C ENTRAL S PINE Newsletter of the CENTRAL ARIZONA CACTUS AND SUCCULENT SOCIETY FEBRUARY, 2001 Our April show approaches fast. New show FROM YOUR PRESIDENT— schedules will be available at the February February 7 is considered the historical last frost meeting, as will be the entry cards. Please register day for Phoenix. We had a scare the night of for the show at the February meeting, if you can. February 8 when lows in the upper 20s were If you cannot be there, let me know so you can predicted but didn't materialize. Now, it seems, be registered and receive cards and a show winter is over. I have been watering some of my schedule. Bring in show plants April 4, plants through the winter on warm days, Wednesday, from noon until 7 p.m. especially Baja California and winter-rain Steve Southwell of RSVP Nurseries in San Jose, Andean cacti (Copiapoa, Echinopsis, Lobivia, CA, was to speak to us this month. We just some Mammillaria, Neoporteria and Neochilenia, learned that he has been hospitalized and will be Tephrocactus, Trichocereus.) Mammillarias have unable to travel for some time. Our thoughts are been blooming since late November, and with him and his wife, Rowena. Ancistrocactus, Astrophytum, Frailea, Neoporteria, Our speaker this month will be James Pickering and Turbinicarpus are all in bud or bloom now. of Tucson. James will speak on “The Virtues of If we have a few days in a row of warmer days Growing Discocactus in Small Spaces.” He has a and nights I'm going to water everything except Web page at http://www.brazilcacticult.org the plants needing real heat for growth. with many photos of his plants, as well as Note! Our March meeting has been moved to cultural info. He specializes in smaller, easy-to- Sunday, April 1, at 1 p.m., in Webster. Strange grow Brazilian cacti that bloom young and often. day, strange time. This was necessary because the Surprisingly, Discocactus do well here in Arizona Desert Botanical Garden Spring Plant Sale was with just a little care. James will be giving all moved to March 23-25, the usual weekend for attendees a seedling Discocactus for their own our show. collections. Tell all your friends! Dr. Ted Anderson of the Leo M Phoenix Desert Botanical Garden will be speaking on new understandings in cactus PLANT FAMILY OF THE MONTH: relationships and taxonomy. TERRESTRIAL BROMELIADS Membership dues were announced in the Bromeliads are members of a large family of leaf- December newsletter. Dues for 2001 are $20 succulent plants, of which the best known is individual and $25 family. If you have not yet commonly called the pineapple, which belongs renewed, mail your check to: CACSS, PO Box to the Ananas genus. The commercial pineapple 8774, Scottsdale, AZ, 85252. is the Ananas comosus. Note that dues will be prorated. If you join Jan- June, $20/$25. If you join July-Dec, $10/$12.50. One of the most difficult to grow is the previously rare Dyckia marnier-lapostollei. In habitat it is used to hot days and cool nights, but here in Arizona on the edge of my carport, mine gets morning sun and shaded afternoons and seems to love it. Ananas comosus var. variegatus1 Bromeliads typically consist of a rosette of spined, stiff leaves, which produce colorful inflorescences from the middle of the rosette. While most are epiphytic, many are terrestrial. The most common, or often the easiest to grow, terrestrial Bromeliad genera are the Dyckias and Hectias, but one shouldn't omit Cryptanthus and Dyckia marnier-lapostollei of the Editor Ananas. One general characteristic of all these bromeliads, however, is that you must wear Other well-known Dyckias in cultivation are: thick gloves when transplanting or working with ☯ Dyckia brevifolia: green leaves in full sun them! with yellow flowers. ☯ Dyckia fosteriana: silvery green leaves that Dyckias become bronze in full sun with deep yellow Dyckias look like yuccas, agaves, and some other flowers. rosette-succulents. There are some 100 known ☯ Dyckia leptostachya: maroon leaves with species and many hybrids. Most hybrids come orange-red flowers. from Dyckia fosteriana—Dyckia leptostacha, ☯ Dyckia remotiflora: gray-green leaves with resulting in deep maroon leaves all year. deep orange flowers. Dyckias come in all colors and sizes. The leaves ☯ Dyckia choristaminea: gray-green leaves, less are typically stiff and spined in various shades of spined than most, with yellow flowers. green rose, maroon, tan, and silver. Most come Rather a “dwarf” species compared to most. originally from central and southern Brazil but also from Paraguay, Bolivia, northern Argentina, and Uruguay. Hechtias Hectias are very rugged heavily-spined, plants These are mainly hardy plants that grow well in found in dry areas of Texas, Mexico, and dry environments, although some do thrive in northern Central America. There are some 40 humid regions. Once established the Dyckias known species. Most come from Mexico, often spread out, but they can also be grown in thriving in dry scrub land conditions or on pots. If in a pot, use a well-drained soil. All rocky cliffs. While they need less water than Dyckias love full sun to bright light. Dyckias, they are similar in all other respects (such as soil, growth conditions, and so on). The flowers appear on branching infloresences and Lithops usually die quickly in rich soils. Paying are usually white or pink. attention to soils makes a big difference in your The most known species is Hectia argentea. It has plants. long, silvery leaves and provides a spike of tiny Some people try to grow plants in soil white flowers. duplicating the natural environment. This isn’t necessary, for pot growth is already unnatural. Cryptanthus Despite differences in soils in nature, most plants can be grown in almost any soil mix if attention This is a genus created in the 20th century, and is given to water retention, nutrients, and pest they are also called earth stars due to their flattish avoidance. Another consideration is weight: We form. They are generally small plants and come move our plants around, and a 5-gallon pot full in a variety of colors. All have white flowers. of desert soil weighs a lot. We want a soil that These plants grows best in semi-shade and has good drainage, retains some water but not variegation is common. too much, is composed of inexpensive, readily- available materials, and does not break down too fast. Desert plants are adapted to living in poor soils that often are dry for long periods. But, many grow better with more water and nutrients than they receive in nature. The ideal for most of our desert plants is to stay moist for 5–7 days after watering during periods of active growth. Few like being wet for very long. Most desert plants require soils with a fairly high air content, as 1 Cryptanthus fosteriana well. Roots need oxygen too. Sources The type of pot used makes a difference as well. 1Bromeliads (Victoria Padilla), 1973 Clay pots dry out faster than do plastic, glazed, or high-fired pots of the same size because water Growing Bromeliads (Ed. Barry W. Williams and can evaporate through the clay, but not through Ian Hodgson), 1990. plastic, glazing, or high-fired finishes. Larger pots Jim A. Davis, Edit. stay moist longer than small pots. Evaporation depends on the surface area exposed, and a SOILS AND POTS deeper pot will take longer to dry out than a Dirt is what you sweep up from under the shallower pot of the same diameter. A hole in furniture. Soil is what plants grow in. the bottom is imperative unless you are growing water lilies. Plants need something for their roots. Soil serves as an anchor, a food source, a water source, and When people talk about soils with good sometimes as protection, in those plants that drainage, they refer to soils through which water shrink beneath the ground during dry periods. drains rapidly, leaving the soil moist. One can be fooled. When one waters a pot of completely dry Looking around the world, we see different peat moss, the water pours out the drainage holes plants growing in different soils. At a given level fast. But, because peat moss once dry won't take of light, heat, and water, members of genus up water without prolonged soaking, the water Begonia grow better in soil high in organic will not reach any roots growing in the peat components rather than sand. moss. If peat moss stays too wet, it turns into a black mushy culture medium for fungus. These use pumice instead, or keep a 5-gallon bucket and are some reasons why I don’t use peat moss in a small shovel in my truck for digging my own. my soil mixes. Many people do so very Leo A. M successfully; I think it requires more attention to your plants and more time spent watering. A BOOK REVIEW Commercial-bagged cactus mixes are mostly peat moss, and I think these are just about the worst Landscape Plants for Dry Regions. Warren Jones soils for beginners to use. Once dry (and they & Charles Sacamano, Fischer Books, Tucson, dry fast in our climate) the soil will never get wet AZ, (2000): 366 pp, Glossary, Index. ($39.95) again, and the plant will dry up even though the This latest book to enter our library is dedicated owner is watering regularly. to giving concise information about plants that “Cactus mix” soils are used by many commercial grow well in the arid climate regions of the growers.