June Please note the CHANGE OF PLACE & TIME for the next meeting! Monthly Meeting. Volume 15. Number 6

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1 Opuntia basilaris var. treleasei Volume 15 June 2012 Number 6 THE NEWSLETTER OF THE BAKERSFIELD CACTUS & SUCCULENT SOCIETY This Month's Program Potluck at the Cal State Succulent Garden photo by Lynn McDonald Bakersfield cactus Opuntia basilaris treleasei blooming at CALM The Bakersfield Cactus & Succulent Society % Stephen Cooley, editor thecactuspatch@bak.rr.com INTERNET EDITION Monthly Meeting Tuesday, June 12 Cal State Bakersfield Succulent Garden at 6:00 PM (see map on page 3) Please note the CHANGE OF PLACE & TIME for the next meeting!

2 Volume 15 Number 6 June 2012 The is the official publication of the Bakersfield Cactus & Succulent Society of Bakersfield, California JUNE S PROGRAM SUCCULENT GARDEN POTLUCK Cal State Bakersfield Environmental Studies Area (F.A.C.T.) This month s program will be an informal get together and potluck in the succulent garden at Cal State Bakersfield. There are no special rules about the potluck, bring whatever dish you want, it has always been great in the past! Bringing your own better-thanplastic table service is always a good idea, and a blanket if you want to sit on the grass (We should have enough chairs and tables). The club will provide drinks, paper plates, napkins and glasses. There will be no raffle or brag plants as there is limited table space. Meet a little earlier: 6:00 (even earlier if you want to help set up). Be sure to stick around for the group photo. PLEASE SEE PAGE 6 FOR AN EASY WAY YOU CAN HELP THE GARDEN! Membership in the Bakersfield Cactus & Succulent Society costs $10 per year for an individual and only $15 a year for a family. Visit Us On the Web! CONTACT I NFORMATI ON President: Lynn McDonald wjljmcd@aol.com Membership: Maynard Moe lithops44@bak.rr.com Newsletter/Website: Stephen Cooley thecactuspatch@bak.rr.com

3 I received a request from Steve Cooley to do this plant at this time because the one that is growing in the university garden is in the process of blooming and we will get to see it at the potluck to be held there. It is fitting for other reasons as well. It is named for Queen Victoria of the UK, who is the longest reigning queen of that land and just now they are celebrating the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth s reign who is the second longest reigning queen. I don t think she has an agave named after her though. Agave victoriae-reginae is one of the most beautiful of all the agaves. It is a small agave, growing up to 18 in. (45 cm.) across. The leaves are dark green with white lines on the margins and upper and lower surfaces. The lines mark the edges of the bud print, the outline of the neighboring leaves pressed into the surface while the leaves are compressed in the growing bud of the shoot. The patterns are very striking and make the plants prized members of any succulent collection. The inflorescence requires all the strength that the plant can muster as so it will die at the end of the -4- flowering process. Any pups that have been produced before flowering will be unaffected however so they will live out their lives until they too flower. The flower stalks are ft. (3-5 m.) tall producing masses of creamy yellow flowers often with pink to purple edging. Some are varicolored. This is a highly variable species with several named varieties. It is known to hybridize with other agaves also. Agave victoriae-reginae is found in the Coahuila region of Mexico, where it grows in the mountains at an elevation of ft. ( m.). It is relatively cold tolerant for this reason. Agaves are only native to the new world but because some are important crop plants they have been introduced widely in the old world as well. The large species are used as food where their starchy hearts are roasted and eaten. Their sap is rich in sugars and is drunk fresh as aguamiel or fermented into pulque. Distilled the fermented sap becomes tequila or mescal. The fibers from the large tough leaves make sisal rope. The leaves themselves are used as a sort of roof tile as well. Jack G. Reynolds AMBERHILL FARM On Sunday May 20, 10 of us met to take the drive out Granite Road to visit the Stephens at Amberhill Farm. the Kelleys, the Greens, the Brennans, the Skaggs, Donna Pitcher and I took the trip & it was a beautiful, breezy morning. There were several -5-

4 l plants blooming, and Anne was very generous in giving us cuttings from her dangerous patch. After that, we walked up the hill to the vegetable garden. We had some fava beans from the vines that were about to be tilled under. Then we were treated to her market and purchased summer squash, onions and beans. It was a lovely trip. We first met Anne at the Farmer's Market during our show & sale last October. Be sure to visit our local farmers markets for the fresh nutritious fruits and vegetables. Lynn Bring A Brick and Help Our Garden Bring a brick, stepping stone, paver, etc to our potluck at Cal State and this will help get us started paving the pathways. Please bring only rectangular/square shapes (rounded and odd-polygons just won't fit). You can choose any size and color you want as this will be a 'Patchwork Pathway.' -6- Our May meeting started with a few new members and a few returning members glad to have you with us! During the business portion of our meeting we discussed the recent Garden Fest which did not make us any money due to several other booths selling succulents. We also talked about the upcoming field trip to Amberhill Farm (see page 5) and the Yard Sale (which, as it turned out, was our best ever!). Nancy Harper and Sidney Kelly then gave their talk on Designing With Cacti & Succulents. They talked about matching pots/plants/textures/patterns/color and using contrasts as well. We got a demonstration on how to drill holes in pots and an example plant potted up into a pot. All in all it was a very good presentation on how to pot succulents and to get the best look out of them. With this information there is no excuse for not bringing in one of your plants for our Show & Sale coming up in October. -7-

5 Journal with pictures of two of his trees. I brought a 2 ½ year old Boohone disticha which I grew from seed. (As with many in the Amaryllis family seeds are fleshy and must be fresh.) The recent Cactus & Succulent Journal has an article on this plant with beautiful pictures. It is also shown on the cover of the newsletter that comes with the journal. (In this case it is a mature plant belonging to Mark Muradian of the Fresno CSS.) Polly brought the plant of the month, Bursera microphylla. It is another young plant. She explained that it is in a family which includes Frankincense and Myrrh. It is noted for its smelly resins. The related family to which citrus belongs has smelly oils. Los Angeles Cactus & Succulent Society Richard Amay brought an Epiphyllum hybrid with beautiful red flowers. He had not seen it bloom before. Lynn MacDonald brought a young Euphorbia alluaudii (E. leucodendron). I was surprised to see such a small one in bloom. She also brought a book Plant Jewels of the High Country -Sempervivums and Sedums by Helen E. Payne. Stephen Cooley brought a blooming Dorstenia foetida as well as lots of give-away seedlings. (Be warned, they shoots seeds all over!) Jack Reynolds brought a plant labeled Pachypodium griquense, but this name is unknown to us. We agreed it is probably P. succulentum. At any rate, it had beautiful flowers. He also brought a Euphorbia gottlebei. I questioned this as well, but it turns out it is correct. It has red bracts and the one I have (E. genoudiana) has yellow green bracts. Otherwise they are almost identical. He also brought an issue of the Golden State Bonsai. -8- would like to invite all members of Cactus and Succulent Clubs to their 12th Annual Exhibit and Plant Sale 2012 Drought Tolerant Plant Festival Saturday June 9th 9am to 5pm Sunday June 10th 9am to 4pm Come hear several expert speakers, also on hand will be the The San Fernando Valley Bromelied Society and The Sansui-Kai of Southern California Bonsai Club There will be special Kids Activities on Sunday Landscape exhibits that show the various types of plants that might be used in a typical drought tolerant garden and how they could be arranged the exhibits will incorporate boulders, rocks, driftwood, and other materials. Vendors will be selling the plants employed in the exhibits at the festival in addition to many other plants, books, pottery, top dressing, rocks. Sepulveda Garden Center Magnolia Boulevard Encino, CA info@lacss-show.com Bring your club ID to receive discounts from many of the vendors. We have vendors from San Francisco all the way down to San Diego selling their wonderful plants, pots, and crafts. -9-

6 Alice is 95! A Letter From Bruce Back on the 10th of April we celebrated Alice s 95th birthday at the BCSS (also mine of 25 years younger.) Polly brought a chess patterned cake to represent Alice through the Looking Glass. On the 14th we toured Cecily K s garden- an eclectic mix of normal plants and succulents (mostly crassula relatives). The use of fountains and pots was quite striking. On the 15th the family went to Red Lobster to celebrate my birthday and on the 18th (my actual birthday) we went to Denny s for breakfast. At Goldenaires (Sr. choir) we had a cake (actually for the accompanist who was leaving).later Polly & I went to Lengthwise. (Actually, I wanted to avoid a birthday, but I m informed I got old no matter what.) On the 19th Polly and I went to an antiques roadshow at Rosewood. Our objects were declared worth what we had paid. Other people had more valuable items. The most interesting were items with little cash value, but a great deal of historic value. It was stressed that the stories behind these should be written down. On Alice s actual birthday (the 29th) we found a flock of pink flamingos on the front lawn. This was followed by a breakfast at flamingos on the front lawn. This was followed by a breakfast at Denny s (free on your birthday!). Alice went to church and the whole congregation sang Happy Birthday. Lunch and presents at Lora s followed. Anne left on the 21st for a cruise through the Panama Canal. (Polly and I had visited my Uncle George there back in 1969 on our way back from the Peace Corps. We saw the canal by train, however.) On 6th May Anne celebrated her birthday at Cabo San Lucas at the southern tip of Baja. She returned to Bakersfield on the 8th just in time for the BCSS meeting. (She hadn t even been home yet!) We had a party for her at Lora s on the 13 (also Mothers Day). Also on the 21st we dropped in on the Garden Fest at BC. Those cardboard cacti managed to make another appearance. Too bad the weather was beastly hot. It sure has been a roller coaster this year. Garden Fest Flamingo Infestation -10- On the 2nd of May Alice and Lora went to Santa Anna for a Calkins Clan reunion. (Alice s maiden name was Caulkins, the western spelling.) We now know three more generations back to the 1500s in England/Wales. We also learned that she is a tenth cousin of Mitt Romney. (This is not an endorsement.) They returned on the 4th and on the 5th Lora and Angela were at the relay for life. They made sure one of the luminaria was for Karen. -11-

7 We did not go to the Fresno CSS in May, but were at the BCSS meeting at which Nancy showed us how to show off our plants with fancy pots and arrangements. Sydney put on a display of drilling pots without holes. Nancy announced that my stinky stapelia won the wacky pot contest, but I wish there had been more competition. Montia, Cistanthe, Lewisia, and Phemeranthus Portulacaceae Portulaca As a lumper, I would rather see these as subfamilies. Two much splitting makes too many families to learn. Dortort calls the last two families new world and the others old world, but there are plenty of Portulacas in Africa. [Bruce's opinions are his own and are not necessarily that of the BCSS] Stinky stapelia (Stapelia hirsuta) Nancy at BCSS meeting On the 11th and 12th we went to the BCSS yard sale. As usual there was a lot to choose from. I hope we made a bit of a profit to add to our usual about $2000 on hand. I borrowed a book, Succulent Plants of the World, 2011 by Fred Dortort (Timber Press, Portland) from the club library. I would encourage more people to use the library. Dortort is more inclusive than most, but still misses a lot (mostly the cacti -and yes, they are succulents). A few minor ones such as Tinospora, a succulent Africa vine, are missing as well. One noticeable change is in the Portulaca family. Dortort joins those who split it into five families as follows: Anacampserotaceae Anacamseros and Avonia Talinaceae Talinum Didieriaceae Portulacarea, Ceraria, Didieria and Alluaudia Montiaceae CALENDAR This year we are limiting each contributor to their favorite SIX photos for submission. Send them to nancy@nancyharper.com with BCSS CALENDAR PHOTOS in the subject line. Nancy CLUB OFFICIALS President Lynn McDonald Vice President Nancy Harper Secretary Anne Lee Treasurer Maynard Moe Editor Stephen Cooley Librarian Carol Gates Hospitality Bill McDonald -13-

8 CACTI at CALM. It was a full weekend May On Saturday Bill & I went out to CALM to volunteer for the Audubon at the Annual Birthday Party. We were to help children make bird feeders and notice birds. It was pretty slow for us, but we did enjoy being near the Great Horned Owl calling just behind us. We also saw an interesting Argentinean reptile. The native plant garden was looking really good, so grown up. We saw Saguaro, cholla, 2 opuntias (one a Bakersfield cactus - see back cover) in bloom UPCOMING EVENTS June 12 BCSS Meeting at 6:00PM CSUB (FACT). program: Potluck at the Cal State Succulent Garden July 10 BCSS Meeting at 6:30PM Olive Dr. Church. August 14 BCSS Meeting Summer Eating Meeting June 9-10 Los Angeles C&SS Show & Sale, Sepulveda Garden Center, Magnolia Blvd, Encino CA. June 29 and 30, July 1, 10:30 am to 4:30 pm. Cactus & Succulent Society of America Annual Show & Sale. Huntington Gardens. July 27, 28 and 29, 9:00 am to 5:00 pm Orange County Cactus and Succulent Society Summer Show & Sale. Anaheim United Methodist Church, 1000 S. State College Blvd., Anaheim, CA. August 11-12, 9:00 am to 5:00 pm. 27th Annual INTER-CITY Cactus and Succulent Show and Sale. LA Arboretum, 301 N. Baldwin, Arcadia OUR SHOW & SALE is only a few months away! Start getting your plants ready and please find a way to help with all the things that need to be done from now until October to make this another successful year!