GEMS OF THE DESERT. President s Message. March 2010 Speaker: Tom Glavich South African Bulbs. Next Meeting. Thursday March 25, 2010 at 7:30pm INSIDE

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1 March 2010 Volume 38, Issue 3 GEMS OF THE DESERT Newsletter of the Orange County Cactus & Succulent Society President s Message By Vince Basta Our first plant of the month mini show was off to a good start at last months meeting. It was great to see a table full of well grown plants brought in by our members that we could talk about and admire. For those of you who participated, I hope you enjoyed the new activity and that you will continue to show your plants at the club meetings and at our two public shows. I would like to thank Darryl Craig for taking the initiative to get the POM minishow up and running again! Just in case you missed the last meeting, a bus trip to the Living Desert and Moorten Botanical Gardens is set for March 27, the Saturday after our meeting. It will officially be spring and the desert should be at its best! We will also be there for the start of the annual "Spring Plant Sale" at the Living Desert giving us the opportunity to pick up some great new plants. There is still room on the bus, so be sure to sign up at the March meeting for this fun event! Looking into April, we will have a booth at Green Scene on April 17 &18 for the purpose of Next Meeting Thursday March 25, 2010 at 7:30pm OCCSS Meetings are held the 4 th Thursday of each month. Meeting place is the Fullerton Arboretum 1900 Associated Road, Fullerton, CA promoting club membership and our two shows through informational materials and club members talking with the public. Also, it will give active club members (members who attend club meetings, show plants at our shows and/or volunteer at our club functions) a chance to sell plants and pottery. Be sure to attend the March meeting for all the details and to fill out the necessary paperwork or me at cactoholic@sbcglobal.net Mary has a great program lined up on South African Bulbs, by Tom Glavich and it should be an interesting program, so don t miss it. I look forward to seeing you all at our March meeting. March 2010 Speaker: Tom Glavich South African Bulbs This month OCCSS welcomes Tom Glavich with a presentation on South African Bulbs. He will discuss succulent bulbs, as well as bulbs that grow along with succulents. Many South African bulbs have spectacular leaf forms and wonderful flowers. We hope to see you there! Tom Glavich is a long-time succulent plant grower. He is Vice President of the CSSA as well as the author of Beginner's Guide in the newsletter "To The Point" which is included with Cactus and Succulent Journal from CSSA. He is one of the co-chairs of the InterCity Cactus and Succulent Show and exhibits and sells plants at many of the Los Angeles Area Shows and Sales. He has been growing bulbs and geophytes nearly as long as he has succulents. INSIDE THIS ISSUE President s Message 1 February 2010 Speaker: Tom Glavich 1 Speaker Thanks, New Members, Mini show 2 Plant of the Month Focus: Echinocereus engelmannii 3 Upcoming Events & Editor s Pic 4 March Discussion Table: South African Bulbs 4 Club field trip, OCCSS Leadership Team 5 Mary Chittenden; OCCSS VP Programs Continued on pg 4

2 Page 2 Thank you, Buck Hemenway! By Mary Chittenden; OCCSS VP Programs OCCSS would like to thank Buck Hemenway for his presentation on succulents of the Richtersveld, South Africa. He captured some of the great variety of flora growing in that extremely dry environment. Picture by Jen Craig; Editor OCCSS gives a warm welcome to our new members! Earl L. Eugene B. May Yee S. Ulrich P. Plant of the Month Mini-Show Feb 2010 Novice Class Succulent Nancy Rokken - Tylecoden paniculatus 1 st Novice Class Cactus Jim Tanner - Eriosyce senilis 1 st Ken Shaw - Turbinicarpus horripilus 2 nd Pat Hurliman - Turbinicarpus ysabelae 3 rd Advanced Class Succulent Craig and Denise Fry - Tylecodon sinis-alexandri 1 st Darryl and Jen Craig - Tylecodon paniculatus var. dinteri 2 nd Craig and Denise Fry - Tylecodon nolteii 3 rd Advanced Class Cactus Craig and Denise Fry - Turbinicarpus krainzianus minimus 1 st Craig and Denise Fry - Eriosyce villosa 2 nd Craig and Denise Fry - Turbinicarpus pseudopectinatus 3 rd Gary James - Turbinicarpus alonsoi 3 rd Craig and Denise Fry - Eriosyce aurata HM 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 Classes: Novice Intermediate Advanced Points: 1 st 10 pts 2 nd 8 pts 3 rd 5 pts HM 2 pts Up to 3 cacti and 3 succulents each show per exhibitor please 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 ) Remember, you must have had your plant for at least 6 months to enter it! Darryl Craig; PotM Mini Show Director

3 Page 3 Echinocereus engelmannii Plant of the Month Focus: March 2010 By Darryl Craig; OCCSS PotM Mini-Show Director Engelmann s Hedgehog Strawberry Hedgehog Echinocereus engelmannii (Parry ex Engelm.) Lemaire Cactaceae Family E. engelmannii grows right here in California! Joshua Tree National Park in 29 Palms (I-10 east) is a great place to visit for Cacti. And right about now these Hedgehogs are starting to bloom. Form: Engelmann s Hedgehog is one of the most common species in the Southwest USA. It also has a very wide range of forms and varieties. Some are quite rare. Shrub forming columnar cactus that branches freely from the base forming large clusters. Variation in spine color and length are numerous, as with stem color. Generally a light green, but some can be a copper to red stem color. Spine color can range from a golden tan, to red to black to white to grey. Flowers/Fruit: Very attractive pink to purple flowers form near the crown of the stem. Literally ripping through the skin. Up to 3in in diameter, the bright colored flowers can be seen easily from a distance. The fruit is very spiney and is said to have a strawberry taste, leading to it s common name of Strawberry Hedgehog. Fruit ripens to a dark red and will split open to reveal the seeds. Size: Stems can be up to 12-14in tall and 2-3in in diameter and can form large clusters several feet in diameter. Propagation: From seed or offsets. Roots rather easily from cuttings. Fresh seed germinates quickly. Easy to grow from seed. Sun/Water: Native to Southwest USA and Baja Mexico deserts, these plants can survive hot, sunny and very arid conditions. Once established, these plants do not need much water. Best grown in full sun or very bright shade, while still hardy down 14F (-10C) Notes: There are many varieties of Echinocereus engelmannii. A wide range of spine forms and colors are found throughout the specie. Flowers are less variable in terms of color, but have many different shades. Some other varieties are: v. boyce-thompsonii; v. mojavensis; v. armatus; v. variegata; v. apachensis Photos: Darryl Craig - Joshua Tree National Park; 29 Palms, CA.

4 Page 4 Up Coming Events March 27: OCCSS Sponsored trip to The Living Desert & Moorten Botanical Gardens; talk to Denise Fry Last chance to sign up at the March meeting Editor s Pic March 27 & 28: Prickly Palace Garden Tour & Sale Call Buck or April 10 & 11: South Coast Cactus & Succulent Society Show & Sale South Coast Botanic Gardens Crenshaw Blvd. PV Peninsula 9am-4pm (We will have fliers available at our meeting) April 17 & 18: Green Scene Plant Sale Fullerton Arboretum 1900 Associated Rd. Fullerton 10am-4pm Albuca spiralis; Doornkloof, Little Karoo, South Africa Photo: Jen Craig; CoronaCactus Nursery Continued from page 1 Discussion table plants: South African Bulbs Tom Glavich will be talking about these plants. Let's see them! Bring in your plants and show them off. Albuca Augrabies_hills Massonia pustulata Ornithogalum sp. Photos by Darryl Craig; OCCSS PotM Mini-Show Director 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 The Library will be at the next meeting. Bring all borrowed books back, old and new. We are going to order some new books soon, so let me know if you have any requests. Also, I have 100 s of old CSSA Journals, if any one is interested. Craig Fry: OCCSS Library Chair

5 Page 5 O.C.C.S.S. Palm Springs Bus Trip Our Club is going to: The Living Desert & Moorten Botanical Gardens * We will meet on Saturday, March 27 at 7:00am in the Cal State Fullerton Parking Lot. Bus will leave by 7:30am. Returning 6:30pm-ish. *There will be places to buy lunch at the Living Desert, or you can bring your own. Our club will provide cold drinks and water for the trip. There will be plants for sale so bring your empty containers to fill! You must sign up for this Bus Trip with Denise Fry. *There is a $10. non refundable seat holder for the bus. This will cover your entry to both gardens. *Time permitting we will also drop by Buck & Yvonne Hemenway s on our return. * If you have additional questions call: Denise 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 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; $ 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 Contact the Newsletter Editor: Jen Craig -- CCN@coronacactus.com 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, Refreshments Rick Davenport, CSSA Affiliate Representative Jen Craig, Newsletter Editor Daiv Freeman, Website