JUNE 2013 STOCKTON CACTUS & SUCCULENT SOCIETY NEWSLETTER

Transcription

1 STOCKTON CACTUS & SUCCULENT SOCIETY NEWSLETTER JUNE 2013 MEETINGS: Fourth Thursday each month, 7:00 p.m. * Unless otherwise noted WHERE: San Joaquin County Building 2707 Transworld Drive Stockton, California *NEXT MEETING: Thursday, June 27 th, 2013 PRE MEETING DINNER: 6:00 p.m. STOCKTON CACTUS & SUCCULENT SOCIETY C/O BRIAN POOT 1180 BOXWOOD WAY TURLOCK, CA June Potluck & Auction 2012

2 2013 BOARD: President: Roelyn Poot (209) Vice President: Brian Poot (209) Treasurer: Lori Mace (209) Secretary: Pam Fish (209) Newsletter: Brian Poot (209) Board Members: Bill Poot, Steve Roberts & Maybelle Abplanalp BOARD MEETINGS: Please note, board meetings will now be held the second Tuesday of each month, at 7:00 p.m., except in December, or if that date conflicts with something else. Anyone is welcome to attend, but please call first to let them know you will be coming to make sure of the date. Thanks! We can always use new ideas & opinions for the club, as well as help with behind the scenes stuff. If you are interested, please come to a board meeting. Thx! MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION: Individual Family Contributing Patron $20/yr $25/yr $35/yr $50/yr All dues should be sent to the treasurer before the February general meeting. Membership runs January-December. Complimentary Jan. & Feb. issue if unpaid. CALENDAR: June July 11 th - Board Meeting at the Poot s 7:00 p.m. 27 th - Annual Potluck & Auction at the Poot s Dinner at 6:00pm 9 th - Board Meeting at the Poot s 7:00 p.m. 25 th - General Meeting 7:00pm: TO BE DETERMINED August 13 th - Board Meeting at the Poot s 7:00 p.m. 22 nd - General Meeting 7:00pm: TO BE DETERMINED OTHER UPCOMING EVENTS: (not club related) **We will also be listing other clubs shows, sales, and speakers, as well as cacti related events that may be of interest to our members. If you know of something that should be listed, please let the editor know. Thanks SUNSHINE REPORT: by Trudy Spahn HAPPY BIRTHDAY to: Steve Roberts & Samantha Wikert.

3 THIS MONTHS MEETING: Auction & Potluck This year s annual auction & potluck will again be held at the Poot s on June 27 th at 6:00 p.m. If you wish to come early to tour the greenhouses then you may arrive as early as 5:00 p.m. or if it s too hot we can tour after supper. Please remember to bring a dish to share except desserts, and please call Roelyn Poot if you signed up for something different to bring at the last meeting or if you hadn t signed up yet. The club will provide plates, silverware, & drinks. Please remember to bring your lawn chairs as well. This year we are again asking you to donate garden related items for the auction. Please remember that this is not a garage sale & in the interest of time & keeping interest in the auction, we would like to request that all items donated either be edible or of garden relation; like garden books, pots, artwork or pictures, garden gloves or clothing, tongs, birdhouses or feeders, plants, seeds, etc. Also, it would be a good idea to place a reasonable, minimum starting bid on your items if relevant, so our auctioneer will know where to start. Please remember that you are not there to always get a bargain, but to help support the club as well. Thanks & hope to see you there! LIVING ART - Use succulents to add color, texture to outdoor spaces: by Associated Press Liven up your porch, patio or garden walls with plants. Living pictures are cuttings of assorted succulents woven together in everything from picture frames to pallet boxes and are an easy, modern way to add color and texture to an outdoor space. Living wall panels to fill can be found online or create your own from wood pallets or old frames. Make a shadow box cut to fit the back of the frame, and wire mesh or chicken wire to fit over the front if you re going to make your own. First, nail or screw the shadow box to the back of the frame. A depth of 2 to 3 inches is ideal. Set wire mesh inside frame and secure it with a staple gun, then nail plywood backing to the back of the shadow box. Plant choices Almost any succulent can be used, but try to stick with smaller varieties like Echeverias and Sempervivums. Cut off small buds of the succulents for cuttings, leaving a stem of at least 1/4-inch long. Remove old bottom leaves, and then leave cuttings on a tray in a cool, shaded area for a few days to form an end scab before planting. Planting & care 1. Use cactus soil for better drainage. Set frame mesh-side up on a table and fill with soil, pushing it through wire mesh openings. You can layer sphagnum moss under and over the soil to hold moisture in when watering. 2. Lay out succulent cuttings in your design on a flat surface; poke them into the wire mesh holes. Start in one corner or place focal point cuttings first and fill in around them. Using just one type of succulent is an elegant option. 3. Keep living picture flat and out of direct sunlight for 1 to 2 weeks to allow roots to form along stems, then begin watering. If you hang it right away or it rains, soil will pour out. 4. Mount living art when succulents are securely rooted in four to eight weeks. Then every 7 to 10 days, remove from wall, lay flat and water and let drain before re-hanging.

4 MAY MINI SHOW RESULTS: Novice Division, Cacti: 1 st - Pam Fish w/ Opuntia sp. 2 nd - Dawn Dalyce w/ Mammillaria sp. Advanced Division, Cacti: 1 st - Kathy Zumbrunn w/ Opuntia sp. Open Division, Cacti: 1 st - Bill Poot w/ Mammillaria bocasana Fred 2 nd - Bill Poot w/ Tephrocactus alexanderi v. geometricus 3 rd - Roelyn Poot w/ Mammillaria elongata crest Novice Division, Succulent: 1 st - Sonja deboer w/ Aloe variegata 2 nd - Vickie Milano w/ Echeveria Topsy Turvy 3 rd - Dawn Dalyce w/ Agave victoriae reginae variegated Advanced Division, Succulent: 1 st - Kathy Zumbrunn w/ Euphorbia suzannae 2 nd - Steve Roberts w/ Pachypodium rosulatum v. gracillis 3 rd - Kathy Zumbrunn w/ Euphorbia platyclada Open Division, Succulent: 1 st - Bill Poot w/ Euphorbia esculenta 2 nd - Bill Poot w/ Euphorbia lactea crest 3 rd - Brian Poot w/ Cyphostemma Fat Bastard Novice Division, Blooming: 1 st - Dawn Dalyce w/ Echeveria Blue Rose 2 nd - Dawn Dalyce w/ Echeveria sp. 3 rd Kai Schraml w/ Ledaboria socialis Advanced Division, Blooming: 1 st - Steve Roberts w/ Jatropha berlandieri 2 nd - Kathy Zumbrunn w/ Kalanchoe sp. 3 rd - Kathy Zumbrunn w/ Crassula falcata Open Division, Blooming: 1 st - Bill Poot w/ Dorstenia crispa v. foetida 2 nd - Bill Poot w/ Gymnocalycium triacantum 3 rd - Roelyn Poot w/ Euphorbia sp. Allied Interest: 1 st - Mike Bradshaw w/ Planter 2 nd - Dawn Dalyce w/ Gasteria sp. 3 rd - Vickie Milano w/ Aeonium zwartkop MONTHLY MINI SHOW: OPEN TO ANY CLUB MEMBERS THAT WANT TO SHOW PLANTS! The mini show, held at the general meetings, is a time when you can bring your plants, to compete against other members plants. There are 10 categories: Cacti & Succulent, (Open, Advanced & Novice Divisions), Bloomers (anything in bloom, also three divisions) & Allied Interest (dish gardens or natural planters). You may bring up to 2 from each category. The forms for judging are available to take home so that you can fill them out prior to the meeting if you wish, or there will be some at the meeting as well. The plants are judged by the members attending that meeting; Who ever receives the most votes wins that months mini show & will get their name in the next newsletter. The person(s) receiving the most votes at the end of the year will receive a gift from the club. WE ENCOURAGE ALL MEMBERS TO BRING PLANTS TO SHOW THROUGHOUT THE YEAR! FYI: The mini show categories are Novice - those with fewer than 5 years of showing in the mini-show. Advanced those who have shown for more than 5 years in the mini-show & does not sell more than $300 in plants a year. Open those who sell more than $300 in plants a year. Also you must own the plant for at least 6 months before you can show the plant in the mini show. Brian Poot, Mini show coordinator

5 THE HARDY CACTUS: by Jessica Rai 03/06/13 KATHMANDU: When it comes to growing plants at your home, your first choice would be beautiful looking ornamental plants like roses, marigold, geranium, dahlia, and petunia among others. There aren t many people who would prefer to grow cacti in their garden or include it in their rooms amongst other indoor plants given a choice. However, cacti which are flowering plants are fine houseplants and you can mix them with other plants in your garden or decorate your rooms with potted cactus. You can decorate your house and garden with Euphorbia milii, Pincushion Cactus, Easter Cactus and Ball Cactus, Cereus tetragonus to Consolea rubescens and Consolea falcate among others. Cactus vs others With the ability to store water in cactus it results in swollen stems. Cacti are succulent plants. And succulents can survive in habitats that are far too dry from most of other plants. This makes cacti an easy houseplant. However, such is not the case in Kathmandu. It is not popular here in the Valley like other ornamental and tropical plants. People with religious belief don t opt for cactus because they have thorns. It is believed that one should not have plants that have thorns or spines at home or even the plants that release water, Dilip Bade, proprietor of Jay Kishan Nursery, Battisputali, said. He is also the Secretary General of Floriculture Association Nepal (FAN). Bade adds, If 50 saplings of other plants are sold, only around 20 cactus are sold in comparison. People lack knowledge about the benefits of growing cactus which is why these plants are in the shadow. If you are into gardening, you must have witnessed varieties of cactus in the nearby nurseries, though not all of them sell cactus. With spines and thorns, they are not as appealing as other flowering plants but they can be great in your house. Also, there are cacti without spines and they are mostly jungle or rainforest cactus. It is easy to grow as it requires less care and can survive in hard conditions, puts out Pranay Pradhan, co-owner of Lalupate Nursery in Dhobighat. Nonetheless, they don t sell like other plants. As per him, big cacti would look great in spacious gardens while small cacti decorated with stone chips in colourful plastic pots in bathroom and room would enhance the beauty of the house. Cacti are the plants that can thrive in extremely hot and harsh environment. However, it would be incorrect to think that they don t need water. Bade and Pradhan both suggest to feed water to the cactus once a week. Furthermore, Pradhan adds that cactus should be watered twice a week during the summer. And they grow in a nutrient rich, rocky soil with good drainage. In addition to this, Bade shares that Kathmandu is not quite a suitable place to grow cactus, due to the weather condition, but Tarai is. Nonetheless Kathmandu is the place where it is more popular than Tarai. And Cactus Euphorbia milii is one cactus that can grow well even during the winters. Meanwhile, Pradhan suggests to keep cactus away from dews as a tip to take care of cactus during the winters pointing out one should have long pots for bigger cactus for good root system. MAY MEETING PHOTO'S BY BRIAN POOT

6 LEARNING TO WORK WITH CACTI: by Elinor Teague I'm no expert on cacti and succulents -- my experience has been limited to a few succulent houseplants (jade plant, Sedum, Crassula) and the hens and chicks that my mother planted in every one of her gardens. But recently, I've seen two gorgeous small gardens planted with only cacti and succulents and I am now inspired to learn more and to create a water-wise corner for them in my own garden. In the smaller garden, a mix of cacti and succulents, carefully arranged to vary color, texture and shape with the lowest growing species in front and higher forms in back, was incredibly artistic and effective as a border in front of a low wall. The other garden mixed larger agave and other cacti to create a small forest effect with specimen beauties standing sentinel on a flat sandy lot. The Crassula that flourishes in our sunroom stands on a table that receives direct sun in the winter months when the sun's angle is lower and the rays enter through the south-facing window. No scorched leaves, tolerates both the heat of the sun and the cold air near the window in January, has grown huge and needed trimming back but has not needed repotting for several years. It truly is an easy-care plant. These plants do have one major requirement -- they absolutely must be planted into the proper soil type. Almost all succulent and cacti houseplants require a sandy potting soil mix. The exceptions are the Christmas and Easter cacti or schlumbergera, which are tropical epiphytic cacti that grow in crevices in tree bark that has become filled with decaying debris falling from the host trees. These cacti do much better in a potting soil rich in humus that also holds water well. African violet potting soil or a fir bark mixture are better suited for sclumbergera. The heavy clay soil that is prevalent in our area around Fresno is not good for growing cacti and succulents. Amend planting areas for these plants with sand and gypsum, which prevents clay molecules from binding together. Both cacti and succulents store water in leaves, stems or roots and need less water that most other plant types. When stressed by drought or high or low temperatures, cacti and succulents will slow or stop active growth as a survival mechanism. However, sandy soils do not retain water well. Check soil moisture levels frequently after planting to establish a schedule that will allow the soil to dry out almost completely between watering s. Do the same for cacti and succulent houseplants. Here is a good source of information on the incredible variety of species and the care of cacti and succulents. The excellent DK publishing book, "The Complete Book of Cacti and Succulents,"

7 MAY MEETING PHOTO'S BY STEVE ROBERTS

8 MAY MEETING PHOTO'S BY STEVE ROBERTS