D R Y T I M E S VOL. 114 JUNE 2014 NO. 6 President: Rosalie Gorchoff Editor: Nels Christianson (310) 822-1783 (310) 396-1231 nelsico@gmail.com June meeting Tuesday, June 3, 2014 7:30 pm Burton W. Chace County Park 13650 Mindanao Way, Marina del Rey ** The June newsletter is being sent earlier than normal because the Editor will be out of the country for the rest of May. PROGRAM Mutant Succulents Tom Glavich PLANT OF THE MONTH CACTUS: Gymnocalycium SUCCULENT: Deuterocohnia, Dyckia, Hechtia, Puya Tom Glavich will present a program on Mutant Succulents. Tom is a member of the San Gabriel Cactus and Succulent Society and is Vice President of the Cactus and Succulent Society of America. Tom has also been active in Los Angeles area clubs and Inter-City Shows. He has generously contributed many informational articles to this and other clubs on a variety of succulent plant families. Tom is an engineer at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Aside from an interest in bulbs, cacti and succulents, he recently took up ceramics and produces some lovely pots that he sells at local shows. Tom will probably bring plants to sell at the meeting.
DRY TIMES Vol. 114, No 6, June 2014 p. 2 ** If your last name begins with letter A--F, please bring goodies to munch on at the break. Thank you Last month Attila Kapitany presented an excellent and entertaining program on Succulents of Australia. The members were quite impressed with Attila and with the variety and beauty of succulents they had never seen pictures of before. 2014 Show Results Best Aloe Tim Harvey Best Cactus Advanced K&M Ostler Best Cactus Novice Christine Kaunitz Best Caudiciform Gregg Di Chirico Best Cereus K&M Ostler Best Collection K&M Ostler Best Copiapoa Phyllis Frieze Best Crassula Laurel Woodley Best Echinocereus Peter Walkowiak Best Euphorbia Peter Walkowiak Best Gasteria Nels Christianson Best Gymnocalycium K&M Ostler Best Haworthia John Matthews Best Lithops John Matthews Rosalie enthusiastically thanks all who participated in making the Show and Sale a successful and enjoyable event. Best Mammillaria K&M Ostler Best Mesembryanthemaceae Brian Gold Best Miniature K&M Ostler Best Monstrose/Crest Calvin Newman Best Pachypodium Peter Walkowiak Best Rebutia Peter Walkowiak Best Sansevieria K&M Ostler Best Succulent Novice Bonnie Ikemura Best Variegated Cactus K&M Ostler Best Variegated Succulent Tony Princiotta High Points Rookie of the Year Gretchen Davis 46 Novice High Points Lee Freehling 58 Novice High Points Cactus (tie) Lee Freehling 18 Christine Kaunitz 18 Novice High Points Succulent Lee Freehling 40 Advanced High Points Peter Walkowiak 137 Advanced High Points Cactus Peter Walkowiak 65 Advanced High Points Succ. (tie) Peter Walkowiak 75 Nels Christianson 75 Top Exhibitors, Number of Plants Entered Peter Walkowiak 45 Brian Gold 40 Nels Christianson 33 K&M Ostler 26 John Matthews 21 Lee Freehling 14 Calvin Newman 13 Bonnie Ikemura 11
DRY TIMES Vol. 114, No 6, June 2014 p. 3 Top Exhibitors, Total Points Earned Peter Walkowiak 137 Brian Gold 105 K&M Ostler 100 Nels Christianson 76 John Matthews 68 Lee Freehling 58 Bonnie Ikemura 49 Gretchen Davis 46 May 2014 Plant of the Month Winners Junior Cactus 1 st Place David Verity Rhipsalis sp. 2 nd Place Paul Cooley Epiphyllum Conway s Giant Gretchen Davis Lepismium cruciforme 3 rd Place Judy/Bill Campbell Rhipsalis mesembryanthimoides Senior Cactus 1 st Place John Matthews Rhipsalis micrantha 2 nd Place John Matthews Rhipsalis pilocarpa 3 rd Place Brian Gold Rhipsalis sp. Junior Succulent 1 st Place Lee Freehling Aloinopsis malherbei Senior Succulent 1 st Place Brian Gold Mestoklema tuberosum 2 nd Place Jim Hanna Mestoklema arboriforme 3 rd Place Jim Hanna Trichodiadema bulbosum John Matthews Aloinopsis schoonesii The May POM judges were Teresa Gold and Birute Vileisis accompanied by Attila Kapitany PLANT OF THE MONTH 2014 CACTUS SUCCULENT June Gymnocalycium Dyckia, Hechtia, Orthophytum, Puya, Deuterocohnia September Ariocarpus, Stenocactus Adenium, Pachypodium, Plumeria October Uebelmannia, Buiningia Anacampseros, Ceraria, Cistanthe November Crested/Monstrose Echeveria, Sempervivum CACTUS OF THE MONTH: GYMNOCALYCIUM Gymnocalycium, is a family of relatively short, globose plants, some of which pup at a young age and others that do so only when quite old. These plants have a wide variety of body colors that includes various shades of green, brown and gray, making them quite unique in a cactus collection. Many have thick, long roots. They require bright light but usually not a full day of sun. Some species tolerate shade. Flowers range from cream to yellow to shades of pink and can be more than two inches wide in some species. Most plants prefer to be kept fairly dry in winter. Gymnocalycium is native to southern Bolivia, Argentina, Paraguay, southern Brazil and Uruguay.
DRY TIMES Vol. 114, No 6, June 2014 Gymnocalycium ragonesei, photo by N. Christianson p. 4 Gymnocalycium spegazzini crest, Salta, Argentina, photo by N. Christianson SUCCULENT OF THE MONTH: DEUTEROCOHNIA, DYCKIA, HECHTIA, ORTHOPHYTUM, PUYA Succulent Bromeliads The Bromeliads, like Cacti are a New World family. Like the Cacti they have evolved to cover a range of environments, from the Coastal Mountains of Chile, to the plains of Argentina, to the Amazon, the dry scrub and montane forests of Brazil, all of Central America and Mexico, the off-shore Islands, and even the temperature regions of Argentina and the United States. Dyckia fosteriana Deuterocohnia longipetala blooming on old inflorescence La Rioja province, Argentina, photo by N. Christianson The Bromeliad Family is one of the monocots, along with Agave and Aloe, however it is a very distant relative of these more common succulents, and is more closely allied to the Palms, Heliconia, and the non-succulent monocots of the tropics. Most Bromeliads are not succulent. They come from tropical forests and require a steady source of water. There are at least three regions where gradual climatic change forced some Bromeliad genera (and some species of other genera) to become succulent. The best known of the succulent genera are Dyckia, from Brazil and the surrounding countries, Puya, which are mostly Andean plants, Hechtia, largely confined to Mexico, and the Tillandsia, which inhabit regions from Virginia to Argentina. There are some spectacular succulents in other genera as well. Dyckia and Hechtia have similar cultural requirements, even though they are a hemisphere apart. Both like well draining soil. Most species can tolerate some cold, and light frosts are generally not a problem. A heavy frost will cause some tip damage, but is usually not fatal. They can take full sun when planted in the ground, but prefer some protection from the worst of the heat during the day. The roots are more sensitive to overheating than the leaves. There are dozens of species of Dyckia. Hechtia names need work; there are many unnamed species, and many species with more than one name. There are spectacular forms just waiting for cultivation. A lesser-known genus with a significant number of succulent species is Orthophytum. This genus comes from Brazil, and the genus for the most part occupies a warm and humid environment. Many of the Orthophytum are spectacularly flocked with special cells (trichomes) that pull moisture directly out of the air. Bands of trichome-rich and trichome-poor regions on the leaves give these plants a spectacular coloring. References: Jacobsen, A Handbook of Succulent Plants, D. Benzing, Bromeliaceae Profile of an Adaptive Radiation Tom Glavich, August 2003
DRY TIMES Vol. 114, No 6, June 2014 p. 5 Dyckia aff. marnier-lapostollei, photo by N. Christianson UPCOMING EVENTS May 16&17, Gates Cactus and Succulent Society 33 rd Show and Sale, Fri and Sat 9AM 4:30PM at Land Scapes Southern California Style, 450 Alessandro Blvd., Riverside, info. 951-360-8802. May 17&18, Long Beach Cactus Club plant show and sale, 10AM 5PM, Rancho Los Alamitos, 6400 Bixby Hill Rd., Long Beach, for info. Call 310-922-6090, www.lbcss.org May 24&25, Central Coast Cactus & Succulent Society annual show & sale, 10AM 4PM, Ludwick Center, 864 Santa Rosa, San Luis Obispo CA, info. 805-237-2054, www.centralcoastcactus.org June 7&8, San Diego Cactus and Succulent Society, summer show and sale, Balboa Park, Room 101, San Diego CA, info. 858-382-1797. June 14&15, Los Angeles Cactus and Succulent Society plant show and sale, June 14 9-5, June 15 9-3:30, Sepulveda Garden Center, 16633 Magnolia Blvd., Encino CA, info. Email www.lacss-show.com June 27-29, CSSA Annual Show and Sale, Huntington Botanical Gardens, 1151 Oxford Rd., San Marino CA, 626-405-2160 or 2277, plant sales start June 27 thru June 29, show opens on June 28 thru June 29, free to public. July 25-27, Orange County Cactus and Succulent Society summer show and sale, Fri July 25 9AM-5PM, Sat July 26 9AM-5PM, Sun July 27 12-4PM, 1000 S. State College Blvd., (Anaheim United Methodist Church), Anaheim, info. Call 949-212-8417. Aug. 9&10, 29 th Annual Intercity Show and Sale at the LA County Arboretum, 9AM-5PM daily, 301 N. Baldwin Ave., Arcadia CA, info. Call Tom Glavich 626-798-2430 or John Matthews 661-714-1052. Aug. 30, Huntington Botanical Gardens Succulent Symposium, all day at The Huntington Sept. 7, Long Beach Cactus Club annual plant auction, 12-5PM, Rancho Los Alamitos, 6400 Bixby Hill Rd., Long Beach CA 90615, info. 310-922-6090. Nov. 1&2, San Gabriel Cactus and Succulent Society, 9AM-4PM both days, LA County Arboretum. About DRY TIMES DRY TIMES is published monthly by the Sunset Succulent Society (SSS), whose officers are: President Rosalie Gorchoff (310) 822-1783 Vice Pres. Laurel Woodley, Plant of the Month Secretary Peggy Oberg (310) 645-7946 Treasurer Gretchen Davis Membership: Coni Nettles Material for publication in the newsletter must be in the Editors' hands by the 1st day of the publication month (e.g., by Aug. 1 for the next issue). Articles and letters may be edited for space and clarity. Editorial comment and signed articles are the opinions of the
DRY TIMES Vol. 114, No 6, June 2014 p. 6 Editor or author(s) and do not necessarily represent the views of the Board of Directors of the Society, an affiliate of the Cactus and Succulent Society of America, Inc. Unless expressly denied in a note with the article, all material in the newsletter may be reprinted by non-profit organizations, provided that proper credit is given to the SSS and the author, and that one copy of the publication containing the reprinted material be sent to the Editor. Reproduction in whole or in part by any other organization or publication without the permission of the SSS is prohibited. Agave by Nels Christianson draped in purple phacelia you remind me this is the easy part and I know by your gray skin thick and new to the newest point you have grown lush this winter today you are a star in the desert watered, turgid, festooned in purple and your own brilliance making and changing the light of a galaxy of spines yet vestiges of former leaves ravaged by summers past now hug the ground like old hard men wanting to disappear into the earth you have walked with difficulty through the long sun season when the dried sheaths of earlier wildflowers offered only thin shade to your desiccating leaves and so scarred you also carry the mark of drought in this place of sand and rock you live by occasional rain your inheritance rooted to the planet and you, like the wandering tortoise are brother to the roving shark and tough skinned elephant brother to the bristlecone alive two thousand years hold tight to your chosen home, agave prosper in this unique spot hold aloft your thorny face like no other