MAY 2016 STOCKTON CACTUS & SUCCULENT SOCIETY NEWSLETTER

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1 STOCKTON CACTUS & SUCCULENT SOCIETY NEWSLETTER MAY 2016 MEETINGS: Fourth Thursday each month, 7:00 p.m. * Unless otherwise noted WHERE: Poot s Cactus Nursery East Hwy 120 Ripon, CA *NEXT MEETING: Thursday, May 26 th, 2016 DINNER: 6:00 p.m. STOCKTON CACTUS & SUCCULENT SOCIETY C/O BRIAN POOT 5617 ANADA COURT SALIDA, CA 95368

2 2016 BOARD: President: Lesley Slayter (209) Vice President: Mary Bertken (209) Treasurer: Roelyn Poot (209) Secretary: OPEN Board Members: Jerry Slayter, Dawn Dalyce & Kathy Ackerman Newsletter: Brian Poot (209) BOARD MEETINGS: Please note, board meetings will now be held the second Wednesday 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 $20/yr Family $25/yr Contributing $35/yr Patron $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: May 11 th - Board Meeting at the Poot s 7:00 p.m. 26 th - Annual Potluck & Auction at Poot s Cactus Nursery June 8 th - Board Meeting at the Poot s 7:00 p.m. 23 rd - General Meeting 7:00pm: TO BE DETERMINED July 13 th - Board Meeting at the Poot s 7:00 p.m. 26 th - General Meeting 7:00pm: Woody Minnich OTHER UPCOMING EVENTS: (not club related) SUNSHINE REPORT: HAPPY BIRTHDAY to: Bobby Stanley & Sharon Johnstone.

3 THIS MONTHS MEETING: Auction & Potluck This year s annual auction & potluck will again be held at the Poot s on May 26 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. 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, 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! *Reminder to bring your own boxes for any plants or other items that you win in the auction. RETURNING & NEW MEMBERS: PLEASE ADD TO YOUR WHO S WHO Rick & Nellie Prather JD Wikert Miguel & Judy Montanez 1803 Enslen Avenue 1611 West Tokay Street 2908 Tabriz Drive Modesto, CA Lodi, CA Modesto, CA Ph. (209) Ph. (209) Ph. (209) k6le@mac.com jdwikert@gmail.com mmntz@ymail.com APRIL MEETING PHOTO'S BY LESLEY SLAYTER

4 APRIL MINI SHOW RESULTS: Novice Division, Cacti: Novice Division, Succulent: 1 st - Joan Stewart w/ Euphorbia millii Novice Division, Blooming: Advanced Division, Cacti: 1 st - Lesley Slayter w/ Tephrocactus alexanderi v. geometricus 2 nd - Barbara Coelho w/ Opuntia ficus-indica 'Sunburst' 3 rd - Barbara Coelho w/ Myrtillocalycium 'Polyp' Advanced Division, Succulent: 1 st - Jerry Slayter w/ Euphorbia obesa 2 nd - Lesley Slayter w/ Sedum frutescens 3 rd - Barbara Coelho w/ Lithops optica v. rubra Advanced Division, Blooming: 1 st - Barbara Coelho w/ Euphorbia suzannae v. marnierae 2 nd - Barbara Coelho w/ Cleistocactus tupizensis Open Division, Cacti: Open Division, Succulent: Open Division, Blooming: Allied Interest: 1 st - Barbara Coelho w/ "Eggceptional" Sempervivum sp. 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; whoever 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 APARTMENT GARDENING: by Tory Foulk 02/29/16 It s officially spring, and garden centers everywhere are rolling out their tents in preparation for planting season. However, many of us here in the city don t have the luxury of a spacious yard, and even if we do, some landlords prohibit yard alteration. So what are we apartment-dwellers to do? Fear not: even for those of us with not-so-green thumbs, apartment gardening can be deceptively easy. The following tips will assist you in cultivating a successful plant family indoors. Make a gardening scrapbook or journal to keep track of all your plants. Even if you aren t the creative type, having a record of all of your plants is a good idea. If you re willing to go the more craft-oriented route, you can save the little plant tags or seed packets and paste them in, along with the date planted and any care instructions. You can even include where the seeds were purchased. The cool thing about a gardening journal or scrapbook is that it can be as creative or detailed as you d like. It can simply be a list of the plants you have and their instructions for care, or you can go all out and include photos and sketches of your plants, stickers, gardening tips, a watering schedule the possibilities are endless. Choose plants that thrive indoors and in containers. Some plants just work better in indoor containers than others. However, that isn t as limiting as you might think. No matter what type of plant you d like to befriend, there s almost always a subspecies that will grow in a container. Even fruit trees will grow indoors if you choose the right type and care for them properly. When in doubt, ask a garden center sales associate. In the meantime, here s a list of some plants that work well in containers indoors. Fruit trees: Calamondin orange, Rangpur lime, Ponderosa lemon Herbs: basil, chives, lemongrass, thyme, mint, sage Vegetables: Red Robin tomatoes, Totem tomatoes, kale, beets, mushrooms, Little Finger carrots Non-edibles: Spider plant, arrowhead plant, parlor palm, peace lily, English ivy, heart-leaf philodendron Succulents are your friends. Succulents are a forgetful gardener s dream. They re incredibly low-maintenance, and they re as tough as they are cute. Though they do require a sunny spot to hang out in (they are desert plants, after all), you only have to water them once a week or so. Green succulents do best indoors, so opt for varieties like jade plant (Crassula ovata), aloe (Aloe barbadensis), pencil cactus (Euphorbia tirucalli) & Sempervivum. Use the right soil for potted plants. A vital component of a plant s success is the soil it grows in. Soil requirements can vary from plant to plant, so make sure to research the individual needs of your plants. However, a good general rule of thumb is to get a potting soil that drains well while still holding a healthy amount of moisture. Some potting soils may also include some sort of fertilizer in them to nourish your plants, which is never a bad idea. Again, when in doubt, don t be afraid to consult a garden center expert. Prep your containers and pots. If you re anything like me, you ll be incredibly tempted to plant your brand new spearmint in that weird catshaped cookie jar you found at the thrift store last week. And you can! But there are a few things you need to do to get it ready to house your plants. First, if your pot is thrifted or saved from a previous season, you should clean it. It seems obvious, but it s an important step. Next, you need to make sure that the container drains properly. Pots and planters sold at garden centers usually already have drainage holes in the bottom, but if you re using a more unconventional container, you might have to drill them yourself. Make sure to use the appropriate drill bit for the material the container is made of. Finally, you need to help that water drain properly by creating a layer of large pebbles or polystyrene chips (packing peanuts). This keeps rot away from your soil while also keeping your soil from draining out of the holes along with the water. Utilize your windowsill. If you ve got your heart set on a plant that requires a lot of direct light, consider getting a window box. No counter space has to be sacrificed, and your plants will be getting all the sun they need. Window boxes are versatile, and can house everything from flowers to herbs to strawberries.

6 SONORAN CONFERENCE TO CELEBRATE CACTUS AND SUCCULENTS: by Elena Acoba 04/09/16 Cactus was not an early friend of Donna Ellis, who grew up in Wyoming where cacti are very small. My experience was stepping on cactus on the prairie in my bare feet. Not a good introduction, she admits. Mainly a houseplant gardener in her early life, Donna caught the cactus collecting bug from her husband, retired park ranger Robert. He s been collecting cactus since he was a kid in Vallejo, California. While the couple lived near Crater Lake, Oregon, they parked the few dozen specimens of their young collection at Robert s parents home in Red Bluff, California. They moved around a bit for Robert s job with the U.S. National Park Service, adding to their collection when they could. In 1976, they put down roots in Tucson and moved most of their plants to their newly purchased lot near Colossal Cave Mountain Park. Today, the couple has thousands of plants representing dozens of succulent species. I d call it a joint collection, Robert says. She s a succulent lady and I m a cactus guy. Donna agrees, although she s coming around to the spiny stuff. The more I grow a succulent, I appreciate a cactus, she says. They re hardier, they Donna Ellis, right, and her husband Robert walk through a greenhouse where their cactus and succulent collection lives at their home in Vail, Ariz. Donna is a board member on the Tucson Cactus and Succulent Society, host of the Sonoran XI Conference April at Hotel Tucson. Photo taken Wednesday, March 23, Photo by Mike Christy take more cold, less water, hotter temps. You don t have to worry about deer. He enjoys the flowers and spine colors of the cacti. Donna also is attracted to the colors. Spines come in gray, white, black and gold hues, she says, while the leaves of succulents add splashes of red, purple, blue and brown, as well as green, to the garden. The diversity in the plants are tremendous, she says. Donna and Richard will hang out with like-minded plant fans at next weekend s (April 16-17) Sonoran XI Biennial Conference put on by the Tucson Cactus and Succulent Society. The pair are long-time, active members. Donna is on the board and is in charge of the committees that handle cactus rescues and gift and raffle plants. Robert served on the board several years ago. They ve opened their collection to club tours. And what a tour it is. The highlight is a 1,960-square-foot greenhouse with hip-high beds full of full-grown exotic cactus. Hundreds of pots nurture seedlings or cuttings. Columnar, barrel-shaped and leaf-like species spill over the beds and fill shelves. Some eye-popping ones include the orange-capped melocactus, globular rebutia and astrophytum that is shaped like a sea urchin shell. The couple built the structure before they had their 2,100-square-foot home constructed, living in a mobile home while the work was done. A 160-square-foot greenhouse holds Donna s collection of potted succulents, including 10-year-old lithops that are the size of big toes, artichoke-like echeveria and leafy graptosedum. And, yes, there s more. Outside, the island in the circular driveway and the front yard are packed with plants that can handle the cold, heat and dryness of the Sonoran Desert. Barrels, boojums, mammillaria, agaves and ocotillos cover the landscape. Some are as old as 70 years, while others are emerging pups. The Ellises have grown their collection from several sources: Kmart blue-light specials back when the retail store had them, their own propagation, gifts from friends and rescues by the Tucson Cactus and Succulent Society, which saves plants slated to be uprooted for development. Buying the new and unusual is one reason why Donna likes the biennial conference that presents a plant show, plant sales, workshops and speakers. The best cactus nurseries and vendors show up with their best stuff all in one place, she says. To get the same experience any other time, you would have to drive around Arizona for a week. That s helpful for Donna, who still works and can t spend much time traveling to find plants. But she has plans for when she retires from her job as a requirements engineer for a software company. She wants to add at least two more greenhouses to accommodate the varying temperature and humidity requirements of plants. Then she wants to travel to New Mexico, California, Utah and Nevada to find plants to fill the greenhouses. And she has one big desire. I would like to go to cactus rescues in Texas (where) there are rare plants, she says.

7 POTTED SUCCULENTS CAN ADD INTEREST TO A BLANK SPACE: by Stephen McCabe 04/22/16 If you have a bare window sill, a stark entrance or concrete up against your house s stucco or wood wall, plants can be used to add a touch of nature to the situation. Potted succulent plants have the advantage of using little water and providing a wide palette of colors to choose from to paint an area in or around your house. A succulent that needs water once a week is better suited for a difficult to reach spot than a Fuchsia that may need water once or twice a day. With a great array of pottery to choose from currently, a few simple succulents can be put together artistically in a modest-sized space. There are pots with styles from the Mediterranean, Mexico, Asia or Santa Fe. You may want to go with one of these themes or have a more eclectic mix of plants and pottery. To add to your collection, go to this weekend s Monterey Bay Area Cactus Society s Show and Sale, where there will be succulents and pots sculpted specifically for succulents. Among the reasons for potting succulents rather than planting them in the ground is the ease of moving the plants later for renters. In pots, the plants also can receive individual treatment, a bonus when some go dormant for half a year. Tiny plants put out in the garden may get overlooked, eaten by pests, or crowded out. Give a little TLC and allow some time to get your small plants ready for the garden. Homeowners can rearrange for events or move pots about when some come in or out of bloom. When moving potted succulents, remember they will sunburn if taken from inside or shaded areas to full sun too quickly. Plants that have been frequently watered, fertilized and then stuck in a shaded part of a nursery are particularly sensitive to a drastic move to the sun. Even some of the toughest succulents can be candidates for yellowing or sunburn if they are pot-bound plants and allowed to go bone dry for weeks during a heat wave. However, many of the true cacti, cactus-like Euphorbias and agaves are particularly tolerant of full sun once they have become accustomed to it. Use aeoniums and echeverias for shaded entryways, side yards and alcoves where they will look good with the shade and frost protection. Haworthias and gasterias are smaller succulents that can be massed around these or grown on windowsills. The tentacular Medusa s Head group of Euphorbias can add a touch of whimsy to the designs. Though not containers, cracks in walls provide pot-like planting places for Tiger s jaws (faucaria) and some of the groups of plants mentioned above. An advantage of growing smaller succulents in pots for a few years is it allows them to get tougher and more resistant to pests and bright sun than if they are planted out as three inch babies. Agaves, in particular, will adjust to the size of pot they are in; they remain stunted in tiny pots but grow with root room. Branching agaves of any size may break your pots as their roots run out of room. Keep a usually large species of Agave under watered in a four-inch pot and it will stay small for several years. The same plant in the ground may grow to five feet across, pushing other plants out of its way after several years. For this reason, some people choose the dwarf Agave species for gardens or pots instead of blue behemoths. When grouping specimens, in addition to the aesthetics, plant species together that require similar sun and watering regimes. Though I love mixing succulents and drought tolerant non-succulents, make sure you don t crowd the succulents too much with plants that attract or hide slugs, snails and mealy bugs. Most succulents do better with some air circulation to keep down fungal infections. Lately, there has been a tendency to take inexpensive, quick growing succulents, jam a number together in a small pot and sell them a few weeks later at the chain stores. They may start crowding each other out within a few months and rotting, but you can take them out and make two pots worth of your own design. Regardless of what you grow, the pots should have drainage holes in the bottom and the saucers should not be left with standing water touching the pots. You can get more tips from experts at the show and sale. If you miss the sale, there is a good variety of succulents and containers available at local nurseries and pottery stores. The competitive show will be an inspiring display of how to grow specimen plants in pots suited for the species.

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