap for quicker checkout.
  • Use the plant hotel to store your plants while you enjoy the show
  • Pro-Tip: Saturday morning is always the most crowded and longest lines
  • Sunday and afternoons are always less crowded, so come then if you can.
  • More space and more registers + additional day (Friday, members only) mean less crowding.

Special Presentations

We will be hosting several programs in the show auditorium over the course of the weekend. These are free and open to the public on a first come first seated basis.

Exact times are tentative and subject to change.


Saturday @ 11:00 AM
Show Judges Table Talk
The Beyond the Desert show judges discuss this year’s winners and their personal favorites


Saturday @ 12:30 PM
Beyond the Desert: About This Year’s Theme
Welcome and short presentation
With SFSCS President Jon Schwark.


Saturday @ 1:00 PM
On the Lush Side: Non-Desert Succulents & Companions, in the Wild & in the Garden
Lecture
With Sean Hogan

Sean has lectured extensively in North America and Europe in addition to explorations of South America, South Africa and the western regions of the United States and northern Mexico. His writing and photos can be found in a wide range of horticultural and botanical literature. He was the consulting editor of FLORA: A Gardener’s Encyclopedia, published in 2003 and published Trees for all Seasons in 2008, both by Timber Press.


Saturday @ 2:30 PM
Propagation of Succulents from Seed:  Tricks and Techniques
Live demonstration with gift seeds
With Ernesto Sandoval

If you haven’t tried growing from seed, or if you are looking for ways to increase your success rate, you’ll appreciate this tour of seed propagation techniques, followed by some actual seed propagation.

Ernesto give talks around California and beyond, drawing on 40 years of experience to explains and interpret the world of plants to a wide audience, from amateurs to professional gardeners. He’ll bring seeds of Aloes, Agaves, and at least one of his favorite South African bulbs, Ornithogalum fimbrimarginatum, to share… Participants will leave with some potted succulent seeds to grow at home!


Sunday @ 11:00 AM
Beyond the Desert into the Forests and Valleys: Epiphytic Cacti
Includes a live cultivation demonstration
With Jorge Quiñónez

This presentation delves into the world of epiphytic cacti, exploring the main groups, biogeography, and practical cultivation advice, making it accessible to both novice and experienced growers.

Jorge serves as the program director of the Monterrey Bay Area Cactus and Succulent Society, has been cultivating succulents for over a decade, with a recent focus on South American species. 


Sunday @ 1:00 PM
Lewisias and Friends: Mountaintop Succulents of the US Northwest
Lecture
With Sean Hogan

At the SFSCS 2026 Succulent Expo, we are pleased to present two programs at the by Sean Hogan, renowned horticulturist and founder of Cistus Nursery in Portland, regarded as one of the best west coast retail nurseries, and known worldwide for its collection of rare and underused plants.


Location

The San Francisco County Fair Building

  • On the southern edge of Golden Gate Park at 9th Ave. and Lincoln Way – Directions
  • 1199 9th Ave, San Francisco, CA 94122

Muni:

Easy access via 7, 44 bus and & the N-Judah which will take you to BART in downtown SF.

Parking:

There is no public parking lot at the County Fair Building. If you plan to drive, carefully read and obey all posted signs on city and park streets, as they are STRICTLY enforced. You will have a better chance to find parking the earlier you come, otherwise plan on allotting additional time to park. Look for parking along the streets in the park (Martin Luther King Jr Drive and Nancy Pelosi Drive) or along Lincoln Way. There are hourly parking garages further away (Golden Gate Park Parking Garage North Entrance).


Get reminders and invite your friends


Get involved

Volunteering is a great way to meet people and have fun helping the Society.

Sign up for shifts and get no-line admission on the day you volunteer (including Friday early access).

On Saturday and Sunday we also offer $10 per 2-hour shift sale credit (“showbucks”) as a thank-you.

Chose volunteer shifts

Show your plants or enter a display in the juried plant show. Check out our Show Participants Guide (coming soon) and contact the show chair if you are interested.

  • There will be prizes for individual plants & individual display tables.
  • There will be open theme displays with prizes for the best in climate zone categories.
  • Show plant load in for non-vendors is Friday 9am till 7:30pm and Saturday first thing in the morning 7:30–8am.
  • Plants must remain on display till 5pm Sunday, and be loaded out by 6:30.

Vendors – FINAL VENDOR LIST TBA

Northern California’s top rare Cactus and Succulent sellers:
Gardener’s Home
PB & J Cacti & Succulents
Radiant Cactus and Succulents (Sacramento)
L&J Plants and Things
Vivid Root (Garden Valley, CA)

Returning Favorites and New Surprises:
Gardenia Gardens and Design
Cloud Hidden Plants
Succielife
The Succulent Addict
RDD Succulents
Grizzly Things (NEW)
CasaPlants (RETURNING)

An epic selection of succulent pottery
Peety Pots (LA)
Rowe Clayworks (Morro Bay)
Cherney Design
Rene Rosso
Kim Manfredi

Specialized local botanical growers / hybridizers
Artisan Plants
Dunne & Parisi
Jim Smith

Vendors from the Monterey Bay Area and the Central Coast
JC Succulents (Watsonville)
Desert Rose of Santa Cruz
Q Cactus (Salinas)
Grow (Morro Bay)

And plant vendors all the way from Southern California
Botanic Wonders (San Diego)
Thorn Oasis (LA)

Partner society and co-organizers:
Bromeliad Society of SF (air plants and bromeliads plants from 12+ members)

And many more growers:
Karen Casino
Sus’s Succulents
Dana Gardner and Michael Chin
Earthy Plant Mama (NEW)

Vendor list is closed for this year. If you are interested in future years, the best way is to join the Society, come to meetings, and offer to be a featured grower at a monthly meeting.

Existing vendor links: Barcode order form (deadline June 1)


Presented by the

San Francisco Succulent & Cactus Society

Founded in 1984