June 2010 Volume 38, Issue 6 G EMS OF THE D ESERT Newsletter of the Orange County Cactus & Succulent Society www.occss.org President’s Message Next Meeting By Vince Basta Despite a rather mild spring temperature wise, summer is here and we are right in the middle of show season. The weekend after our meeting, the 45th CSSA Show & Sale at the Huntington Library and Botanical Gardens will be happening June 25-27. As with any show, much help is always needed in the areas of; set up on the 24th, staffing the show and sale during its hours of operation and breaking down the show. Also, show plants are needed. If you have any questions or what to help, call Buck Hemenway, Show Chair at (951) 360-8802. Our Summer Show is just one month away and now is the time to start getting your plants ready to show! Everyone is doing a great job showing at our mini-show and I hope to see all those great entries the weekend of July 23-25. I will have show tags and schedules available at the next meeting and give everyone instructions on how to enter. We will be asking the public to vote for their favorite choices once again with 10 fun and new titles to consider. And as summer winds down, the 25th Intercity Thursday June 24, 2010 at 7:30pm OCCSS Meetings are held the 4th Thursday of each month. Meeting place is the Fullerton Arboretum 1900 Associated Road, Fullerton, CA 92839 Show will be held the weekend of August 14-15 at the L.A. County Arboretum. I am sure the number and quality of plants will again amaze everyone at this 25th anniversary show! If you have never attended or participated in any of the three shows, plan on attending and participating this summer in our great hobby! Mary has a great program speaker lined up for June and I am looking forward to Kelly's program on "Bolivian Blooms". Kelly usually has some great plants to sell so be sure to attend the next meeting. See all of you next Thursday! March 2010 Speaker: Kelly Griffin Bolivian blooms In June we welcome Kelly Griffin with a presentation on Bolivian Blooms. We look forward to his photos and thoughts on these beautiful plants. Kelly is the curator of succulent plants at Rancho Soledad Nurseries in North San Diego. He loves to travel and study plants with an emphasis on Succulents. Mary Chittenden; OCCSS VP Programs INSIDE THIS ISSUE President’s Message 1 June 2010 Speaker: Kelly Griffin 1 Speaker Thanks, New Members, kaktus korner 2 Plant of the Month Mini Show 3 Plant of the Month: Caudiciforms 4 Upcoming Events, Editors Pic, Discussion table & Library 5 OCCSS Show & Sale Info, OCCSS Leadership Team 6 Page 2 Gems of the Desert Thank you, Rene & Patty Caro! OCCSS gives a warm welcome to our new members! By Mary Chittenden; OCCSS VP Programs OCCSS would like to thank Rene and Patty Caro for their entertaining presentation on Photographing Your Plants. We look forward to creating our own award winning photographs! Bruce & Donna M. Rufus V. Photo: Lori Coxe Kaktus Korner by Dean Hart Hi again everyone, Ah a new month brings yet another opportunity to espouse on the proprieties of our fascinating hobby, and with all things in flux and the full moon rising in the constellation Gemini, anything is possible, if not probable. Meanwhile back at the ranch, we mere mortals must look to our own dispensation to satisfy our aims. I wanted to thank all those who gave me positive feedback about my first column. The jury is still out however as I am sorting out the various threats of lawsuits received that range from plagiarism to corruption of the common good. Fortunately, I have the capable law firm of Readem and Weep to represent me in such matters, so not to worry. In the That’s Entertainment department, a friend of mine who runs an online nursery recently told me of a letter he received that I found humorous and wanted to share with you here, it goes as follows. “Dear Sirs, Please find enclosed two dollars for your latest catalog, and please hurry as I am old and don’t have much time to wait.” Yours truly, Mrs. H Gainesville, Florida Ah the impatience of youth, one can only guess. June is a time of transition with many of our plants as they begin to wind up the spring growing season and settle down for their rest period during the hot summer months. The gushings of water we gave many of them through the spring months must make way for lighter sprayings and misting in the warm days ahead, too much moisture will only bring you repentance and regret, so be careful. Less fertilizing and of course vigilance for scale and the dreaded mealy bug must be maintained as they can sneak in when you’re not looking and do their damage. The Mini Show was another success last month with a good selection brought in for the occasion. These monthly shows are a great opportunity to hone your skills at staging for our two main shows as well. So take advantage and bring in your plants. If you need advice on staging, Vince or myself would be glad to help out with ideas on pots and top dressings. In the upcoming events department The Big One is just around the corner folks! No not the great quake, the CSSA Annual Show and Sale of course. This is the national show and sale and if at all possible is a must see event. There will be a huge selection of plants offered by a whole host of vendors and the show and the auction and the dinner! Then there’s the Huntington Library and Gardens! Well you get the picture, so try and attend you’ll be glad you did. And finally our own three day Show and Sale is coming up and we are sure to be in need of volunteers for one thing or another. So sign up and lend a hand helping out in some way if you can, your efforts will be greatly appreciated. And be sure to get your plants ready, this is the show judged by the public and the results are always interesting to say the least. Until next time, Be well and Happy Growing!! Page 3 Gems of the Desert Plant of the Month Mini-Show May 2010 Novice Class – Succulent Intermediate Class – Cactus Jim Tanner – Haworthia Limifolia 1st Bruce McDonald – “no card” 2nd Jim Tanner – H. truncata “Lime Green” 3rd Kathy McNair – Parodia schwebsiana 1st N/A- 2nd N/A- 3rd Novice Class – Cactus Advanced Class – Succulent Jim Tanner- Notocactus mamulosus 1st Jim Tanner – Notocactus “Ball” 2nd Scott Bunell – Notocactus Magnificus 3rd Craig & Denise Fry – H. magnifica v. splendens 1st Craig & Denise Fry – Haworthia truncata 2nd Craig & Denise Fry – Haworthia truncata 3rd Intermediate Class – Succulent Advanced Class – Cactus Kathy McNair- Haworthia Maughni 1st Lori Coxe-“no card” 2nd Kathy McNair- Haworthia cv. “Lime Green” 3rd Jen & Darryl Craig – Parodia scopa 1st Jen & Darryl Craig – Parodia scopa neobuenekeri 2nd Glen Carlzen – Notocactus herteri 3rd Plant of the Month Mini Show Month Cactus Succulent January N/A N/A February Turbinicarpus/Eriosyce Tylecodon/Cotyledon March Echinocereus/Echinomastus Aloe/Agave April Mammillaria Stapeliads May Notocactus (Parodia) Haworthia June Escobaria/Coryphantha Caudiciforms July Opuntiads (Opuntia+all subgenera) Echeveria/Dudleya August Thelocactus/Sclerocactus Lithops September Discocactus/Melocactus Euphorbia/Monadenium (South Africa) October Gymnocalycium/Matucana Euphorbia (Madagascar) November Ariocarpus/Astrophytum Crassula/Sedum December Echinopsis (hybrids ok) Other Mesembs (Gibbeum, Conophytum…) Photos: Lori Coxe Classes: Novice - WHITE Intermediate - YELLOW Advanced - BLUE Points: 1st 2nd 3rd HM 10 pts 8 pts 5 pts 2 pts Up to 3 cacti and 3 succulents each show per exhibitor please “Awesome turnout at the mini-show!!!! Thanks for all the participation.” Darryl Craig; PotM Mini Show Director Page 4 Gems of the Desert Caudiciforms Plant of the Month: June 2010 By Clifford Meng Caudiciforms Caudiciforms are plants with a swollen root structure that is used as water storage device. This enables the plant to withstand prolonged periods without rain. Most are located in an area about 30 degrees north and south of the equator where there is a wet and dry season. During the dry periods they go dormant only the spring back to life back to life when the rains come. In contrast to Southern California where we have a hot summer dry period and a cold winter wet season, most caudiciforms grow in an area where it is warm year around. Some of the more popular caudiciforms are Adeniums, Pachypodiums, Beaucarnea, Bursera, Commiphora, Jatrophia, and Operculicarya. They first became popular with Gordon D. Rowley’s book “Caudiciform & Pachycaul Succulents published in 1987. What started out to be just a few plants, caudiciforms plants potentially include more than 2,000 plant species. They range from rocklike globs to tree forms and columnar monoliths. One only needs to attend a show and sale by the many Cactus and Succulent Societies to see how popular these plants have become. “A Guide to Growing Pachycaul and Caudiciforms” written by Philippe de Vosjoli was published in 2004 enhanced the popularity. “Pachyforms Volume II Bonsai Succulents by Philippe de Vosjoli and Rudy Lime came in 2007. These books are a “must have” for anyone with an interest in succulents. Dorthe Bihrman a German hobbist has made it his life work constructing a website on caudiciforms and pachycaul plants. His website: www.bihrman.com contains over 1,500 pages describing these plants. It is a comprehensive resource for anyone with an interest in these plants. Take a look. Several nurseries specialize in caudiciforms and pachyforms. They are: Great Petaluma Desert owned by Jerry Wright, www.gpdesert.com Rare Exotics owned by Guy Wrinkle, www.rareexotics.com Rare Succulents owned by Petra Crist, www.raresucculents.com Out of Africa owned by Mike and Maureen Massara, www.out-of-africa-plants.com Page 5 Gems of the Desert Up Coming Events Editor’s Pic June 25-27: CSSA Annual Show & Sale, Huntington Botanical Gardens 1151 Oxford Rd, San Marino, CA. INFO: 626-405-2160 July 23-25: Orange County Cactus & Succulent Society Summer Show & Sale Fullerton Arboretum 1900 Associated Rd. Fullerton, CA 10-4 INFO: Vince Basta 714-267-4329 August 14 & 15: 25th Annual Intercity Show & Sale, LA County Arboretum 301 N. Baldwin Ave, Arcadia, CA INFO: Tom Glavich 626-798-2430 or John Mattews 661297-5364 Sept 4th: Huntington Botanical Gardens Succulent Symposium, All day at The Huntington Fockea crispa; Triangle Farm, South Africa Photo: Jen Craig; CoronaCactus Nursery Discussion table plants Do you have a question about a plant you have? Looking for a name? Wondering how to grow it? Or do you have a special plant that you just feel like showing off? Bring in these plants so that we can talk about them. This way, we all can learn something new! OCCSS now has its own page on Facebook. You can find us by searching for “Orange County Cactus and Succulent Society” in the search box. OCCSS Library We have added some new books this month; 2 books on Agaves, The Sulco Gallery (which is about the cactus genus Sulcorebutia) & the Euphorbia Journals Vol. 8, 9 and 10. You can check them out at the next meeting. We had the full collection of Euphorbia Journals before, but someone never brought back Vol. 7-10 a couple years ago. So please don't forget to bring back any books you have. I am hoping that the new book on Gymnocalyciums comes back this month. Craig Fry: OCCSS Library Chair Page 6 Gems of the Desert Hello OCCSS Members!! We are fast approaching our 2010 Summer Sale & Show on July 23, 24, & 25. It is 4 weeks from our June meeting. We need volunteers for various jobs during the 3 day period, including the show room area. We are doing a people's choice show, so we may need help with ballots. Even a few hours helping out can make a huge difference. Thanks to Valerie Hartmann, Jonel Lancaster, and Barb Kerr, for doing the food. These ladies will need help on the days they bring food, so keep that in mind when volunteering. We need TAG PULLERS!! This is the most important job at the sale! The tags must be pulled correctly for everyone to get paid. Please volunteer to help the club out for a few hours during the sale. Rosanna Barela did a great job on the plant sitting table last year, and she has agreed to help out again managing that booth. We will also need people walking around answering questions the public might have, and steering them in the right direction. Also, some security is needed as we have had some vandalism in years past. A sorry fact, but one we do need to address. I need some volunteers to wander around as security, keeping a look out for people changing tags or removing tags. If you have a high school or college student who needs volunteer hours, they can help us out. It could be as much as 6 hours per day towards earning those hours for school. We are trying to cut expenses and gather our own boxes. If each member brought 20 boxes, we wouldn't have to buy boxes. Please let us know if you can gather boxes for us on a larger scale. If you are available to help with the Wednesday set up day, please contact Vince. There is some heavy work with the canopy set up, so if you are able, please come and join us. Please contact me with any questions you might have, or to volunteer. I will have sign up sheets at the next meeting. *Remember this sale helps fund our great bus trips, refreshments at meetings, our wonderful and informative speakers, our room to have our meetings, and our raffle table* Everyone's participation is needed to make our sale a success. Thanks to everyone for taking the time to help the club, ilori@charter.net or cell 562.587.3357 Lori Coxe, Secretary OCCSS is looking for articles that relate to the Plant of the Month mini show. We could use articles about a genus in general or a focused article about just one species or a group in that genus. Look over the schedule for the year and let us know what plant you want to write about. To avoid multiple articles about the same subject, talk to Darryl or Jen Craig at the meetings or email us at ccn@coronacactus.com and let us know what subject you will be writing about so we can mark you down. Photos would be an excellent addition to your article! Renewal of Club Membership for 2010; $20.00 email or $25.00 snail mail. You may do this at the next meeting or mail it to: OCCSS c/o Membership Chairman P.O. Box 3062 Fullerton, CA 92834 Contact the Newsletter Editor: Jen Craig -- CCN@coronacactus.com www.occss.org OCCSS Leadership Team for 2010 Vince Basta, President Mary Chittenden, V.P. Programs Denise Fry, V.P. Excursions Nancy Rokkum, Treasurer Lori Coxe, Secretary Roger Claassen, Immediate Past President (2008) Patty Miller, Membership Chair Lori Coxe & Denise Fry, Summer/Winter Sales Cochairs Vince Basta, Summer/Winter Show Entry Chair Craig Fry, Library Chair Darryl Craig, PotM Mini Show Director Barbara Kerr, Raffle Sales Denise Fry, Raffle Plants Pat Hamilton & Mary Ann Rogers & Sue Gilley, Refreshments Rick Davenport, CSSA Affiliate Representative Jen Craig, Newsletter Editor Daiv Freeman, Website