THE OFFSET Echinocereus reichenbachii subsp baileyi MAY 2015 in the Wichita Mountains NWR, Oklahoma. Mount Scott in the background. Photo by Webpage https://sites.google.com/site/cocssok/ Michael Douglas NEWSLETTER OF THE CENTRAL OKLAHOMA CACTUS AND SUCCULENT SOCIETY

OFFICERS IN THIS ISSUE

President: Niki Furrh [email protected] 405-722-1718 Club News pp 2-4

Vice–President, newsletter editor and Web master: Rosario Douglas [email protected] Cactus and Succulent 405-447-7617 Happenings in the region pp 5

Treasurer: Peggy Anglin [email protected] 405-840-4583 Other News pp 6-8

Librarian: Tony Furrh [email protected] 405-722-1718 Article of the month pp 9

Secretary: Robert Millison [email protected] Succulent pp 10

CSSA Affiliate: Joyce Hochtritt [email protected] 405-737-1831 What is blooming pp 11

Meeting: Third Thursday of the month at 7 pm. At the Will Rogers Garden Center at 3400 NW 36th The Botanical corner pp 12 in Oklahoma City (except for the month of our 1 Show&Sale, picnic and Christmas party). THE OFFSET May 2015 issue

President’s message

Over the next few months, several of our 'sister' clubs will be having their Annual Show & Sale events and our club wishes them the best in their endeavors with lots of club participation, plenty of vendors to offer a great variety of plants for sale to the public, a knock-out Show section, and a great learning experience for all the newer members and time for all to get acquainted or re-acquainted.

The above paragraph sounds rather simple and all the work for a Show & Sale is stated in one sentence. AND the above does cover the important items of a show. Club participation is so often begged for, I think it is time to step back and let the adult members of the clubs decide the fate of their own Show & Sales. Let's re-phrase the first paragraph:

Over the next few months, several of our 'sister' clubs will be working diligently to have a decent Annual Show and Sale with a modicum of help and assistance available from club members. We wish them well in finding a good selection of vendors to come and sell plants to the public in hopes of making enough profit to sustain their clubs for the next year. We hope they are able to find at least 4-5 members (out of a membership of, say, 40 people) who are willing to take the time to fancy up some plants for the Judged Show, after all it is advertised as an Annual Show & Sale. We hope that your members with less experience in raising plants (and that includes a large majority of a membership) take the opportunity to work with the public during the sale and find common interests with others. We hope that all members will recognize the work that has to be done to put on a Show & Sale and be generous in handing out kudos to those deserving of them and take the opportunity to learn exactly what does have to be done -- after all, 'many hands, make cleaning up light work?...... or is it 'many hands make sign language easier to understand?' or...... 'many hands at one time does not always get the job done easier?...... '

Niki Furrh

ADDENDUM: The following is an addendum to my message for this month. I have done a great deal of soul searching and trying to understand what our club wants. I have handed out a questionnaire which I took some time in doing and enclosed a return stamped self-addressed envelope. To- date I have received 4 back and am waiting on the rest (to-date 20 have been sent). Please do not think that your opinion does not matter, because it does. I will publish the results eventually (of course, without names) and I think you will be interested in some of the answers. If you did not get a questionnaire, email me and I will send you one by snail-mail 2 with stamped self-addressed return envelope. You may always always add any additional thoughts, comments, or suggestions.

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CLUB NEWS

Meeting called to order at 7:25pm with 15 people attending (Fred Hill, Opa l Zschiesche, Sarah Kraemer, Helen Hill, Lyn Pearce, Pete Schaffer, Gayle Snider, Mark Dittmar, Tom Diggs, Peggy Holland, Peggy Anglin, Joyce Hochtritt, Niki Furrh, Tony Furrh, & Robert Millison).

Treasurer's Report: 28 paid members; Account Balance $6130.04. Peggy has updated the Membership List.

Meeting focused on preparing for the 2015 Show/Sale. Members who wish to sell items at the Show/Sale were reminded to complete a Member's Sales Contract ASAP. Copies of the Show Schedule and Awards/Rules were provided (these are also available on-line). Meeting scheduled at Joyce's on Saturday May 9th @ 10am (we will be constructing the "sign pots" and bagging soil; the Hochtritts will be providing a noon meal - probably hot dogs on the grill); all members encouraged to attend & help out.

Niki presented information regarding placing a Show/Sale ad in the Oklahoman Newspaper (preferrably in the "Gardening Section"); approximately $200 has been budgeted for this expense.

WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE: the following persons have offered to help out with the Show/Sale in the following ways: Mark - obtain ice/drinks for the weekend. Fred - pick up breakfast items for Saturday morning. Robert - help out as clerk for judging. Niki - supervise the Drawing Table (one ticket per adult attendee). Mark - oversee the Peoples' Choice Judging/Awards. Jim & Carol - oversee the Saturday noon meal and kitchen clean up on Sunday (hoping to have the kitchen cleaned by 2pm on Sunday). Fred, Helen, & Peggy H. - greeters at Show/Sale.

Just prior to the meeting, it was discovered that the COCSS signs had been used by the Master Gardeners (without permission); the MG's had covered the signs with book tape in order to use the back of the signs for their own purposes. WRGC staff were notified that the signs were used without permission and would probably not be usable by COCSS due to the damage caused by the excessive use of book tape. Joyce is determining the extent of the damage. The MG's have been contacted regarding this matter & have been asked to reimburse the COCSS for the cost of replacing the signs.

The 2016 Show/Sale scheduled for June 18-19, 2016. (has been scheduled & paid for).

Niki distributed postage-paid/addressed envelopes & Member Questionnaires to be completed by members. Please fill these out and return to Niki as soon as possible.

After the business meeting, snacks were enjoyed, & Tony demonstrated how to pot up & prepare plants for the show.

Robert Millison, secretary 3 THE OFFSET May 2015 issue

4 No meeting in May, instead join us for our Show&Sale

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CACTUS AND SUCCULENT HAPPENINGS IN THE REGION

May 16-17 Annual Show&Sale at the Will Rogers Garden Center, Oklahoma City, OK. Cash, checks and credit cards accepted OPEN TO THE PUBLIC/FREE OF CHARGE.Set up Friday May 16th beginning at 11:00am (No monthly meeting) Fliers also available for June speaker.

June 14 -20 Cactus and Succulent Society of America Biannual Convention, Pitzer College, Claremont, CA.

June 18 Central Oklahoma Cactus and Succulent Society monthly meeting at 7:00 pm at the Will Rogers Garden Center. Open to the public/free admission.

Program: Epiphytic succulents adapted to rainforests by Natham Tschaenn, conservatory specialist at the Myriad Gardens. Open to the public free admission. Laptop instructions & surfing the net as time permits Refreshments: Helen Hill

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It is that time of the year in Oklahoma. Mike took these photos from our backyard on March 25. Perhaps because I grew up in a part of the world (Panama) that does not have very visible seasons or very extreme weather, I have always enjoyed the extreme Oklahoma weather. In spite of the very tangible possible bad effects that such weather can bring, I never failed to be impressed by the amazing displays of clouds such as these mammatus clouds, or other weather events such as freezing rain, strong winds, tornados, hail etc. that states like Oklahoma experience every year.

Since writing this we had a more serious episode of severe weather (May 6). Impressive amounts of rain. We recorded close to 8 inches of rain in 3 days at our house in Norman. Saw some of the biggest hail we have seen in our 22 years in Oklahoma. Fortunately we survived OK and the house, greenhouses and especially the plants are OK (for now). As of this writing more rain and5 maybe severe weather are expected in the coming days. Rosario Douglas

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Check out the latest Cactus explorer at:

The Cactus Explorer #14 is ready to download at: http://0nol.mj.am/link/0nol/h7wx3i2/1/fWFEV0zKVlpqoyqMFX1mVA/ aHR0cDovL3d3dy5jYWN0dXNleHBsb3JlcnMub3JnLnVrL2pvdXJuYWwxLmh0bQ

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TIME TO RENEW YOUR DUES

Don’t forget that it is time to renew you dues. It is $10 for individuals and $15 for families. You 6 can mail the check to Peggy Anglin or you can pay at the next meeting. Let Peggy know if you have a new email address or a new address.

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20+ members of the San Antonio Cactus and Succulent Society and some participants from Oklahoma travelled to Big Bend National Park last month for a field trip.

7 THE OFFSET May 2015 issue

8 THE OFFSET May 2015 issue

6 Hardy Succulent Sedums for Your Garden and Pots

Here is an interesting article about hardy sedums. You can read the article at: http://yougrowgirl.com/6-hardy-succulent-sedums-for-your-garden-and-pots/

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See Debra Lee Baldwin-How to plant a Succulent container garden for some nice ideas about creating a dish garden. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yj8vvZQAlDU - https://www.youtube.com/watch? 9 v=yj8vvZQAlDU

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SUCCULENT PLANTS by Rosario Douglas

The Titanopsis

An interesting name for this group of plants that look remarkably like rocks. The name comes from the Greek Titanos (limestone) and oopsis (looking like). Titanopsis species are native to dry regions of South Africa and Southern Namibia. Distribution of this genus is somewhat disjunct, with some species growing in areas of summer rain and others grow in areas of winter rain.

The genus Titanopsis is placed in the Mesembrianthemaceae or family depending on who you read. There are about 10 species A http://www.theplantlist.org/browse/A/Aizoaceae/Titanopsis/).

The following description was taken from Doreen Court’s Succulent Flora of Southern Africa. “The plants have fleshy B taproots and leaves are in rosette or as a single pair. Surface can be smooth or warty. Flowers are solitary”

Flower color is yellow to orange. Plants are small up to 10 cm high (Wikipedia)

At least for T. calcarea it appears that little water, a quick drying compost, and no fertilizer use is what the plant needs. See: http://cactiguide.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1434. In general plants require full sun.

C

D

A Titanopsis Hugo schelechteri By S Molteno. Wikipedia creative commons B Titanopsis primosii by Michael Wolf. Wikipedia Creative commons 10 C and D . Photos by Mike Douglas

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WHAT IS BLOOMING Photos by Mike Douglas

d

a

e

A Close up of a Euphorbia caput-medusae flower. b B Close up of an Echinocereus pentalopus flower

c C Closer view of the pistils and anthers of t he same flower shown in B

D Euphorbia enopla.

E Our beloved Mammillaria peninsularis from Baja California Sur. This plant was collected 27 year ago by us on our first trip together to Mexico. This was at a time when cactus collecting was still legal. The plant has tripled its size, but it is still small (about 4 inches in diameter). It has been 11 blooming for a number of years now. THE OFFSET May 2015 issue

THE BOTANICAL CORNER by Rosario Douglas

Calacanthus Beautifully spined

Calcareous Of or containing lime or chalk..

Candelabrus Resembling a candlestick with several branches B

A

Candelaris Shaped like a candle

Canescent Growing gray or hoary

C

A Euphorbia candelabrum from the Horn of Africa and Eastern Africa (Wikipedia Creative Commons).

B Titanopsis calcarea. Note the species name which refers to the white incrustations on the leaves. Photo by Mike Douglas

C A leaf of Dicoria canescens. Part of the leaf descriptions reads: “Triangular-ovate leaves are densely canescent due to an abundance of ashy, scale-like hairs that serve to deflect intense

sunlight”. From: www.arizonensis.org

Terms from a book by W. Taylor Marshall and R.S. Woods. The book is titled, Glossary of terms, published in 1938. The Cactus Museum at www.CactusMuseum.com, Wikipedia, A glossary put together by John Chippindale of Leeds England. Also terms from CactiGuide.com 12 at http://cactiguide.com/glossary/ .