The Cactus Patch. Meet the Speaker 5:00 PM Sizzler 900 Real Rd. Monthly Meeting Tuesday, March 14 th at 6:30 PM 2017 Dues are payable now!

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1 The Cactus Patch Opuntia basilaris var. treleasei Volume 20 March 2017 Number 3 THE NEWSLETTER OF THE BAKERSFIELD CACTUS & SUCCULENT SOCIETY The Bakersfield Cactus & Succulent Society % Polly Hargreaves, editor pollypearl@hotmail.com Aloe ferox in the garden last March This Month's Program The Secrets of Growing Quality Cacti and other Succulents Woody St Paul's Episcopal Church 6:30 PM Monthly Meeting Tuesday, March 14 th at 6:30 PM 2017 Dues are payable now! Meet the Speaker 5:00 PM Sizzler 900 Real Rd Dues are payable now! March might be your last issue.

2 The Cactus Patch Volume 20 Number 3 March 2017 March 14 th MEETING The Cactus Patch is the official publication of the Bakersfield Cactus & Succulent Society of Bakersfield, California Membership in the Bakersfield Cactus & Succulent Society costs $20 per year for an individual and $25 a year for a family. CONTACT INF ORMATION President: Paul Bowles corvis797@yahoo.com Membership: Maynard Moe lmmoe44@gmail.com Newsletter: Polly Hargreaves pollypearl@hotmail.com Website: Stephen Cooley thecactuspatch@bak.rr.com Visit Us On the Web! ~2~ The Secrets of Growing Quality Cacti and other Succulents Wendell S. (Woody) Minnich 2013 How do you find out what the secrets are? They are important strategies about how to grow plants well and they can be accomplished by doing five easy things: visiting habitats, traveling from garden to garden the world over, participating in shows, accessing numerous cactus and succulents books, and most importantly, talking with the growers of these wonderful plants. It is your awesome opportunity to learn from these various experiences! With these experiences, it doesn t take long to learn the many different approaches on how to grow quality cacti and succulents. Like most things, years of experience help, but seeing cacti and succulents in the field (their natural habitat) gives one incredibly valuable insight. Also, visiting numerous collections and gardens around the world helps add an even greater dimension to the understanding of cultivation in various environments. Participating in cactus and succulent shows is another great way to give one a full perspective on how to present and grow quality ~3~

3 plants. Last, but not least, read the books! Don t hesitate to use all of these available means to add to your information bank, and mostly, don t be afraid to ask questions. Why is the biggest word in the world! Many of the factors for growing quality plants aren t really secrets, but often, only the stories not shared or observed! We will refer to both cacti and succulents as succulents because all cacti are succulent. Succulent plants are what they are for a reason! The storage of water is what gives them their succulent character and this storage is what gives them the ability to survive in often harsh habitats. The great majority of our succulent plants come from deserts or relatively arid regions. These environments are often very dry, and usually lack moisture for extended periods of time. These same habitats are usually very sunny and often reach high summer temperatures when moisture can so quickly be lost. Thus, our plants are succulent, because they must have water storage to get them through the often extended hot and or dry times. Due to the variable environments that our succulent plants come from, there are many considerations that one must keep in mind. These factors include: * At what time of the year does water generally become available and how? * What are the high and low temperatures and air movement from the dry to wet times? * What is the substrate, soils or rocks or bark, the growing medium? * Does the substrate contain minerals, acids, alkalinity and or nutrients? * What is the plant s method of water storage, leaves, stems or roots tubers? * What is the plant s method of acquiring water - roots or foliar? * What is the plant s orientation to the sun, amount of exposure, nurse plants etc.? * What is the plant s ability to take or need cold temperatures? ~4~ * What are the plant s root-system needs, confinement or open, drainage, temperatures? * When does the plant grow or when is it dormant? * What is the elevation at which the plant naturally grows? * When does the plant normally flower and fruit? * Does the plant have any symbiotic relationships? * What are the plant s enemies: insects, bacteria, fungi, animals, etc.? In a general way, we will cover all of these aspects and how they relate to you and your overall growing environment. Each one of us live in a slightly, to extremely different micro niche. It is from all of the above mentioned factors and how we apply them that will determine how successfully we grow our plants. Don t forget, much like life itself, it is often from our mistakes that we gain our greatest learning experiences. more about Woody: Woody, as he is commonly known, has been in the cactus hobby for some 47 years and has become well known for his participation and contributions. He has been awarded honorary life membership to ten clubs, as well as, a life member and Friend award with the CSSA (Cactus & Succulent Society of America.) His many leadership roles include: National Show Chairman, Convention Sales Chairman, Convention Speaker coordinator, 2016 Mid-States Conference Cochair, accredited C & S judge and writer -photographer. He has also served in almost all positions of leadership for many regional clubs and is currently the president of the new Santa Fe C & S club. Woody is probably best recognized for his many presentations. His photography is considered to be special and his commentary very entertaining and educational. After all, he was a ~5~

4 celebrated secondary school teacher for 32 years, where he taught Art, Graphic Arts-Design and Architecture. He has now become a recognized international speaker and has presented at cactus and succulent events all over the world. He has also authored a number of articles for various newsletters and journals including the CSSA journal and his photographs are also well published. His work is featured in many books including: The New Cactus Lexicon Hunt and Charles, Mammillaria Pilbeam, and Echeveria Cultivars Schulz & Kapitany. Woody is the creator-originator of the first color version of the CSSA journal article Cacti and Succulents for the Amateur featuring show plants, shows, and the growers of the pictured plants. He is also often called upon to do new book reviews for the CSSA journal Woody Working the Nursery His involvement in the cactus and succulent world is well represented by his 45 years of field work in regions including: Africa, Argentina, Australia, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Madagascar, Mexico, Namibia, New Zealand, Peru, Socotra, the United States and Yemen. He often goes to remote places where few, if anyone, have ever explored and as a result of this field work, he has introduced many new taxa. Also, being a recognized grower, Cactus Data Plants since 1975, Woody has developed strong interests in both succulent plant taxonomy and the many cultivation secrets that help us to grow these unique plants. ~6~ BRAG TABLE Sidney Kelley brought a beautiful plant of Tylecodon paniculatus. This is a winter grower and so it was at its best. Jack Reynolds brought a Dudleya hasser which went well with the pot it was in. Stephen Cooley brought a Haworthia limifolia with a flower stalk with buds just beginning. Bruce brought a Gerrardanthus macrorhizus which had come with the label Dendrocycyos socotrana. I complained to Woody that the viney stem, smooth leaves and tendrils were not in line with the label and he admitted the names had been switched. I had wanted the cucumber tree from Socotra as I will never get there as things stand. (Socotra is an island belonging to Yemen.) Polly brought a bulb of Bowiaea volubilis with its tangle of green flower stalks. The two tiny leaves were down at the base. ~7~ Bruce

5 Plant of the Month Beaucarnea recurvata Once more we continue examining the succulent plants that one could use in landscaping a water conserving yard. This month I have chosen Beaucarnea recurvata the ponytail palm or elephant foot tree,a native of Mexico, found in Tamaulipas, Veracruz and San Louis Potosi states. There are estimated to be about ten species in the genus found in Mexico and Central America. It is in the family Asparagaceae which also contains Calibanus and Nolina, succulents that are closely related to Beaucarnea. Beaucarnea are able to reach a height of 15 ft.(4.5 m.) with a caudex of over a meter. The caudex is for storing water. The trunk is topped with a cluster of strap-like leaves up to 24 in. (60 cm.) long and an inch (2.5 cm.) wide. The leaves curve back on themselves hence the name recurvata. There are separate male and female plants. The female plants produce small white flowers in clusters at irregular intervals. A male must be nearby if any seeds are to be produced. ~8~ Beaucarnea are very popular specimen plants and can be grown either in a pot as a house plant or in the ground in well drained gritty soil. Fertilize two or three times a year. Over watering can lead to root rot or insect damage to the roots. They are cold tolerant to 25 F. In the event that the top is frost bitten the dead leaves should be removed so that they do not retain water in the damaged area. The caudex will in all probability survive as long as it does not get too wet. In summer occasional watering is beneficial. As a house plant it likes a sunny window and will tolerate being a little pot bound. They may be propagated from seed or offsets. Seeds generally germinate using any normal succulent method. Offsets should have roots before they are removed from the mother plant. Garden Weeding Workday Sunday, March 19 9AM Noon ~9~ Jack G. Reynolds We will have another workday out at Cal State the Sunday after the meeting. Bring gloves, kneepad, hand tools, water. Rain or impending rain cancels See BakersfieldCactus.org for directions

6 the 21 st of January we went north to Visalia. (We later learned there was a small march in Bakersfield, but we had no advance notice on it.) We arrived just in time to join in. There were speeches after and then we had lunch at the historic Some New and Some Old A Letter From Bruce Polly heard there would be a women s march, but found the buses from Bakersfield to LA were full, so on Depot. (Prices have gone up, but it s still a fun place for lunch.) On the 2 nd of February we went to Fresno and heard Woody talk on Namaqualand. We have been there, but it s always fun to see how others see a place. On the 5 th we went to Anne s for an anti-super Bowl Party. As usual we played games during to Bowl and watched the ads. We did watch the Bowl at the end, however, when it went into an unprecedented overtime with the Patriots winning after coming from behind. On the 14 th, of course, we heard Pananyoti Kelaidis and his trips to unusual places. I ve never known anyone who went to ~10~ Kazakhstan. I had heard of growing succulents in Denver and was not surprised that he knew of me on the basis of my work on Lesotho. On the 19 th we were out at Cal State for the garden weeding. Many of the plants are hidden by the tall grass at Bidwell Bar which is now under the dam. In recent years we have watched the water level drop as we drove across to visit James in the mountains. Why didn t they fix things then? (The same goes for Isabella!) Bruce Hargreaves [Bruce's opinions are his own and are not necessarily that of the BCSS] ~11~ due to the heavy rains. Hey! How about that rain! I hope we can get it into underground storage to bring things back to a reasonable water table. I am watching the Oroville Dam story with special interest. As a kid I remember swimming

7 The Succulent Garden at Cal State Spring is Here 2 (the sequel)! A few members came out on our last workday to help repel the invasion of grass in the garden. Thanks to Sidney, Donna Maynard, Erin, Bruce and Polly (I don't think I missed anyone, but if I did, Thanks!). However, the onslaught could not be vanquished and we need to regroup for another assault. That's not to say we didn't accomplish anything as we left great piles of grass in the walkways. We will try again on March 19 th (see page 9). Everything is not doom & gloom. Sure, there are lots of weeds thanks to the rain and warm temps, but the succulents look fantastic. The aloes are beginning to bloom and the cacti are plump and growing. ~12~ Stephen Cooley (with additional pictures by Polly) ~13~

8 February 14, 2017 Panayoti Kelaidis took us on a whirlwind-worldwide tour at the last meeting. We traveled to the Denver Botanical Gardens, South Africa, Lesotho, and Kazakhstan. We saw many succulents and non-succulents, some familiar, some new, all exceptional. March 14 th BCSS Meeting Woody Minnich The Secrets of Growing Quality Cacti and Succulents April 11 th BCSS Meeting Rob McGregor Propagation of Cacti & Succulents JUN 30--JUL 2 CSSA ANNUAL SHOW AND SALE HUNTINGTON BOTANICAL GARDENS JULY CSSA CONVENTION, TEMPE, AZ. SEPT. 2 SUCCULENT SYMPOSIUM HUNTINGTON BOTANICAL GARDENS Perhaps the club needs to take a field trip to Denver? Or perhaps Kazakhstan. Visit us on the Web! Facebook: ~14~ ~15~