for Brian 2010 is in the Agave , can be growing , share grow- to find some of growing as epi- come in many and two boxed Mary Perraca Echeveria Tillandsia . February E. gibbiflora Ferocactus growing on tiny little , Echeveria and Echeveria Echeveria . Our guest speaker can also get 2 feet tall stems welcomed everyone to our , Echeveria Echeveria Euphorbia horrida , Gymnocalycium Echeveria www..com E. gibbiflora for another great selection of raffle and Agave Stenocactus , Gene Schroeder with , multi-headed Salvia Rob Skillin Haworthia family and is mainly from Mexico but some can grow in diverse conditions. His slide show included took over this duty by talking about beautiful . CCCSS January Meeting Recap epiphytically on the large Bottle Palm. cracks in the sides of steep rock faces or growing middle nowhere, thanks to the wind blowing those seeds around. Brian recommends the website sizes, some as small a coin and some, like as large a foot across. and conifers. We saw pictures of Our of the month was Kemble Brian is from the San Francisco area and has worked for 29 years at the Ruth Bancroft Gardens in Walnut Creek. Crassulaceae grow through to the tip of South America. There are around 130 of this unique plant. From his travels Brian shared that Echeveria some very interesting pictures of phytes. One particular picture was an awesome shot of a very large and stalks 3 feet tall. In some areas Our new President first meeting of 2010! He started off by thanking . Held back for the last four lucky ticket holders were an Adenia glauca collections of ing areas with the best information on Echeveria. By the time you are reading this I’m sure our week or so of rain storms have calmed down. So now is the time to start thinking about what plants you may want to enter in our May Show & Sale. Not to mention that we all have lots of weeding do, so start cleaning those plants and start thinking about helping out with our show and sign up to help at our next meeting! Remember it takes a lot of people to make it all work. ~Jan Moon her two years of volunteering with a certificate appreciation and a gift certificate. Gene introduced the present board asked members to start thinking about getting ready for our May Show & Sale committee. And thanks to On the Dry Side - Petra Crist - •Upcoming Speaker •Plant of the Month CENTRAL COAST CACTUS AND SUCCULENT SOCIETY NEWSLETTER Inside this issue:

Central Coast Cactus & Succulent Society c/o Markus Mumper 780 Merced St. Pismo Beach, CA 93449 FEBRUARY’S PROGRAM NEXT meeting: NAMIBIA Sun, Feb. 14’th at 2:00 pm l0l SPEAKER OF THE MONTH: N Petra Crist, Owner - Rare Succulents San Luis Obispo Library Mill I’ll let Petra tell her story in her own words: San Luis Obispo Palm Public Library “About me?: I came over to the States in 1994. I always had some plants, especially cacti and succulents – not that I knew the difference at that time, way back when in S Monterey Santa Rosa Germany. I almost immediately started collecting and after being introduced to the Osos Intercity Show and the Huntington Botanical Gardens (especially the desert gardens) Higuera Morro there was no turning back. The ball was rolling and a few years later I successfully Chorro 995 Palm Street showed some of my “babies” for the fi rst time. Slowly but steadily the hobby (or ad- San Luis Obispo diction, as my husband calls it) grew into the business that it is now. The little backyard operation in Whittier grew way out of the restrictions of a residential property and almost a year ago we were lucky enough to fi nd a piece of property that does fi t the expansion – for right now – in Rainbow, Northern San Diego County. I mainly deal in Caudiciforms and Pachycauls (also called Fat Plants). I import, take cuttings where possible, propagate and grow from seed.”

Petra will speak to us about the plants of the Republic of Namibia and the Richters- veld, the northern region of South Africa. The climates vary with Namibia having mostly summer rain while the South African Richtersveld (some of you may know this region as the Karoo Desert) having sharply delineated summer and winter rain cli- mate areas. Thus, the varieties of genus and specie are vast considering the relatively small geographical area. BOARD—MEETING You can visit Petra’s website at www.rare-succulents.com where you can view some The next Board Meeting will be held on February 14’th right after our of the incredible plants she has for sale. The picture below is not one of them! General Meeting. As always all members are welcome. Central Coast Cactus and Succulent Society e-mail: [email protected] All submissions to the CCCSS newsletter must be submitted two weeks prior to the monthly meeting.

PRESIDENT VICE PRESIDENT SECRETARY CSSA AFFILIATE TREASURER Gene Schroeder Nick Wilkinson Jan Moon Rob Skillin Edie Price 929-2161 528-8880 927-1310 473-0788 489-8491

EDITOR ASST. EDITOR PUBLICITY LIBRARIANS HOSPITALITY Markus Mumper Nick Wilkinson (Joan Field) Martin Howell & Pat Gilson 481-5596 773-1499 528-8880 (773-6644) Jeanne Hanysz Maggie Wagner 773-1499 544-5389

A one time free newsletter will be mailed out to those who sign in at the monthly meetings. Tylecodon paniculatus After this dues must be paid in order to start a subscription. Upcoming Events March 6 - 7 South Coast Cactus & Succulent Society Show & Sale South Coast Botanical Gardens - 9:00am to 4:00pm 26300 Crenshaw Blvd., Palos Verdes (310) 832-2262

April 10 The Cactus and Succulent Society of San Jose Buchser Middle School - 9:00am to 5:00pm 1111 Belomy St., Santa Clara (408) 295-1634

April 17 - 18 Green Scene Plant Sale Fullerton Arboretum - 10:00am to 4:00pm 1900 Associated Road, Fullerton (657) 278-3407

May 1 - 2 Sacramento Cactus & Succulent Society 50th Annual Show & Sale Sacramento Garden and Art Center 15% off for all CCCSS members 3330 McKinley Blvd, Sacramento (530) 753-7011

May 1 - 2 Sunset Cactus & Succulent Society Show & Sale Veterans Memorial Center, Garden Room EL CHOYERO SPEAKS: 4117 Overland Ave., Culver City (310) 822-1783 Hola Amigo! Hello my friend! May 2 South Bay Epiphyllum Society Show & Sale In Baja Mexico they call me South Coast Botanical Gardens - 9:00am to 4:00pm El Choyero; north of the bor- 26300 Crenshaw Blvd., Palos Verdes (310) 833-6823 der I’m named The Cactus Man.

In the coming months I will have May 8 short ‘how to’ tips on growing Gates Cactus & Succulent Society and enjoying our plants. I will also Jurupa Mountains Cultural Center - 9:00am to 4:00pm talk about the and sci- 7621 Granite Hill Drive, Avon (909) 360-8802 ence that help us understand plant relationships and behavior. May 16 If you have specifi c questions or Huntington Botanical Gardens Plant Sale WHEEL THROWN AND Richard Rowe tips regarding these fascinating Huntington Botanical Gardens - 10:00am to 5:00pm HAND BUILT CERAMICS potter / artist plants, or if you have personal pho- 1151 Oxford Road, San Marino (626) 405-2160 EST. 1988 tographs and stories you want to share (please be discriminating), con- tact me at [email protected]. 7432 Exotic Garden Rd. Hospitality News Cambria, CA 93428 Remember though, free advice is al- Sign up to bring refreshments and get a 4 inch plant!! You must sign the Hos- The P 805 924 1340 ways worth what you’ve paid for it. pitality Sign-Up sheet and bring refreshments to get a plant. We need refresh- ments for each monthly meeting and we need to know who is bringing them. Clayworks [email protected] Hasta la vista amigo! Thanks to everyone who has been contributing to the refreshment fund; dona- Until next time my good friend! tions can be made at the refreshment table. ~Pat covered will grow nd a bite fi cult for these fi Aeonium nd some slug dam- fi Echeveria nd these plants to be nearly fi cient cactus soils. Remember these plants do succulents I fi and the more frequently I water ones have, ghting off mealy bugs. Occasionally I perform better in standard potting soils rather fi cult. Soil types can be varied as most fi Aeonium Aeonium that are Crassulaceae in the garden requires one to have a right climate - Aeonium nd pests on these even in the same planter boxes that have fi the better they look. They do not need to be thoroughly watered though as main water-absorbing roots are near the surface with deeper functioning nearly solely as support. Pot life also means one can move the plants in and out good bad weather situ- ations. As mentioned already, these plants do not like heat, and high temps will often cause root death, and then plant death. So during high heat times of year, they may need to be moved indoors in a window (indoors low light is also very dif plants and most will quickly weaken colors fade). Soil type is not a big issue with potted plants, but generally than super well draining and nutrient de in most soils, as long they are not pure clay, or excessively alkaline acidic. Compared to many other with or problem free except for dealing with the environmental extremes mentioned already. I rarely taken out by a grasshopper (or my parrot) and now then I can age. That does not mean that these plants are made of armor, and all the normal bugs can do their damage... it just seems to me that given a choice, most of the normal bugs prefer something else in the garden. I think most of my losses have been from excessive sun, heat, and dehydration. Rarely do I get one rotting but some that have shoved into the heavy clay soils we have here developed some degree of fungal prob- lems, particularly in very wet seasons (or heavily watered areas). climates they will probably need to be watered frequently or put on drip irrigation. I have rarely overwatered an not like to dry out. Repotting is good for the health of plant but should be done ide- ally after summer’s over, near the start of main growing season. Growing ideal climates are Mediterranean - relatively dry with seasonal rainfall (preferably in win- ters, not summers) and no freezes. Growing these plants in the tropics, hot deserts or where it snows will be very dif and Geof Stein (palmbob) and there are Aeonium hawor- will produce aerial Pachyveria , along the coast, Aeonium Aeonium Aeonium owering. For unbranching spe- fl Graptopetalum brous attachment so that when a , fi , a huge family of succulents that include have succulent attachments and their being Dudleya nd and mass produce so that by the time we collectors Crassulaceae fi Crassulacea nd that most in cultivation are the suckering forms (so much fi in particular are often confused with owers are spectacular terminal events while other species have fl ower. fl

are pretty wimpy and hair-like with all the water-storing parts of table to cultivate), giving us the impression this is how these plants fi owers that these popular plants have such an appeal. And luckily fl cant fi Echeveria are winter growers looking their best when temperatures moderate are monocarpic, meaning they die after come originally from the off coast of Spain in . ). One thing that sets these plants apart is the way their attach to Aeonium are members of the leaves and some will curl up as a protective response. species will have rare individuals in nature that branch or sucker. It is these are ideal pot plants needing very little other than soil for support and water. are one of the most ornamental all succulents. Even those that don’t Aeonium Aeonium Aeonium Aeonium , which only had ‘waves’ of frost damage on parts the plants. All rest melted, and water plentiful. As summer approaches many will curl their leaves in go into a form of dormancy, though in cultivation, given some shade and water, most will con- tinue to grow actively, though perhaps less vigorously. Hot summer sun will damage Aeonium These are not cold weather plants however, and freezes will damage most species. Mine all were pretty severely damaged during a severe freeze (severe for Southern Cali- fornia that is - down to 25F for nearly a half day) with the exception of the plants being in stem and leaves. These wimpy roots are prone to drying out many of these plants decline if not kept moist for at least most the year (a few excep- tions exist, and those will rot if watered in summers). Many roots that grow right out of the stems, particularly if stems are getting long and leggy, or fall over, are in a cramped pot. Most thii but all also recovered, and were looking pretty much normal by the summer. Most cies this means the death of entire plant and offspring are only created by germina- tion of the seeds. Some relatively insigni Of course there is always genetic variation among most plants species and some solitary Aeonium acquire these species we easier and more pro rare individuals that collectors several other rosette-like succulents (eg. is pulled away, the stem intact with only a transverse line showing where leaf was attached. The other rosette pulled off the stem leaves a divot in stem. The roots of behave in the wild. Aeonium Rarely does one need to fertilize these plants. If growing humidity and rains/mists will often mean they never need to be watered, either. But in dry Aeonium appreciate succulents seem to like these plants. Perhaps it is the fact they look large, colorful, rubbery many are easy plants to grow as well. The following article is an introduction, along with some of my own experiences, to these amazing plants. Most Atlantic Ocean, with a few oddball species from several isolated parts of Central Africa. The climate of the Canary Islands is fairly Mediterranean so these plants are perfectly adapted to many similar climates around the globe. Most are moderately drought toler- ant (though less so than most might guess), mildly frost tolerant (some more others), but only moderately heat tolerant as well, and dependent on bright light to full sun. These are generalizations and there is certainly some variation in their water, heat lighting needs. many other popular and commonly grown succulents, including some that look a lot like PLANTAE, MAGNOLIOPHYTA, , CRASSULACEAE Aeonium Graptoveria stem- they are wrapped around the stem with a