Open Gates. August :30 PM. A publication of the Gates Cactus & Succulent Society. NEXT MEETING, WEDNESDAY, August 3

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1 Open Gates A publication of the Gates Cactus & Succulent Society August 2011 NEXT MEETING, WEDNESDAY, August 3 7:30 PM AT THE SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY MUSEUM I- 10 AT CALIFORNIA STREET IN REDLANDS, CA. Sweepstakes Winner August 2011 Plants of the Month Cactus: Ferocactus, Echinocactus Succulents: Lithops Speaker: John Matthews, a hands on look at Haworthias From the President: It's nearly August, and we've had the hottest days on record...somewhere else. Been spending waaay to much time pulling weeds, spraying weeds, and otherwise wasting time, since they grow back seemingly overnight. Just got back from Washington to visit family (and no, I'm NOT going to show pictures of the grandkids, let alone the kids), but I did get a couple suggestions for the weeds, and even Uncle Sam (you know, from Fort Lewis)) quarantees results: Agent Orange or Napalm. To bad the neighborhood is right next door. That stuff is just plain nasty. With all this "cool" weather, there are all kinds of things to get done, or redone. Like getting a good rest, or having a nice BBQ, or converting "small, innocuous areas" into something useful. I planted several hummingbird favorites under a window, and then had to add Echinocereus stramineus, Ferocactus pilosus and Agave parryi to the neighbor's cat's favorite spots. A pointed reminder of their un-welcomeness. Oh, and do they really taste like chicken? Save These Dates: July29&30Orange CountyShowandSale, notenewvenue August13&14 Inter CityShowandSaleatL:A Arboretum Check your sprinklers; just had a 9-10 foot tall Aloe dicotima rot, break off and fall over from to much water. Now it's back in the ground, but a lot shorter. Going to try and add an injection system to my sprinklers to adjust both the acidity and nutrients. Should prove interesting. September3 Succulent Symposium,Huntington BotanicalGardens See you at the meeting. mjg President Mike Green Director Dan Griffith firelab@echinocereus.org Director Tony Marino Vice President Don McGrew Director Rene Hernandez Treasurer Karen Roholt Director Kim Urman Secretary Line Marie Thrane Librarian Karen Fleisher Past President Buck Hemenway Greeter Teresa Wassman Membership Karen Roholt Editor Buck Hemenway Leadership Team 2011

2 MINISHOWRESULTSFORJULY2011 CACTI:PHOTOGRAPHY DanGriffithjudging NOVICE: small 1 st LindaMcConnell Echinopsisdenudatum NOVICE: LARGE 1 st LindaMcConnell Astrophytumcapricorne 2 nd TomRynders Epyphylum 'Eveningdelight' 3 rd TomRynders Epyphylum 'Orangemaidas' INTERMEDIATELARGE 1 st KarlOsborneSr. Eriocactusschumannianus 2 nd KarlOsborneSr. Echinopsisobrepanda 3 rd KarlOsborneSr. Epiphyllumignescens ADVANCED small 1 st JoellaOlson Echinopsismirabilis 2 nd KimUrman Trichocereusbridgesii monstrose 3 rd KimUrman Stenocereus(withowl) ADVANCED LARGE 1 st BobLaughlin Epi'GeorgeFrench' 2 nd DennisKucera Ferocactussp. MINISHOWRESULTSFORJULY2011 SUCCULENTS:PHOTOGRAPHY DanGriffithjudging NOVICE: small 1 st LindaMcConnell Gastrolea'Greengold' NOVICE: LARGE 1 st LindaMcConnell Agaveangustifolia variegata INTERMEDIATELARGE 1 st KarlOsborneSr. Echeveriaatropurpurea crested 2 nd KarlOsborneSr. GasterAloe'Greenice' 3 rd KarlOsborneSr. Echeveriasuzannae ADVANCED small 1 st DennisKucera Bromeliabalansae 2 nd BobLaughlin Pachypodiumsp. TOTALENTRIES:23 August Speaker Our August speaker will be John Matthews. John is a retired professor and like so many of us, has been bitten by the succulent bug in a bad way. He is the editor of two different club newsletters, belons to most of the clubs in Southern California and has become a very valuable resource for top dressing and realted staging materials. John s first love in the C&S world was and is Haworthias. He has amassed an extremely impressive collection of them at his home in Valencia. He will tell us the ins and outs of raising Haworthias to be at their best. It will be a very interesting and informative talk. Visit the Gates Cactus & Succulent Society at Kitchen Duty for August 2011 RachelWatts RachelneedsHELP! Thankyou! IT S WORTH IT The Succulent Symposium at the Huntington is very worth-while. We have attended several times and always when we are in town. Not every speaker will thrill you, but the day is always full of useful stuff. See the brochure later in this newsletter...

3 Ferocactus, Echinocactus Buck Hemenway These two genera are closely related and many of the botanists who have categorized them over time have included them in the same genus. Today we recognize the two separate genera due mainly to a distinct difference in flower and seed structure. All of them are called barrel cacti. Echinocactus grusonii or Golden Barrel is by far the most widely distributed of these plants. It is being grown from seed in nurseries from China to Italy and the millions of them in gardens and collections far outnumber the original population. Most of that original population in Northern Mexico was destroyed when a river was dammed up and the resulting lake covered the habitat almost completely. Many plants were moved to higher ground but almost none of them survived. There have been additional populations discovered in remote northern Mexico locations in recent years. These plants are native to northern Mexico and southwestern US from Texas to the Pacific Ocean. Generally speaking the Echinocacti are located more easterly of the two, in West Texas, New Mexico and then south into Mexico. The main exception to that is E. polycephalus which grows in the Mojave Desert. Ferocacti are primarily located in the Sonoran Desert from Arizona to the Pacific and south into Mexico. Almost all of both genera are very easy to grow in the Inland Empire. They grow in the ground equally as well as in containers and make dramatic show plants. Many of them such as Ferocactus wislezenii have good cold tolerance for those of us who live at higher elevations. A little research on any given species will reveal how they can be grown successfully. Plants that are native to the Tucson area for example do very well in Banning and in our higher desert regions. These plants are fairly resistant to the pests that plunder our other succulent plants. While the occasional mealy bug will present itself, they are easily controlled. The main issue for large old barrel cacti is overwatering. The plants are really opportunistic feeders and welcome some rain whenever they get it. While we cannot help our wet winters, the plants, for the main part come from areas where the rain falls in the summer. Extremely well drained soil is the answer Echinocactus texensis Echinocactus grusonii Ferocactus herrerea

4 Lithops Buck Hemenway Living Stones are among nature s most interesting mimicry living things. Their survival depends on them looking like just another rock, so the grazing herds won t see them and eat them. They survive in some of the harshest arid conditions on earth. The main populations of Lithops occur in northwestern South Africa and southwestern Namibia in an area known as Namaqualand. It is amazing to see them growing in quartzitic fields, no protection from other larger plants and getting rain for a 6 to 10 week period annually, if at all. Some populations are irrigated by fogs only. The genus Lithops is part of the Aizoaceae family of plants, which include all of the ice plants. They are among the most difficult of genera for us to keep alive in our collections. It seems like one watering at the wrong time will kill them outright. All of us have gone out to look at our collections and found rotting Lithops and sworn NEVER AGAIN, only to see one at the next sale and scoop it up. Here are a few tips on keeping Lithops alive. Knowing a little about what is happening with them is helpful. Most of them flower in the fall. That means anytime from September to January in our climate. After they flower, they enter a dormant period. Dormant in this case means that they quit taking moisture from the soil. During this dormant period their systems are designed to grow new leaves, using the nutrients and liquid stored in the exiting leaves. They don t need us then. When the old leaves are completely shriveled up to brown husks, sometime in April or so, that s when they get thirsty. They will take water until they flower again, unless, it gets really hot. When our daytime temperatures reach over 95 deg for an extended period, they go dormant again. Watering Lithops during either dormant period is very risky and will cause them to rot and die. They have beautiful daisy-like flowers which are either white or yellow. There are more or less 40 species with a large number of subspecies recognized by various groups. Lithops karasmontana (new leaves emerging) Lithops herrei Lithops in bloom, courtesy of PlantzAfrica.com

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7 2011 Plants of the Month August Ferocactus, Echinocactus Lithops September Opuntiaceae Sansevieria October Crests, Monstrose, Variegates Crests, Monstrose, Variegates Dead Plant Dead Plant November Annual Auction December Christmas Party 2011 Work Shops, Held at the Jurupa Mountains Discovery Center 7:00 PM. Bring your favorite specimen or plants to find names for. September 20 Vegetative Propagation. Learn how and do it Soils Work Shop, Held on Tuesday, June 21 WHERE TO FIND STUFF Your Gates Library. The Library has most of the current authoritative publications on succulent genera. You need to be aware of the latest and most recognized publication on a specific genus. For example the New Cactus Lexicon, published in 2006, is currently the recognized authority on cacti. There are controversial genera that many do not agree with, but it is being used by all in the hobby. A book published in 1995 for example may not contain the same information. The Internet. Be aware that there is no review of what is published on the World Wide Web. There are many wonderful reference sites that are full of valuable information. We will make an effort, here, to illustrate several web sites that contain useful and mainly correct information. is an excellent starting point for all research on succulents. Not too much information, usually, but correct spelling, and genus reference. CALENDAR OF UP COMING EVENTS FOR 2011 July 29 & 30, Orange County C&SS Summer Show and Sale. Sale July 29 & 30 10am To 4pm each day. Show: Sat.10 Am To 4 Pm Anaheim United Methodist Church, 1000 S. State College Blvd., Anaheim, CA Contact Vince Basta August 13 14, th Annual Intercity Show and Sale. The La County Arboretum, 301 No. Baldwin Ave., Arcadia, CA.. For information call Tom Glavich at Or John Matthews at September 3, Huntington Botanical Gardens. Succulent Symposium All Day at The Huntington September 20, 2011 Gates Workshop, vegetative propagation. September 25, 2011 Long Beach Cactus Club - Annual Plant Auction South Alameda St., Rancho Dominguez, CA 12:00 p.m. November 5 & 6, 2011 San Gabriel Valley C&SS. Winter Show and Sale--- The La County Arboretum, 301 No. Baldwin Ave.,Arcadia, CA.. Orange County Winter Show & Sale- November 11 & 12. Division

8 From: Gates Cactus & Succulent Society 5890 Grinnell Dr Riverside, CA FIRST CLASS MAIL