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SACXS FACTS Vol. 26, #7 Page 1
SACXS FACTSSACXS FACTS NEWSLETTER FOR THE SAN ANTONIO CACTUSNEWSLETTER FOR THE SAN ANTONIO CACTUS
AND XEROPHYTE SOCIETYAND XEROPHYTE SOCIETY
July 2014 VOLUME 26, NUMBER 7July 2014 VOLUME 26, NUMBER 7
SACXS Board MembersSACXS Board Members
President: President: Marty Ruona Marty Ruona [email protected]@rhinamic.com First ViceFirst Vice--President: President: Marty Ruona Marty Ruona [email protected]@rhinamic.com Second ViceSecond Vice--President: President: Grace Fry [email protected] Fry [email protected] Third ViceThird Vice--PresidentPresident: : Claude Townsend Claude Townsend [email protected] [email protected]
Recording Secretary: Recording Secretary: Tess Weaver Tess Weaver [email protected]@satx.rr.com Publicity Secretary: Publicity Secretary: Eula Townsend Eula Townsend [email protected]@satx.rr.com Treasurer: Treasurer: Doug Coates Doug Coates [email protected]@sacxs.com SAGC Liaison: SAGC Liaison: Sidney Yarbrough [email protected] Yarbrough [email protected]
Directors: Directors: Linda Draper Linda Draper [email protected]@prodigy.net Alice Knight Alice Knight [email protected]@aol.com Barbara Schulze Barbara Schulze [email protected]@pisd.us Librarian: Librarian: Paul Kibler Paul Kibler [email protected]@satx.rr.com
SACXS FACTS Editor: SACXS FACTS Editor: Linda Draper Linda Draper [email protected] [email protected]
Visit our website: www.sacxs.orgVisit our website: www.sacxs.org
Table of Contents
Page 1 President’s Message
Page 2 Election of Officers
Page 3 July’s Program
Page 4 Refreshments/Auction Assignments
Page 5 June’s Program/Pres.Msg cont’d
Page 6 Tillandsia xerographica
Page 7 Allen Lindner’s Epiphyllum Swap
Page 8 Yucca Do Pictures
Page 9 It’s Almost Tuna Time in Texas
Page 10 July-August Program Line Up
“THE SAN ANTONIO CACTUS AND XEROPHYTE SOCIETY WAS ORGANIZED IN 1977 TO PROMOTE THE STUDY, “THE SAN ANTONIO CACTUS AND XEROPHYTE SOCIETY WAS ORGANIZED IN 1977 TO PROMOTE THE STUDY, PROPAGATION, CONSERVATION AND PUBLIC AWARENESS OF CACTI AND OTHER SUCCULENT PLANTS.”PROPAGATION, CONSERVATION AND PUBLIC AWARENESS OF CACTI AND OTHER SUCCULENT PLANTS.”
SACXS President’s Message
Greetings, fellow succulent enthusiasts! The term of our current board of directors is coming to an end. A new board starts next month. The outgoing board had goals of increasing membership and having activities that help us become better growers and to get our financial status sorted out.
We contracted with a CPA who got all the financial records up to date and reconciled. He got us copies of our articles of incorporation and clarified our tax-exempt status as a 401 (c) 4 organization.
We had a repotting clinic at Paul’s Desert to learn proper methods of repotting and propagation. We had educational presentations from Barbara Schulze, Woody Minnich, Manny Zamora, and Jimmy and Ann Black. This month, Claude Townsend will talk to us about why landscaping with cacti and succulents is a good idea. We had some inspirational programs showing members’ landscapes and collections and some tips on xeriscaping.
Continued on P. 5
SACXS FACTS Vol. 26, #7 Page 2
Election of Officers
Our Nominating Committee comprised of Suzanna Harrison (Chair), Bill Fry, and Don Clark
have developed the following slate of officers for our upcoming club year. All the people on
the slate have volunteered to serve. There has been a change since the slate was presented
at the June meeting.
The proposed slate of officers as amended is as follows::
President— Marty Ruona
1st Vice President (Programs)- Joseph (Joey) Gutierrez
2nd Vice President (Membership) - Grace Fry
3rd Vice President (Field Trips) - Claude Townsend
Recording Secretary- Debbie Braly
Publicity Secretary- Alice Knight
Treasurer- Don Clark
Directors - Barbara Schulze
Bill Fry
Linda Draper
Garden Center Liaison- Sidney Yarbrough
Librarian- Paul Kibler
At the meeting on Wednesday, there will be an opportunity for nominations from the floor.
Come to the meeting and VOTE..
SACXS FACTS Vol. 26, #7 Page 3
SACXS July 16, 2014 Program
Program Change!!
Claude H Townsend, Owner C&E Cactus Nursery & Master Gardner Class 1
Why landscape with Cactus & Succulents
This program is designed to show you what will grow in your landscape with VERY little water. How to plant them and protect from the cold and to add an element of contrast in your yard. This a slide show presentation
with a chance for you to ask questions.
About the speaker:
Claude writes:
Born on a one mule farm in the mountains of North Carolina in 1930. My early years was spent on the farm where in the summer in my free time I would go with my grandfather in the mountains and collect three types of Orchids. In 1943 I become a guide at Linville Caverns . In 1948 I joined the Marines . After my first tour which took me to Korea I returned home and married my wife Eula (of 61 years) and went to college. At the completion, with no job and no prospects, I joined the Army and spent the remaining 20 yrs. Then 15 yrs. civil service. Before retiring we opened C&E Cactus & Things Nursery. Here I am now still messing with desert flora. I guess I got hooked about 12 yrs. old when my Dad brought me an Opuntia from the coast of NC.
This program is free and open to the public.
6:30 Pm—9:00pm
San Antonio Garden Center
3310 N New Braunfels Ave.
SACXS FACTS Vol. 26, #7 Page 4
Refreshment Assignments Don & Trinie Reiter [email protected]
James & Lucy Roberts [email protected]
Claire Rodriguez [email protected]
Marty Ruona [email protected]
Christine Saalbach no email
Each person will be contacted by Sidney
Yarbrough , Refreshments Coordinator. If
you are unable to attend the meeting and bring refreshments,
please consider donating $5 or more so something can be purchased as a substitute.
Please consider signing up to be part of the refreshments committee. See
Sidney Yarbrough if you’d like to help.
Refreshments only happen when people volunteer and share the responsibility.
Auction Assignments Ernie Akers [email protected]
Georgia Albritton [email protected]
Jimmie & Ann Black [email protected]
Richard & Carol Blocker [email protected]
Molly Bond/Patrick Walker [email protected]
Note: Typically members donate a plant or plants worth at least $5. If unable to bring a plant
to the meeting, please consider making a $5 cash donation. Our auction proceeds go toward
covering the building rental for our meeting.
Club Table at Fanick’s Nursery 75th Anniversary Celebration
SACXS was asked to have a table at Fanick's 75th Anniversary Celebration. Marty Ruona stepped up
and did the set up and take down of the table while Alice Knight staffed the table talking to visitors
and handing out information about our organization. Thanks Marty and Alice.
SACXS FACTS Vol. 26, #7 Page 5
June’s Meeting
Our meeting in June featured a slide program on Xeriscaping
Basics by Marty Ruona. He spoke about his basic approach to
creating xeric gardens for a variety of clients.. He’s had years
of experience.. He stressed the importance of having good
soil in place. He uses lots of rock in his designs. He uses it for
terracing and also because the rocks provide soil areas that
hold moisture and are cooler than surrounding soils. These
rocky “oases” let plants get by with less water. Terracing
gives plants that need good drainage the proper environment
to thrive where our annual rainfall might normally overwhelm
them..
July President's Message—continued
We had fun too. We collected ripe cactus fruit and extracted juice for use in beverages and preserving. We got together twice and made Hypertufa pots, we had a couple of
picnics/cookouts and a potluck Christmas Party.
We made improvements in our annual Show and Sale. We documented everything we could think of that’s required to stage this big event. We had good participation
from volunteers and lots of attendees. Profits were high.
It’s been a good year for our club. Membership is up by over 20 and new faces are
appearing at all of our get togethers. Better still, more people are volunteering and
participating in our activities.
As we start a new club year please consider being more involved. There lots of jobs to
do to make the club be vibrant and successful for all of us.
SACXS FACTS Vol. 26, #7 Page 6
June’s Show and Tell
Tillandsia xerographica
By Harvey Kendall
Editor’s note:
Harvey Kendall gave us a short “Show and Tell” about one of the big
Tillandsias from his collection: Tillandsia xerographica.. It was coming
into bloom and was quite spectacular. Harvey was right to be proud of
it.
Tillandsia xerographica is listed with the Convention on
International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) in its appendix II,
meaning that it is under observation as possibly becoming
endangered. Its export from its countries of origin is carefully
monitored. Export is allowed, but sellers are required to obtain an
export permit. This greatly reduces the wild collecting of the plant.
However, the plant in cultivation reproduces readily and the number
of specimens available to hobbyists is increasing.
This spectacular bromeliad is native to southern Mexico,
El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and several islands of the
Caribbean. It was first described in horticultural publications in 1953. It
grows primarily as an epiphyte (not a parasite) perched in sparsely
foliaged trees and occasionally on rocks. The gray appearance of
the foliage is due to tricome hairs covering the surface of the leaves.
The tricomes gather moisture and nutrition from the air and convey it
into the plant's vascular system. As with all Tillandsias, this plant is slow growing. From seed, it takes
up to 18 years to mature. However, it also produces offshoots which mature much faster. With a
modest fertilizer plan (weak solution), the offshoots will reach bloom size in about three years.
Typically the plant will produce eight to ten offshoots near the end of its bloom cycle.
Cultivation is simple if you follow a few basic rules: bright light, but no direct sun in our fierce Texas
summers; keep the plant from freezing. Water that settles in the axils of the leaves can become stale
and can harbor deadly bacteria and fungi. Therefore, it is a good idea to tilt the plant over after each
watering and let the water drain away. Give it good air circulation. Do not plant it in soil.
Plants are readily available on the internet. Good sources are Rainforest, Michael's Bromeliads, or
Tropiflora. Occasionally they also show up at local plant shows.
SACXS FACTS Vol. 26, #7 Page 7
Allen Lindner’s Great Epiphyllum Swap
Allen Lindner brought 20+ rooted plants of
Epiphyllum oxypetalum to our June meeting. He
told the story of a trade gone awry. He had hoped
to get 6 Sonoma Sunshine and two oxypetalum.
Instead he got only two Sonoma Sunshine cuttings
and 35 rooted plants of oxypetalum when his
trading partner overcompensated for the small
number of less-than-perfect Sonoma Sunshine cut-
tings.
Being a generous soul, Allen prepared a short
discussion on care and cultivation of
Epiphyllum oxypetalum and gave a plant to all who wanted them. Lots of folks went home
happy. Thanks, Allen!
June 28 Field Trip to Yucca Do Nursery
June 28 saw an intrepid group of SACXS members meeting at Buc-ee’s in New Braunfels to
carpool to Yucca Do Nursery near Giddings.. The trip was a bit over an hour and a half. We
followed the directions and drove right to the nursery. Since all the nursery’s business is
through the internet, they are not set up like a regular retail nursery. The greenhouses were
full of interesting plants for sale and some just for admiring as they were part of Wade’s
private collection or specimens for propagation. We had a great time selecting plants.
After we loaded up our purchases we headed to the City Meat Market in Giddings for a
barbeque lunch..
On the way home we stopped at Lost Pines Nursery, just outside Bastrop (We had spotted
their big “SUCCULENTS” sign as we passed through). There were lots of excellent and
unusual plants at good prices so some of us felt
obliged to make a few purchases.
More photos on the next page.
Karl and Kay Knox are missing from this group
picture.
SACXS FACTS Vol. 26, #7 Page 8
Yucca Do Nursery Field Trip
(With a stop at Lost Pines Nursery)
SACXS FACTS Vol. 26, #7 Page 9
It’s Almost Tuna Time in Texas!
Some of you may remember our Great Tuna Harvest of 2013 when we got up in the dark and
drove South to find the ripest, sweetest prickly pear tunas at their peak of perfection. We had
a great time harvesting and then going back to Marty’s to learn proper peeling and juicing
techniques.. We had a ball.
It’s almost time for that again. We are not sure when the field trip will be, but very soon Marty
will make a test run and if the tunas are nearing their peak, we’ll schedule a date and let you
all know by email. Keep watch on your inbox if you would like to go. It will be late in July or
early in August.
Here are a few pictures from last year.
SACXS FACTS Vol. 26, #7 Page 10
Program Line-up
July—August 2014
07-16-2014 General Meeting
At the Garden Center
6:30-9:00pm
Why landscape with Cactus & Succulents
Master Gardener Claude Townsend presents this
program designed to show you what will
grow in your landscape with VERY little water.
How to plant them and protect from the cold
and to add an element of contrast in your
yard. This a slide show presentation with a
chance for you to ask questions.
08-18-14 General Meeting
At the Garden Center
6:30 to 9:00pm
Local Cactus & Succulent Gardens and Plant Collections
A photo journey thru our club members gardens, & plant collections. 2013's similar photo journey was so well received, we have
decided to make this an annual meeting topic.
Field Trip
Date and time to be deter-
mined.
Members will be notified by
email. Make sure we have
your correct email address!
The Great Tuna Hunt of 2014
We’ll rise early and drive south to get to the
most succulent tunas.. We’ll harvest and ice
them and head to Marty’s to peel and juice
them. You won’t want to miss the fun.
Friends, remember this is your newsletter. Please consider contributing an article, tip, pho-
tos of your favorite plant. Ask a question and I’ll research an answer from some of our expert
growers. There are lots of ways to contribute and it will be more fun for all of us if we have a
varied group of contributors.
If you want to submit something, I try to get the newsletter out by the end of the first week of
the month so I need the submission in the end of the previous month. I can work with what-
ever constraints you have.
Send your ideas to me at [email protected] or call me at 210-828-7224 to discuss.
Linda Draper, Newsletter Editor
