MEETINGS: Fourth Thursday each month, 7:00 p.m. * Unless otherwise noted WHERE: San Joaquin County Building 2707 Transworld Drive Stockton, California *NEXT MEETING: Thursday, May 28

th, 2015

PRE MEETING DINNER: Denny’s Restaurant Arch Road location 5:30 p.m.

STOCKTON CACTUS & SUCCULENT SOCIETY

C/O BRIAN POOT

1180 BOXWOOD WAY

TURLOCK, CA 95380

STOCKTON CACTUS & SUCCULENT SOCIETY

NEWSLETTER

MAY 2015

Adromischus marianiae v. herrei

2015 BOARD:

President: Dawn Dalyce (209) 596-3330 dawndalyce@yahoo.com

Vice President: David Jones (209) 204-2086 daveslocker@aol.com

Treasurer: Roelyn Poot (209) 599-7241 billroelynpoot@gmail.com

Secretary: Pam Fish (209) 887-9190 psfish.fish61@gmail.com

Board Members: Brian Poot, Lesley Slayter & Mary Bertken

Newsletter: Brian Poot (209) 664-9232 jeffgordonfan24@sbcglobal.net

BOARD MEETINGS: Please note, board meetings will now be held the second Tuesday 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

Membership runs January-December. Complimentary Jan. & Feb. issue if unpaid.

All dues should be sent

to the treasurer before

the February general

meeting.

CALENDAR:

May 12th - Board Meeting at the Poot’s 7:00 p.m. 28th - General Meeting 7:00pm: JD Wikert – “Amazing Adromischus”

June 9th - Board Meeting at the Poot’s 7:00 p.m. 25th - Annual Potluck & Auction at Poot’s Cactus Nursery

July 14th - Board Meeting at the Poot’s 7:00 p.m. 25th - General Meeting 7:00pm: Woody Minnich – To Be Determined

OTHER UPCOMING EVENTS:

Stockton Cactus & Succulent Society Show & Sale: June 6-7 at 1824 California Ave., Modesto, CA Sat. 9am - 5pm & Sun. 9am – 4pm

SUNSHINE REPORT: by Kathy Zumbrunn

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to: Bobby Stanley & Sharon Johnstone.

THIS MONTHS PROGRAM: JD Wikert – Amazing Adromischus

Our speaker for the May meeting will be J.D. Wikert. His presentation is titled: "Amazing Adromischus", as he is a fan of alliteration. J.D. will discuss various aspects about members of this genus. The presentation will include information regarding taxonomy, distribution, cultivation, and propagation as well as providing pictures of many of the more readily available species. You might have seen J.D. speak in previous meetings about Stapeliads, Dudleyas, Gasterias, or Sedums, and this talk will follow a similar format. Members are encouraged to bring their own Adromischus for the mini-show and to share their own Adromischus experiences with the club.

J.D. will bring the raffle plants, and have plants, hypertufa pots and dish gardens for sale, so be sure to

bring your cash.

*Reminder to Pam Fish (drinks) & Mary Bertken (snacks), this is your month to bring refreshments.

*Reminder that we need someone to volunteer to be the greeter this month.

*Reminder to bring boxes for cutting & plants you win. Meeting in room Chartville 1.

JUNE CLUB MEETING: This year’s annual auction & potluck will again be held at the Poot’s on June 25th 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!

JULY CLUB MEETING:

The July Club Meeting will not be on our regular night, it will be held on Tuesday July 28th so that we will

be able to have Woody Minnich do a program for us. Woody comes all the way from New Mexico & is doing a

program for the Sacramento club on that Monday & has agreed to stay an extra day to do a program for us as

well. The exact program has not been determined yet but any program that he does is a must see. He will also be

bringing plants to sell & he usually brings several hard to find or rare plants.

NEW MEMBERS: PLEASE ADD TO YOUR WHO’S WHO

Monica Burkner

1630 Paloma Avenue Stockton, CA 95209 Ph. (209) 482-7175

mburkner@yahoo.com

EVERYONE PLEASE HELP ADVERTISE!!!

What: Stockton Cactus and Succulent Club Fundraiser Cactus and Succulent Show and Sale with Petting Zoo!

Where: 1824 California Ave. , Modesto CA. 95356 www.ivoryfarms.com

When: June 6 and 7, Saturday 9-5 and Sunday 9-4 SAVE THE DATE!

Who: Everyone is welcome! Club members please bring plants to show and sell, your own folding or lawn chair.

All Club Members please share this and post ads on Craigslist, Ebay Classifieds, with your other clubs or groups

etc. Thanks!

APRIL MINI SHOW RESULTS:

Novice Division, Cacti: 1st - Dawn Dalyce w/ Echinopsis sp.

2nd - Dawn Dalyce w/ Echinocereus sp.

3rd - Joan Stewart w/ Opuntia sp. crest

Novice Division, Succulent: 1st - Dawn Dalyce w/ Aeonium ‘Martigras’

2nd - Dawn Dalyce w/ Echeveria ‘Fred Ives’

3rd - Ron Bradshaw w/ Alluaudia sp.

Novice Division, Blooming: 1st - Dawn Dalyce w/ Graptoveria sp.

2nd - Dawn Dalyce w/ Scilla sp.

Advanced Division, Cacti: NON ENTERED

Advanced Division, Succulent: NON ENTERED

Advanced Division, Blooming: 1st - Mike Bradshaw w/ Maihueniopsis sp.

2nd - Mike Bradshaw w/ Ariocarpus sp.

Open Division, Cacti: NON ENTERED

Open Division, Succulent: NON ENTERED

Open Division, Blooming: NON ENTERED

Allied Interest: 1st - Dawn Dalyce w/ Fish bowl planter

2nd - Dawn Dalyce w/ Mexico pot planter

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

EXPLORING THE HISTORY OF THE CALIFORNIA BARREL CACTI: by James Cornett 03/06/15 Old movies and television programs have made barrel cactus famous. For years, popular media touted the barrel cactus as a provider of life-saving water for lost and thirsty travelers. The story was based on the cactus' remarkably juicy interior that could be squeezed to release a distasteful fluid. A recent chemical evaluation of the liquid, however, indicates it is too alkaline to quench one's thirst. In truth, a person would be worse off after drinking it. The Seri Indians of Mexico's Sonoran Desert were aware of this fact and described how the liquid was not considered potable and caused headaches, diarrhea and pain in the extremities if consumed. The California barrel cactus was introduced to the scientific community by German-born botanist George Engelmann in 1853. He characterized the species as having a cylindrical shape, vertical rows of curved spines and large yellow blossoms often forming a circular crown on top of a single, swollen stem. (Most plants have one stem though occasionally multi-stemmed individuals are found. The condition is thought to be a result of rodents or other mammals gnawing the less well-armed base of the plant.) Providing a cactus does not succumb to multiple-years of drought, depredations of wood rats searching for moist food, or being carried away by a flash flood, a barrel cactus can survive for nearly a century. Such old plants may reach ten feet in height and may finally die when toppled by strong winds. In historic times, all products of the plant's reproductive cycle were collected by Native Americans. In spring, Indian women collected buds and flowers. In summer ripened fruits were harvested. In both seasons reproductive parts were plucked from the top of cacti with sticks to avoid sharp spines. Buds, flowers and fruits were parboiled to remove bitterness. After cooking, harvested parts were either eaten immediately or sun dried and stored. There are twenty-five species in the genus Ferocactus with the largest number occurring in Mexico. Only Ferocactus cylindraceus occurs in the deserts of California. A second species, Ferocactus viridescens (San Diego barrel cactus), is found on the coastal side of the mountains in Southern California's San Diego County. Two additional species, Ferocactus wislizenii (Arizona barrel cactus) and Ferocactus covillei (Coville's barrel cactus) also occur in the Sonoran Desert but only in Arizona and adjacent Mexico. California barrel cacti are found on coarse-grained (well-drained) soils of hillsides, alluvial fans and bajadas in both the Sonoran and Mojave deserts of California. The species is particularly abundant on eastern slopes of the Peninsular Ranges and in the eastern Mojave Desert. Both locations are centered where summer rains are more likely than in other parts of the desert. The species has been discovered at elevations up to 5,000 feet on south-facing slopes. In the Coachella Valley, the best places to view and photograph California barrel cacti include the Indian Canyons Tribal Park south of Palm Springs and Devil's Garden about 1.5 miles northwest of Highway 62 on Mission Creek Road. At the latter location, park at the concrete berm and walk directly west.

Adromischus cooperi v červeném provedení Adromischus cooperi

SUCCULENTS ARE ROCK STARS OF THE CONTAINER STAGE: by Norman Winter 03/19/15 The succulent frenzy looks to continue as we head into spring, and if you are not on the bandwagon yet, you have been missing one of the hottest trends of the last five years. This trend has turned designing mixed containers on its head as it has partnered rare beauty with low maintenance, too. I first witnessed this in 2009 when the Mississippi Nursery and Landscape Association’s Hot to Trot Pot Competition stunned everyone when it was won by a colorful array of succulents in an Old World style container. The container contest was judged by consumers who selected this particular design by overwhelming numbers. Just as with today’s mixed-succulent containers, it’s members of the crassula family that stole the show. The container held about 11 different succulents, from large-leafed kalanchoe, or paddle plant, to a fine-textured, lime-colored sedum spiller plant. There were blue-green crassula and orange sedums that complemented the other foliage colors as well as the container. It’s funny that I still find gardeners timid about creating these living artistic works for fear that they don’t know what to do. Probably a close examination of their patio or landscape would show all the key ingredients for a winning recipe. For example, every day I hear people commenting that they have been growing hens-and-chicks for years. Hens-and-chicks, known botanically as Sempervivum, are what give many children their first start at gardening. Many of those same gardeners have a patch of lemon colored sedum commonly called stonecrop growing in the flowerbed nearby, yet fail to realize what a wonderful marriage they would make as partners in one mixed container. It seemed forever that these hens-and-chicks, and sedums, too, were-hand-me down or pass-along plants. Today’s garden centers and many florists offer incredible choices to let you be the Monet of your easy-to-grow container. To get started this growing season, pick a container that suits your style. It can be Old World clay, a wooden trough, a handmade hypertufa or even a large shallow bowl. The mandatory criteria will be drainage holes and a good desert-like soil mix. Succulents are tough-as-nails performers because they store moisture in their roots, leaves and stems. Drought-like conditions can wreak havoc on most container-grown plants, but not succulents. In fact, the arch enemies of these plants are too much water and inferior drainage, which is one of the reasons many designers go with a soil mix geared toward cactus. They are low maintenance in that they require very little fertilizer and no constant deadheading. I like them best when given a little protection from the scorching afternoon summer sun. Adequate light, watering only when needed and a little light fertilizing will make this one of the most enjoyable of your a gardening endeavors. I mentioned the Crassula family, which will

indeed be where most of your choices originate. Your choices will number in the hundreds. Sedums, hens-and-chicks, paddle plants, kalanchoe and jade plants are some you already know. But unknown to many gardeners are some wonderfully blue-colored succulents in the aster family called senecio.

When buying succulents, don’t be afraid to be bold and adventuresome by varying your leaf sizes, textures and colors. Choose a large one as your center plant, add some that cascade, and fill in with several pocket or filler plants. You are the art director in your garden and I promise it will be fun.

Adromischus marianiae

Adromischus cristatus

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE: by Dawn Dalyce We are still planning to do a Cactus and Succulent Show and Sale on Saturday June 6th, and Sunday June 7th 2015. The goal of this fundraiser will be to earn enough money to pay for the laptop computer and projector that our club needs to own. We have been borrowing one and depending on JD, to bring it each time we use it, and for several reasons, that needs to improve. Stan determined our cost would be about $1000, and the board decided not to go with an all-in-one projector, which is new on the market and unproven, instead of a separate lap top and projector. We felt more secure in getting repairs or having a substitute or replacement easily if we stayed with the 2 unit system and the price was about the same. Our fundraiser suggested donation is 30% to the club, for all the plants or mini gardens sold. You are welcome to donate plants completely to the club, or any amount higher than 30% if you feel your costs to produce the saleable items is low, cuttings will be welcome. Please have your plants growing in sufficient light, filtered sun, part sun, so they look vibrant and not etiolated. Definition= ( e·ti·o·lat·ed ˈētēəˌlātid/Submit adjective(of a plant) pale and drawn out due to a lack of light. "etiolated mung bean seedlings" having lost vigor or substance; feeble." a tone of etiolated nostalgia"). Please also have plants you’ve propagated be either well-rooted and growing, or sold as cuttings. We want to look like we know about succulents, and to be fair to our customers, potential new friends, and potential club members. I am personally finding little pretty ceramic pots and other items that Ron can drill out, and using tiny plants I’ve bought or divided/ propagated, to make extra pretty already-potted offerings that I think might go for $ 5 to $ 15. Since I am buying the “pots” at garage sales, and second hand charity stores, and dollar stores, and my hubby Ron is drilling them for me, with water and diamond bits on his drill press, my hard cost is usually $2-3 per plant (or nothing if it’s a cutting) , and $ .50 - $ 5 for the ‘pot’. So if we can sell them from $5- $15 the cost of plants and materials will be covered, plus the club will gain a donation. If we figure we need to earn $1,000 and the club is getting 30%, then the club will need to sell $3000 worth of plants. If the average plant sold is $ 5 we would need to sell 3000 divided by 5 = 600 plants. That is a bunch in just two days. Or if we were selling $50 mini gardens, $3,000 divided by $50= 60 mini gardens. Obviously if we can sell larger plants or mini gardens we’ve designed and potted up, we’ll need fewer sales to reach our goal. You can figure in the $2 plants we will sell, the $10 and $20 plants, and so on, as I’m sure our members will provide a wide variety. Thank goodness people are more and more interested in cactus and succulents, and also that we can use our member and Vice President’s little farm for free. (our club used to have sales at a mall in Stockton until they started wanting to charge us $700 a day to hold a sale.) Dave Jones is allowing us to set up, and use his west of 99 Modesto, farm that you can find at www.ivoryfarms.com , so that we can set up ahead of time, and leave them out for a 2 day sale, as he does have a fence, and can gate off his property at night. Thank you Dave for your hospitality and for all the preparation work we know you will be doing. The library and park in Manteca didn’t work, as their City Parks and Recreation rules prohibit selling anything. We would love to use Poot’s Cactus in Ripon, but parking is an issue, especially on Saturday, that being their busiest day normally. Let’s all pitch in to try to make this a very educational and successful fundraiser event!

1. We plan to have a “mini show” at the event, so we can all bring a few of our most impressive personal favorite plants to show, not sell. That should inspire the customers to want to collect succulents and cacti, and maybe even learn more and join our club.

2. We plan to ask EVERYONE in the club to start advertising now, for customers to “save the date” and then to show up, June 6 and 7. , advertising for FREE on Facebook, Craigslist, and Ebay Classified, Nextdoor.com , and at any club or other social media you have available. The Modesto Garden Club will let me put it on the May and June Calendars for free, if you are a member of any other clubs, ask if you can add our sale to your club’s newsletter/ calendar.

3. Dave and I will have a “petting zoo” there to attract visitors. 4. We’d like a few members to offer to do some short educational lessons, you can choose a subject. Here are some ideas

you could volunteer to teach, “potting succulents” , “making a succulent mini garden”, “propagating succulents”, “hardy succulents you can plant outdoors in our area”, “succulents that protect your windows from intruders”, “succulents for hanging baskets”, “ cactus/succulents with impressive flowers”, “ making potting mix for succulents”, “reducing your watering by switching to succulents”.

5. I can’t think of any reason that we can’t presell some plants or items for our fundraiser, or keep it going after this event. As long as we are saving plenty of plants/ mini gardens to have an impressive sale at the event, let’s go ahead and offer to sell online, or at our meetings. Everyone can just keep track of their sales/donations and remit to Roelyn.

6. Please double tag each of your plants that you need a payment for, with your name, and the plant price. That way we can keep track of each sale, and who that sale item should be credited to. Please mark donated plants or items, as donated.

7. Please bring your own lunch/ drinks, folding chairs, to the sale and let Dawn know in advance what days and times you can work the sale. Bathroom will be provided. There is plenty of shade, and we will also have 2 easy up type covers, an open top gazebo, a huge tarp, plus a few tables, and folding chairs.

WITHOUT A DOUBT, DROUGHT DOESN’T MEAN YARDS MUST BE BROWN & DOWN:

By Modesto Bee Staff Reporters 04/28/2015

Selling drought-resistant plants and shrubs makes for a drought- resistant business, as some area nurseries can attest. Indeed, water restrictions imposed by the state, cities and water districts are making homeowners rethink their landscaping. Less available water doesn’t mean you have to endure brown grass and dying plants, though. It’s a matter of planting what looks good and doesn’t need much water. And with agencies threatening to fine them for waste or not following watering rules, homeowners are getting the message: Cactus, rock and other plants with camel-like characteristics are the new bluegrass. What works in Arizona works here as well. Along Highway 120 north of Ripon, Poot’s Cactus Nursery has seen such a rise in sales that owners William and Roelyn Poot have been able to add staff. “We’ve been able to have our son (Brian) go full time,” Roelyn Poot said. “(Customers) know when they come here that we only sell cactus and succulents. Last Saturday was the busiest day we’ve ever had.” They’ve been selling plenty of Trichocereus, a cactus native to Bolivia and Argentina. “They all bloom with colorful flowers,” Poot said. “Sixty to 300 flowers per plant, and they bloom three times a year.”

Likewise, Cynthia Austin Tanis is designing at least three new yards a week for customers at Morris Nursery in Riverbank. She draws up the plans, including what kind of stone and gravel to use and the kinds of plants that will make for a colorful yard on minimal water. “I do the design part,” she said. “The fun part.” She’s also working to create a contest for drought-resistant yards, hoping agencies including irrigation districts will get on board to encourage participation.

The author of a Kindle book titled “The Timeless Allure of Lavender,” Tanis likes to mix numerous varieties of that plant with other herbs and perennials to get the desired effect. She prefers “Mediterranean” to “Phoenix” when it comes to describing her landscapes, using flagstone and decomposed granite to fill up space, then strategically placing the plants for color.

Roelyn Poot approaches a large Golden Barrel cluster, center, at Poot’s Cactus Nursery in Ripon last week. The nursery has many drought-tolerant plants in full bloom right now. Joan Barnett Lee

Bill Poot, right, boxes plants for brothers David, center, and Chuck Switzer at Poot’s Cactus Nursery in Ripon. Joan Barnett Lee

Longtime customers Denise Castro, left, and Evelyn Will of Tracy walk through Poot’s Cactus Nursery in Ripon last week. David Switzer (below) of Modesto

selects plants. Joan Barnett Lee

A sign outside Poot’s Cactus Nursery in Ripon urges passers-by to buy water-saving plants

during the drought. Joan Barnett Lee