Aloe Hybrid Breeding Project for California and Tissue Culture Production of Selected Plants for Sale Proposal

Home , Aloe brevifolia, Ruth Bancroft Garden, Walled garden

2018 Saratoga Horticultural Research Endowment Proposal The Ruth Bancroft Garden- Aloe Hybrid Breeding Project

Total Budget: $ 25,415 - $39, 415; Requested Amount: $ 25,000

Applicant Organization: The Ruth Bancroft Garden 1552 Bancroft Road, Walnut Creek, CA 94598 Location of Project: The Ruth Bancroft Garden, (hereinafter TRBG), address above

Co-Principal Investigators and Project Managers: Brian Kemble, Curator, The Ruth Bancroft Garden Walker Young, Assistant Curator, The Ruth Bancroft Garden (925) 944-9352 The Ruth Bancroft Garden office; [email protected]

Consultants: Randy Baldwin, Owner-San Marcos Growers; [email protected] Ernesto Sandoval, Curator-Botanical Conservatory, UC Davis; [email protected]

Executive Summary

This project seeks to develop new aloe hybrids to encourage the transition to more water-conserving garden plants and to expand the range of climate-appropriate plants available for California gardens. We propose to take five aloe hybrids created by Brian Kemble over the last 35 years, and test them in three microclimates at TRBG for a year. These hybrids differ from the bulk of recent introductions. Many fine aloe hybrids have come out of South Africa in recent years, but these come from the summer rainfall region, and focus on flowers alone. Aloes from southern California have focused on miniatures with unusual leaves. This project focuses on landscape-worthy hybrids suited for California’s Mediterranean climate.

Data collected will be used to determine how well the hybrids perform. Results will be used to put the top performers into tissue culture for introduction into commercial use. Hybrids under study will be noted with signage for the public, and desirable features highlighted in an accompanying brochure and on TRBG website. Results will be reported to horticultural experts through the website and in three horticultural journals. This project will result in up to 5 new striking, desirable, and hardy aloes available for California landscape use.

Does this project address one or more of the five identified research and education priorities of the SHRE?

This aloe hybrid project encompasses Priority 2: It encourages the transition to more water-conserving plant species for ornamental use, since aloes are succulents and require little water, and their foliage and flowers are outstanding for their durability and dramatic presence in the landscape.

2018 Saratoga Horticultural Research Endowment Proposal The Ruth Bancroft Garden- Aloe Hybrid Breeding Project

This aloe hybrid project also encompasses Priority 3: It will expand the range of available climate- appropriate plants for California by creating new aloes that have been proven to be well suited to California’s dry regions and which will be produced in commercial quantities and thereby increase the menu of aloes available for landscape use.

Needs and Outcomes

Need 1: Developing new aloe hybrids is important to expand the landscape choices available in terms of flower color, leaf color, texture, and flowering season. Moreover, this project will focus on mid-sized aloes, which are underrepresented among aloe hybrids currently in the trade.

Outcome 1: This project will encourage the introduction of 5 mid-sized aloe hybrids into California horticulture. Each hybrid meets the low water requirements which are suitable for this dry region of California. In addition, each hybrid was bred for the following desirable characteristics: attractiveness of flowers and foliage, repeat flowering, ease of care, climatic tolerance, pest resistance and tolerance for winter or summer rainfall. The hybrids will be tested and the hardiest specimens put into tissue culture for mass production during the next 4 years.

Need 2: Visitors to TRBG are constantly inquiring about whether they can purchase the aloe hybrids they see at the Garden, but the staff at TRBG have not found the support needed to make the specimens commercially available.

Outcome 2: The project will help the TRBG discover which hybrids are most robust and worthy of broad introduction into the horticulture world, as well as determine which of the aloe hybrids would best become specialty items better suited to container gardening. This will be done by pushing the limits of the plants’ cold tolerance, their need for irrigation in the summer, and their tolerance of excessive rain in the winter, success in sun or shade, as well as tolerance for nutrient poor soils.

Need 3: There is a need to promote general planting of ornamentals that are low water use plants in California, and aloes are low water use plants that are highly attractive to gardeners for a variety of reasons, especially their soft rosette structure and colorful foliage.

Outcome 3: This project will promote to the public which aloes are being tested in the Garden with signage, on the website, and with an informational brochure on the hybrids and the many landscape advantages of aloes in California gardens, including low water use, leaf and flower beauty, and attractors of wildlife such as hummingbirds. Articles reporting on the year of climate trial at TRBG will also help publicize the new hybrids and their advantages.

Need 4: There is a need for more landscape succulents that can tolerate California climates other than the milder coastal zones. .

2018 Saratoga Horticultural Research Endowment Proposal The Ruth Bancroft Garden- Aloe Hybrid Breeding Project

Outcome 4: This project will put into mass production via tissue culture an assortment of versatile new aloe hybrids suitable for inland California microclimates. Specifically, the hybrids will be tested in microclimates which experience temperatures down to the mid-twenties Fahrenheit, along with temperatures in the summer which frequently reach 100 degrees F.

Main project narrative: Introduction There have been long-term drought conditions in California and the western states for much of the last 17 years. “Research indicates the current drought in the American West has been made worse by climate change and that future droughts will be exacerbated by the warming planet.” (Alistair Bland, 2016 “California’s Disappearing Dream” Earth Island Journal). We also know that by 2050 there will be 50 million people in California vying for water resources. The combination of diminishing resource and increasing users is a cause for concern. Dry-loving succulent plants address this concern by lowering the amount of irrigation required for attractive gardens.

In addition to a 50 year history of experimentation with drought tolerant plants, TRBG is significant in that it lies in an interior climate zone approaching the northern limit for most commonly available succulents. This challenging set of conditions makes the Bancroft Garden an ideal laboratory for this experimentation.

Aloe is one of the most popular succulent genera for its ecological low water use in general, for its beauty as an ornamental, and for its ease of propagation and care, and tangentially, for its significant medicinal properties. This project recognizes the need to develop and promote aloe cultivars which will be ever more attractive, water conserving, and hardy for ornamental use in California’s warming future.

Aloes hybrids are sought after to provide color during winter when few other plants are flowering. In addition to their wonderful flowers, their sculptural rosettes come in myriad sizes, shapes, colors and textures. Two other desirable aloe characteristics are that the blooming period for one flower is usually quite lengthy, and aloes are great hummingbird pollinator attractors.

The most commonly available hybrids in the trade have been produced in South Africa and southern California. In South Africa hybrids have been crossed to produce dramatic flowers. In southern California hybrids have been crossed mainly for green house environments to produce showy leaf patterns. Aloe hybrids with appeal on both of these fronts are less common. For 35 years, Brian Kemble has been breeding aloes with the goal of bridging that gap. This project will distill from this body of work something novel with practical value for California gardeners. The Kemble aloe hybrids considered for this study are:

1. x Gasteraloe ‘luman’: produces rosettes to 1 ‘ in diameter; is a stemless clumper, with spotted leaves that take on a pink, orange and reddish tinge in summer; orange tubular flowers on a branch stock.

2018 Saratoga Horticultural Research Endowment Proposal The Ruth Bancroft Garden- Aloe Hybrid Breeding Project

2. Aloe buhrii x reynoldsii, pictured below: produces rosettes to 18 “ in diameter; is a stemless clumper with wide choral edged leaves; much branched flower stalk to 18” high with yellow-orange flowers.

3. Aloe pearsonii x mitriformis pictured below: either upright or horizontal growth clumper with stems of stacked triangular shaped leaves, becoming purple-flushed in sun; red flowers in a round cluster in summer.

2018 Saratoga Horticultural Research Endowment Proposal The Ruth Bancroft Garden- Aloe Hybrid Breeding Project

4. Aloe zubb x squarrosa, pictured below: clumper with curled-back, light green heavily spotted leaves; flower stalk is branched with yellow-orange flowers.

5. Aloe ‘Rubin’, picture below: a relatively compact hybrid with four species in its parentage: Aloe humilis and Aloe brevifolia from South Africa, Aloe zubb from Sudan, and Aloe squarrosa from Socatra. It forms mounded clusters of six inch and heads with short spotted triangular leaves. In shade plats are green, but in sunnier positions they become purple-tinged. Flowers not known.

2018 Saratoga Horticultural Research Endowment Proposal The Ruth Bancroft Garden- Aloe Hybrid Breeding Project

2. Statement of goals and objectives and their relevance to the purpose of the endowment.

Goal 1: Through a year-long garden trial of 5 new cultivars in 3 of TRBG’s most extreme microclimates, identify which succeed in this challenging interior California region.

1st Objective, Goal 1: Identify the three most extreme microclimates in the Garden.

2nd Objective, Goal 1: Prepare planting conditions in those three microclimates so soil is consistent, and install high low thermometers at each site.

3rd Objective, Goal 1: Take bi-monthly general observations, with particular attention paid to plants’ response to extreme weather events.

4th Objective for Goal 1: Summarize findings at end of year and make tissue culture recommendations.

Goal 1 Relevance to the Endowment: This is relevant to Priority # 3 of the Endowment—helping to develop the range of available climate-appropriate plants for regional California gardens and landscapes.

Goal 2: Educate the public about what is learned about the plants and why the knowledge is important.

1st Objective, Goal 2: Post signage at the three sites in TRBG where the hybrids are located.

2nd Objective Goal 2: Create a brochure with a picture of each hybrid, describing its special characteristics, and that of aloes in general, and the goal of the year long study.

3rd Objective, Goal 2: Post the hybrid project information on TRBG website.

4th Objective, Goal 2: TRBG Curators Brian Kemble and Walker Young co- publish an article on the study in these horticultural journals: Cactus and Succulent Journal, Alsterworthia International, and Aloe.

Relevance to the Endowment: This communication component of the project supports the Endowment’s general mission to help research and educational programs that foster the introduction of new and improved plant materials for California gardens and landscapes. The communication will also encourage the public to transition to water-conserving plants for ornamental use, which again, is the Endowment’s priority.

Goal 3. At the end of the year send up to 5 of the hybrids to tissue culture facilities for mass production.

2018 Saratoga Horticultural Research Endowment Proposal The Ruth Bancroft Garden- Aloe Hybrid Breeding Project

1st Objective, Goal 3: At the end of the year of trial, determine which hybrids are suitable for tissue culture.

2nd Objective, Goal 3: Establish relationship with tissue culture laboratory for submission of plant samples during first year of study. Contract will depend upon the rate of royalty offered and the willingness of the laboratory contractor to give TRBG right of refusal for first rounds of stage 4 liners, so that the Garden can be the first source for the new plants.

3rd Objective, Goal 3: File for patents on the plants going into tissue culture, in June, the last month of the study, when it has been determined which plants should go into broad development.

3. Outline of the proposed research and/or education project.

This is 4-5 year project from the time of planting the selected hybrids to the moment they first become available to the public in small size. Year One is the planting and trial, and the education of the public on the experiment through signage, brochure, and website. This year also includes reporting on the hybrids’ success in their stressful microclimates, as well as building a relationship with the tissue culture laboratory which will be chosen for the mass development of the best performing hybrids. At the end of this year patents for the best performers will be applied for.

Year Two will be placing the plants into in vitro tissue culture, and reporting out to the horticultural community on the results of the trial. Year Two will also be a time for marketing the hybrids special characteristics and telling the story of their responses to climate and stressful conditions. Marketing the new plants is done through articles, website, social media, public speaking, and collaborative work with industry professionals. This will also be a year of developing relationships with the nurseries which will be used to grow the plants in mass production.

Years Three and Four will be placing the tissue cultured specimens into nursery culture to produce product ready to be sold. Marketing the expected new hybrids will continue at TRBG. By end of Year Four enough plants will be produced to start selling to the public.

Project Timeline Month Activity July, 2018 Select Garden test sites Prepare sites, order soil tests; create soil consistency; install high-low thermometers; plant hybrids; hand irrigate test sites; design signage; draft informational brochure. August, 2018 Begin bi-monthly monitoring; hand irrigate test sites, noting amount of water used; order signage; Get brochure designed and printed. Post information on TRBG website.

2018 Saratoga Horticultural Research Endowment Proposal The Ruth Bancroft Garden- Aloe Hybrid Breeding Project

Sept. 2018- Monitor hybrids in bi- monthly reports; hand irrigation of sites, noting November, amount of water used and reactions to severe temperature and wind; 2018 install signage; begin talking with tissue culture facilities; take pictures of plants sites monthly, report on progress on website. Hand out Hybrid Project brochures to interested visitors and on docent led tours. December Monitor hybrids in bi- monthly reports, continue irrigation if necessary, 2018 noting amount of water used and reactions to severe rainfall, temperature and wind; continue discussion with tissue culture laboratories; Prepare mid-year report on Project for SHRE.

January 2019 - Monitor hybrids bi-monthly; update pictures and reports on project on May 2019 website; hand irrigation as necessary; continue education on Project with brochures and on docent tours; and draft article on Project for horticulture publications. June, 2019 Summarize observations on hybrid tests and choose plants for tissue culture submission. Apply for patent on chosen specimens. Complete article on the project for horticulture publications. Prepare final report to SHRE.

Budget Detail

Item Quantity SHRE Funds Partner In-Kind Contribution Contribution Pumice & rock 1 cubic yard $250 Garden space $250 donation Soil lab tests 3 @ $65 $195 Cor-ten 3 signs @ $350 $1,050 $195 donated signage- design welding and fabrication High-low 3 @ $40 $120 thermometer Data collection 60 hours, $2,100 & tabulation curators’ time @ $ 35 Planting 10 hours, $350 curators’ time @ $35 Patents for Up to 5 @ $21,000- hybrids $7,000 each $35,000 Irrigation 10 hours, $350 curators’ time a $35

Total: $25,417- $445 $39,415

2018 Saratoga Horticultural Research Endowment Proposal The Ruth Bancroft Garden- Aloe Hybrid Breeding Project

Budget Narrative: The estimate for the patents comes from a local California patent attorney, and Upcounsel.com, from their article “Plant Patent: Everything You Need to Know.” $3,000-7,000 is the estimate for start to finish-preparing and filing the patent and shepherding the application through the process of gaining government approval. We expect between 3-5 aloes to qualify for tissue culture. Hence the costs could be considerably less, depending on the number of patents needed, and the length of time it takes to gain approval.

Attachment 1:

Brian Kemble Curriculum Vitae

Brian Kemble 2659 Post St. San Francisco, CA 94115

Plant introductions

Aloe hybrids introduced through the ISI program at the Huntington Botanical Gardens: Aloe ‘Wunderkind’ Aloe ‘Hellskloof Bells’ Numerous other Aloe hybrids introduced through The Ruth Bancroft Garden, including: Aloe ‘Creamsicle’ Aloe ‘Orange Ice’ Aloe ‘Robin Stockwell’ Agave hybrids: Agave ‘Blue Brian’ (introduced through Viveros Canos in Spain) Agave parrasana x colorata Agave parrasana x salmiana Agave parrasana x xylonacantha

Education

B.A. from Antioch College, Yellow Springs, Ohio

Research

2018 Saratoga Horticultural Research Endowment Proposal The Ruth Bancroft Garden- Aloe Hybrid Breeding Project

Investigations of distributions and relationships in Aloe, Gasteria and Agave, with extensive study of plants in habitat and growing trials in Walnut Creek to determine suitability of plants for horticulture. Study of cold tolerances of Aloe species.

Work History

The International Succulent Institute, 1976-1980 Curator of plant collection at The Ruth Bancroft Garden since 1980 Private garden consultations Speaker at plant societies, seminars and conventions

Plant Society Activities Oakland Cactus & Succulent Society (terms as Vice-President and President) San Francisco Succulent & Cactus Society (terms as Vice-President, President and Board Member) California Horticultural Society (member since 1970’s & occasional speaker at meetings) Cactus & Succulent Society of America (member since 1976, current Board Member) Institute for Aloe Studies (Vice-President and Board Member)

Publications Numerous articles and book reviews in the Cactus and Succulent Journal Article on agaves for Aloe (South African publication) Article on Aloe hybridizing for Alsterworthia (British publication) Plant Profiles for The Ruth Bancroft Garden Newsletter, 2003-2010 Monthly Plant Highlights for The Ruth Bancroft Garden website Bi-weekly columns for the Contra Costa Times (Ruth’sTips), Nov. 2005 to Jan. 2015 Monthly column for the Contra Costa Times, Oakland Tribune and San Jose Mercury News (On The Dry Side), Feb. 2015 to Jan. 2018 Articles for the Newsletter of the San Francisco Succulent & Cactus Society (75 articles on various succulent plants and on gardens featuring plantings of succulents) Article on Koko Crater Botanical Garden for To The Point (publication of the Cactus & Succulent Society of America) Photos published in numerous books: Aloes – the Definitive Guide (published by Kew Gardens) Ariocarpus et cetera, by John Pilbeam Cacti & Succulents of Baja California, by John Pilbeam Ferocactus, by John Pilbeam A Gallery of Agaves, by John Pilbeam The genus Echeveria, by John Pilbeam Guide to the Aloes of South Africa, by B. van Wyk and G. Smith The Timber Press Guide to Succulent Plants of the World, by Fred Dortort

Professional Involvement Plant and seed exchanges with many botanical gardens in the US and South Africa Atlanta Botanical Garden Desert Botanical Garden, Phoenix Honolulu Botanical Gardens

2018 Saratoga Horticultural Research Endowment Proposal The Ruth Bancroft Garden- Aloe Hybrid Breeding Project

Huntington Botanical Gardens, Pasadena Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens, Cape Town Lotusland, Santa Barbara Pretoria National Botanical Garden San Diego Botanic Garden San Francisco Botanical Garden South Coast Botanic Garden, Palos Verdes, CA UC Berkeley Botanical Garden Speaker on various topics at Garden Conservancy/Ruth Bancroft Garden seminars Speaker at Master Gardeners conference in Santa Rosa Speaker at Open Nursery event at San Marcos Growers (Santa Barbara) Speaker at annual Succulent Extravaganza events, Succulent Gardens (Castroville) Seeds distributed to many nurseries and plant societies: Annie’s Annuals, Richmond, CA C&J Nursery, Vista, CA California Horticultural Society Gariep Nursery, Pretoria The Peruvian Cactus & Succulent Society Plant Delights Nursery, North Carolina Rancho Soledad Nurseries, Rancho Santa Fe, CA San Marcos Growers, Santa Barbara, CA Succulent Gardens, Castroville, CA Viveros Canos, Spain The Walled Garden, England Western Cactus Nursery, Vista, CA Yucca Do Nursery, Texas

Awards Golden Barrel Award, given by the Ruth Bancroft Garden, 2012

TV, Radio, Public Speaking The Coastal Gardener TV piece on The Ruth Bancroft Garden Martha Stewart TV piece on The Ruth Bancroft Garden Rossmoor TV piece on The Ruth Bancroft Garden Home & Garden Television piece on The Ruth Bancroft Garden The Victory Garden TV piece (Light Up Your Garden) Martha Stewart radio interview Public Speaking: Talks for many Cactus & Succulent Societies in California, Arizona, Nevada and Hawaii Talks for the San Francisco Bromeliad Society Talks on Aloe and The Ruth Bancroft Garden for the California Horticultural Society Talk on succulents for Ikebana International in San Francisco Talk on succulents for the League of Women Voters, Berkeley, CA Talks at various Conventions of the Cactus & Succulent Society of America Talk at TACCS Convention (Texas Association of Cactus & Succulent Societies) Talk on succulents at the Master Gardener Convention in Santa Rosa, CA Talk on Agave at Succulenta 90 Congress, Cape Town Talks at various Garden Conservancy/Ruth Bancroft Garden seminars

2018 Saratoga Horticultural Research Endowment Proposal The Ruth Bancroft Garden- Aloe Hybrid Breeding Project

Talk on succulents at the Landscape Garden Show, San Francisco Talks at Open Nursery events (Succulent Gardens in Castroville; San Marcos Growers in Santa Barbara) Talk at Annie’s Annuals on Plant Oddities Docent Training sessions at The Ruth Bancroft Garden, UC Berkeley Bot. Garden, San Francisco Bot. Garden

April, 2018

Brian Kemble is the Curator at The Ruth Bancroft Garden, (TRBG) and he began working there as Ruth Bancroft’s greenhouse manager in 1980, well before the TRBG became a public garden. Brian is also the Vice-President (and past President) of the San Francisco Succulent & Cactus Society, on whose Board of Directors he has served since 2000. In addition, he serves on the Board of Directors of the Cactus & Succulent Society of America. He has a long-standing interest in the genus Aloe, and is Vice-President of the Institute for Aloe Studies, headquartered in Oakland.

Brian does a great deal of writing on botanical subjects, both for TRBG and for other publications. For TRBG, he has contributed a monthly Plant Highlight (posted on the garden’s website) since 2003. Before that, he wrote articles titled Plant Profiles for the garden’s quarterly Newsletter. He is a regular contributor of articles on plants for the Newsletter of the San Francisco Succulent & Cactus Society, with over 70 articles published between 2009 and the present. In addition, he has written articles on succulent plants for other publications such as The Cactus & Succulent Journal (USA), Aloe (South Africa), and Alsterworthia International (UK). From Nov. 2005 through Jan. 2015, he wrote a newspaper column entitled “Ruth’s Tips” which ran in the garden section of several Bay Area newspapers, and this column was succeeded by a new one titled “On the Dry Side” from Feb. 2015 to Jan. 2018.

Brian has traveled extensively to study and photograph succulent plants in their habitats. To date, he has been on botanical expeditions to South Africa 8 times, to Namibia four times, to Madagascar twice, to Mexico 23 times, and to various parts of the US Southwest on many occasions. He frequently gives presentations on his travels to garden clubs, to members of TRBG, and to various Cactus & Succulent Societies. He also gives talks on various botanical subjects at conventions (several Cactus & Succulent Society of America Conventions, Succulenta 2000 in Cape Town, the Master Gardeners Convention in Santa Rosa in 2011, the Texas Association of Cactus & Succulent Societies Convention), and he does docent training sessions on succulent plants at TRBG and the San Francisco Botanical Garden.

Attachment 2: Walker Young Curriculum Vitae

Walker McKnight Young 4200 Park Blvd. #606

2018 Saratoga Horticultural Research Endowment Proposal The Ruth Bancroft Garden- Aloe Hybrid Breeding Project

Oakland, CA 94602 (510) 701-2119 ◦ [email protected]

EDUCATION______B.A., History

Minor, Geography

Minor, Global Studies

University of California, Los Angeles 2009

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE______The Ruth Bancroft Garden – Walnut Creek, CA November 2013 – Present

Assistant Curator

 Renovated Ruth’s East Shade House - turning a sad, declining area into one of the most visited, most dynamic corners of the garden, and providing proof of concept for the holistic renovation of the garden for which I had long been advocating.  Carefully redesigned and renovated over 50% of TRBG - taking personal responsibility for the sculpting of the new beds’ physical topographies, aesthetic boulder placement, and the placement of focal/structural items – returning TRBG to its rightful place among the most exquisite public display gardens in the world.  Introduced cycads into the garden as a significant new texture. Donated and installed a personal collection of these regal plants valued in excess of $25k.  Revived, repotted, edited, and staged the collection housed in the main greenhouse, facilitating paid tours of the space.  Managed maintenance of all garden infrastructure (plumbing, electrical, structural, tools, pathways, & heavy equipment).  Redesigned service and plant holding area, personally built greenhouse structures, potting station, and partitions to separate the space from the public.  Designed, built, and donated a sophisticated aerated compost tea brewing system.  Provided high-quality outreach and education as a public speaker.

The Ruth Bancroft Garden – Walnut Creek, CA September 2012 – November 2013

Nursery Manager

 Spearheaded the separation of garden and retail propagations in the nursery to prevent loss of valuable material and reorganized the remaining retail material along cultivational as well as taxonomic lines.  Maximized growth via sophisticated fertigation and expert attention on an individualized micro scale.  Counseled administration about long-term goals and made informed recommendations about strategies specifically tailored to support upcoming initiatives.  Maintained elevated levels of sales activity by sheer will and passion for the material.  Sold more retail plants during the Spring/Fall 2013 plant sales than any other single days in TRBG history – before or since.

2018 Saratoga Horticultural Research Endowment Proposal The Ruth Bancroft Garden- Aloe Hybrid Breeding Project

The Ruth Bancroft Garden – Walnut Creek, CA February 2012 – September 2012

Horticulturist

 Maintained plumbing and electrical systems in the garden, as well as participating in installation of new plantings.  Brought in many new lucrative clients to TRBG Nursery.  Began the campaign to lift the garden and introduce more aesthetic rock work.  Began the salvage of valuable plant material from Ruth’s various declining collections.  Secured introductory meetings with industry decision makers capable of contributing to the process of reviving TRBG.

Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, DuocUC – Santiago, Chile February – December 2010

Professor, Department of English

 Independently conceived of original class material and provided instruction to over 150 students aged 18-40 in 5 elementary to intermediate ESL classes per semester. Increased overall TEFL scores by an average of 8%.

Attachment 3: CV Ernesto Sandoval

2018 Saratoga Horticultural Research Endowment Proposal The Ruth Bancroft Garden- Aloe Hybrid Breeding Project Ernesto Sandoval Director UC Davis Botanical Conservatory College of Biological Sciences [email protected] (530-752-0569 office, 530-979-7659 cell)

Degree:

B.S. Botany UC Davis 1996, Outstanding Senior

Employment History:

• UC Davis Botanical Conservatory 1991-1996 student employee, 1996-1998 PGR, 1998-Present Career Staff- Primarily responsible for supervising and initiating maintenance and development of a diverse collection plants used for teaching and research by University courses and researchers. Manage over 40 student employees, interns, and volunteers. Lead Conservatory tours for many University, K-12 and general public.

• Division of Biological Sciences Undergraduate Peer Adviser Fall 1992 –Spring 1993.

• Field Assistant for Dr. Alison Berry for multiple 2 week sessions during summers including one University Research Expeditions Program week where I coordinated 3 volunteers in the collection of botanical samples at Mesa Verde National Park. (93, 94, 95)

• Floristic Survey of Great Valley Grasslands State Park, Merced, CA. Collected and documented over 220 botanical samples to produce taxonomic list of plants for over 3000 acres of parkland. Spring 1995- Fall 1997.

Notable Recent Achievements at Botanical Conservatory:

• Quarterly, Teach 12-15 Interns skills to prune, propagate, transplant, understand and maintain plants with interactive teaching and work sessions and some independent research projects. Coordinate guest lectures.

• Helped raise over $60,000 through donations and small grants to develop ½ acre multiuse garden demonstration site (Biological Orchard and Gardens). -ongoing

• Initiated, designed, directed, and worked on Ernest Gifford Cycad Garden on South Side of Storer Hall. Worked with Development office to raise over $21,000 to fund and endow the project. Directed and worked alongside students to distribute and incorporate over 50 cubic yards of amendment. Directed the

2018 Saratoga Horticultural Research Endowment Proposal The Ruth Bancroft Garden- Aloe Hybrid Breeding Project transplanting of valuable cycad plants from Robbins Hall courtyard to Storer Hall. Designed bio- geographical distribution of plantings. Coordinated with Grounds department for approval of project and improvements to irrigation system. June-September 2005.

• Designed, coordinated, and directed crew of student staff and volunteers to perform soil amendments, and dry stacked rock wall and install plantings at south and east sides of

SLB. Completed design and installation of plantings at south west side of building for

June 2, 2005 official opening in under three weeks.

• Tabatha the Titan Bloom 8-1-15/2004. Coordinated Conservatory staff, volunteers, and campus media service for this event that attracted over 4,000 visitors and 11,000 hits to web cam and 25K hits to the titan website. During this time I setup personal website to share photos of Tabatha the Titan with public, spoke to the public and news media, edited campus media website text for accuracy. My site had over 5,000 hits in 2 weeks. photos from that site were shared with local and national news media, Home & Garden

Television and book publishers in return for credit and/or fees payable to the

Conservatory.

• Applied for (6/2004) and received (Fall/2004) $17, 250 grant from the Elvina J. Slosson Foundation titled: Labeling and Interpretive Signage for Educationally Appropriate Plantings for the Life Sciences District at the UC Davis Campus with an Emphasis on Drought Tolerant Plants.

• Applied for (12/2004) and received (2/2005) $25,000 grants from Slosson foundation titled: Labels for Educational Plantings in the Life Sciences District at the UC Davis Campus. Using example from UCD Arboretum grant I primarily researched and wrote both grants and have performed the primary supervision of work

Activities

• Davis Botanical Society President September 2005 – August 2006. Facilitate monthly board meetings, consult with other board members on Society activities.

• Botanical and/or horticultural presentations to organizations such as chapters of the Cactus and Succulent Society of America (Sacramento, Carmichael, San Francisco, Oakland, Monterey, Stockton, San Jose, Fresno, Santa Barbara, Central Coast of California, Los Angeles, Tucson, Phoenix), Davis

2018 Saratoga Horticultural Research Endowment Proposal The Ruth Bancroft Garden- Aloe Hybrid Breeding Project Botanical Society, Davis Science Center, Friends of the Davis Arboretum, Perennial Plant Club of Sacramento, Lodi Garden Club, California Horticultural Society, International Plant Propagators Society, North American Rock Garden Society, and the Desert Plant Society of Vancouver.

• Educational displays & presentations at K-12 schools in Davis and Sacramento area including (Caesar Chavez Elementary school, Pioneer Elementary school, and the Davis Science Center (Davis), Waggoner Elementary School (Winters), Hiram Johnson High School and Del Paso Manor Elementary School (Sacramento), and California Academic

Decathlon southern and northern California.

• UC Davis Botany Club field trip leader 1993-present. Organize and lead day field trips throughout North and central California and many multi-day camping trips to sites throughout California, Arizona, and Baja California Mexico (over 13 times) to explore botanical diversity. • Supervise and direct interns and volunteers in propagation of uncommon UCD Botanical Conservatory plants for annual benefit sales. Raise over $15,000 annually for Conservatory operations and disseminate uncommon plant material to the general public as well as answer many horticultural questions. • Davis Botanical Society Student Grants Committee Chairperson. Reviewed grant applications and with 2 other committee members and awarded 3 $750 grants. (multiple years) • Teach Photography workshops. Annually teach 2-3 day long botanical photography workshops through Davis Botanical Society. Funds from workshops help fund special projects at the Botanical Conservatory. • Donate time and photographic skills to local charities at fundraising events.

Awards

• Principles of Community Award 2014, College of Biological Sciences

• Young Alum of the Year Award 2007, Cal Aggie Alumni Association

• Staff Recognition Award 1998-99, 1999-2000, Division of Biological Sciences

• Certificate of Recognition 1996, Botanical Society of America

2018 Saratoga Horticultural Research Endowment Proposal The Ruth Bancroft Garden- Aloe Hybrid Breeding Project

Attachment 4 : CV Randy Baldwin

Randolph (Randy) Frazier Baldwin Personal Details

Education:

South Pasadena High School - graduated 1974 Pasadena City College - 1974 - Experimental Photography University of California, San Diego 1974-77 University of California, Santa Barbara - graduated 1979 BA - Environmental Studies w/ Botany concentration Senior Thesis "Post Fire Plant Succession in a Joshua Tree Woodland"

Employment History:

La Sumida Nursery, Santa Barbara, CA - Retail Sales 1979-81 San Marcos Growers - 1981 - Present Randy Baldwin is President and General Manager of San Marcos Growers, a wholesale nursery in Santa Barbara, California known in the nursery industry for the diversity of plants that it grows and for the introduction of new plants suitable for cultivation in California. In his spare time Randy speaks to groups about his love of plants and writes the web pages for the San Marcos Growers Horticultural web site.

Boards, Committees and Organizations

Cactus and Succulent Society of America - Board Member - Current California Association of Nurseries and Garden Centers - Board Member - Current Friends of Franceschi Park - 1981-1990 Goleta Water District - Consultant to the xeriscape garden - 2000 Hermitage Garden and Museum - Board Member - Current Madame Ganna WalskaLotusland Plant Collections Advisory Committee - Current PlantRight Invasive Plant Selection Committee - Current Santa Barbara Botanic Garden Advisory Committee - Current Santa Barbara City Fire Department's Firescape Committee (Founding member) Santa Barbara County Horticultural Society President - 1985-1986 Santa Barbara Horticultural Consortium (Founding member) Santa Barbara Zoological Gardens - Board Member 2006-7 Santa Barbara Zoological Gardens Horticultural Advisory Committee - 2003-6 University of California - Water Use Classification of Landscape Species (WUCOLS) 1991-2015 University of California, Santa Barbara Campus Flora Committee - Current

2018 Saratoga Horticultural Research Endowment Proposal The Ruth Bancroft Garden- Aloe Hybrid Breeding Project University of California, Santa Barbara Design Review Committee - Current University of California, Santa Cruz Arboretum Australian Plant Selection Committee – Current

Judging

Santa Barbara Horse and Flower Show - 1985-7 Los Angeles County Fair - Feature Landscape Gardens 1987-8 Santa Barbara International Orchid Show Judge 1995-present

Speaker to the following organizations:

American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) National Convention - "Resilient Planting Palettes: Regional Ecology as a Methodology for Determining Plant Selections" - 2017 American Zoological Association Western Regional Workshop - Plant Forum 2004 Association of Professional Landscape Designers (APLD) "New Australian Plants for California Gardens" - 2013 Bay Area Designer Plant Fair - Plant Forum 2017 Association of Zoological Horticulture National Convention - Plant Forum 2015 California 19th Agricultural District –"Impressions from the Garden" California Association of Nurserymen (CAN/CANGC) - Channel Islands Chapter - Plant Forum California Association of Nurserymen - Central Coast Chapter - Plant Forum California Association of Nurserymen - San Fernando Valley Chapter - Plant Forum California Association of Nurserymen – North San Diego Chapter - Plant Forum California Association of Nurserymen - Pacific Coast Industry Seminar - Plant Forum California Horticultural Society - San Francisco "Islas de Baja California" – 1992 "The plants and people I have known" - 2011 "New Australian Plants for California Gardens - 2014" California Landscape Contractors Association (CLCA) Santa Barbara Chapter - - Plant Forum Ventura Chapter - - Plant Forum New Plant Introduction Seminar - “New Shrubs and Grasses” - 2001 Landscape Industry Show - "Trees for California Landscapes"- 2002 California Native Plant Society (CNPS) Native Plants Grown at San Marcos Growers – Ventura Chapter ~ 1990 Native Plants Grown at San Marcos Growers – San Luis Obispo Chapter 2012 California Ornamental Research Federation - Water Conserving Plants - 2008 City of San Buena Ventura - Landscape Guidelines Conference - 1997 Community Environmental Council (Santa Barbara) - Water Conservation Seminar Descanso Gardens, La Cañada Flintridge - New Ideas for Southern California Gardens 1998 Desert Turfgrass and Landscape Conference - "Australian Plant Imports" - 1992 Huntington Botanic Garden Succulent Symposium

2018 Saratoga Horticultural Research Endowment Proposal The Ruth Bancroft Garden- Aloe Hybrid Breeding Project "A Wholesale Nursery's Response to the Growing Addiction to Succulent Plants" - 2012 International Plant Propagators Society Annual Meetings New Plant Forum - 1989 "New Cultivars of New Zealand Flax" - 1998 "Establishing & Maintaining a Nursery Website" - 2000 "Methods of Propagating Agave" – 2009 "New Plant Selection and Marketing" - 2012 Los Angles Men's Garden Club "New Plants for the California Garden" 2009 Master Gardener Symposium - “Plants for Mediterranean Gardens” - 1999 Mediterranean Plant Symposium - “Landscaping in a Mediterranean Climate” 1997 Pacific Horticulture Dry Garden Horticultural Seminar "New Australian Plants for California Gardens" - 2009 Regional Landscape Design in Southern California (w/APLD) "New Australian Plants for California Gardens" - 2013 Rancho Los Cerritos Historic Site - "Australian Plants in California Gardens" - 2017 Santa Barbara Botanic Gardens: Grasses in the Landscape 1989-2001 The Cultivated Flora - An Identification Workshop - 1990 Innovative Groundcovers for CA Gardens - 1991 New Plant Introductions - 2003 San Diego Horticultural Society - New Australian Plants for California Gardens – 2014

Speaker to the following organizations: (Continued)

Santa Barbara City College Environmental Hort. Dept - Getting into the Nursery Business - 2008 San Marcos Growers Open House Field Day "The Eucalyptus Understory" - 1993: “The Practical Aspects of Integrated Pest Management” - 1996 “What’s New at San Marcos Growers” - 2001 "New Plants at San Marcos Growers" - 2005 Santa Barbara Little Garden Club - Salvia and Lavender for the Garden - 1994 San Francisco Garden Show "New Zealand Flax” 1995 & 2003 "New Australian Plants for California Gardens" 2014 Southern California Horticultural Society "New Plants for California Gardens" 1992 "New Australian Plants for California Gardens - 2014" Strybing Arboretum - "Different Nurseries make Different Gardens" - 1997 Succulent Extravaganza - "New Succulents for the Landscape" - 2011 University of California, Cooperative Extension - Nursery Production Seminar University of California Los Angeles \Landscape Architecture Alumni Connection - Plant Forum 2017 University of California, Santa Cruz - Australian Plant Symposium “Anigozanthos in California” 1991

2018 Saratoga Horticultural Research Endowment Proposal The Ruth Bancroft Garden- Aloe Hybrid Breeding Project Awards

Santa Barbara Horticultural Society - Bouquet of the Year for Horticultural Achievement - 1987 California Horticultural Society - Annual Award for Contributions to Horticulture - 2011 Southern California Horticulturaltural Society Horticulturalist of the Year - 2016 American Horticultural Society's Paul Ecke Jr. Commercial Award – 2018

Other Achievements:

Eagle Scout - Boy Scouts of America - 1971 California Certified Nurseryman # 1491 - 1980 Feature article about personal garden Garden Design (August September 1994)

Photography Published in:

Fine Gardening Garden Design Los Angeles Times Pacific Horticulture Pacific Coast Nurserymen Public Garden San Francisco Chronicle

Hobbies and Other Activities

Gardening Hiking Bicycling Photography Parenting