We are still working on the details of the 2009 schedule of events and field trips for the Central Ohio Cactus and Succulent Society, and await confirmations from speakers and venues - we will typically also add a few last minute special events which may be of interest to our members, but which may not be part of our "official" schedule of programs. So please check this page frequently for the latest additions, and updates. I hope to have the majority of the "gaps" filled within the next few weeks
2009
Saturday, February 7th from 10 am to 4pm
The fifth annual Museum Open House will be held at the OSU Museum of Biodiversity (1315 Kinnear Road, Columbus. just east of Upper Arlington). There will be activities for children and self-guided tours of the collections. Parking for the Open House is in the Museum of Biological Diversity lot or across the street at Electroscience or the Research Center. This event should be of interest to many of our members, but is not part of our "official" schedule.
Wednesday, February 18th 7:30 pm
The OSU Biological Sciences Greenhouse Facility located on 322 W 12th Avenue on top Parking Garage K on the main campus of The Ohio State University, Joan Leonard has generously agreed to lead a tour of the greenhouses, with a special visit to explore the succulent greenhouse. Following our tour of the greenhouses, George Keeney, Research Associate of the Department of Entomology will lead a tour through the Ohio State Department of Entomology's Insectary. The collection features a variety of living arthropods, and includes giant African millipedes, hissing Madagascan cockroaches, scorpions, tarantulas, black widow spiders and Australian walking stick insects and many others (the greenhouse will remain open for those persons who would rather not participate in the tour of the Insectary).
Sunday March 22nd
We will traveling to the Cleveland Botanical Garden for the show and sale of the Midwest Cactus and Succulent Society, in Cleveland Ohio. The show and sale officially begins at noon: sales are quite brisk, so we recommend arriving early to get the first picks of plants offered by members of the Cleveland Society.
Plan to take a tour of the new facility which features two distinct biomes, the Madagascar room which features representative plants from both the Madagascan rainforest, and Madagascar’s thorn forests from which many of Madagascar’s endemic succulents originate. The second biome is the Costa Rican cloud forest, which features the distinct flora of an upland rainforest.
This show usually coincides with the Cleveland Botanical Gardens’ "Orchid Mania Blossoms and Butterflies".
Wednesday April 15th 7:30 pm
Meeting at the Franklin Park Conservatory. Program to be announced. The business portion of the program will be to make preparations for our Show and Sale in May
May 2nd and 3rd
in Mansfield will be holding its perennial plant sale. Tables will be provided for members of the Midwest Cactus and Succulent Society, to distribute information about our respective clubs, and to sell plants. In years past, other participating societies included the local Orchid, Gourd, and Lily societies. There will also be a number of independent vendors, as well a a large perennial sale which benefits the Kingwood Center. Speakers will be scheduled throughout the day. Parking and admission are free.
Saturday and Sunday May 2nd and 3rd (with setup on Friday May 1st) the Franklin Park Conservatory:
This is the weekend of our annual show and sale. Members are asked to propagate plants to sell at our sales table, provide plants for our display table, and to consider leading a program or demonstration on the "care and feeding" of cacti and other succulents for this event. We also request that members make a special effort to help out at the sales table at this event. Pease contact Bruce Brethauer with a list of any plants which you may be offering for sale.
At 2pm on Sunday May 3rd, Bruce Brethauer will lead the workshop "Awesome Succulents for Young Growers" highlighting a selection of unusual, yet easy to grow succulents for young and novice growers. Featured plants are spine-free, easy to grow, and have been selected for their unusual and interesting features. These will include such novelties as the "Inchworm Plant", "Mother of Thousands", the "Pregnant Onion", the "Carrion Flower" the "Vicks Plant" and others. The program will also include extensive information on general care of cactus and other succulents
Wednesday, May 20th 7:30 pm
Meeting at the Franklin Park Conservatory. Program to be announced. The business portion of the program will include a follow up of our show and sale.
We do not presently have programs scheduled for the months of July and August, but we may choose to make several field trips on these occasions.
Possible sites suggested include the following:
A trip to Bakers Acres - a nursery in Alexandria Ohio, specializing in hardy perennials and bedding plants for the garden. While they do not grow many succulents, they do offer a nice selection of sedums, sempervivums and a variety of alpine plants.
A visit to Companion Plants in Athens Ohio. This is a nursery which specializes in a wide variety of culinary and medicinal herbs, but they also grow a wide variety of interesting perennials and bedding plants.
A visit to Burton's Bamboo Garden, specializing in hardy varieties of bamboo.
A visit to the greenhouse of Mark Schiller of Earth Shanti Nursery near Junction City, Ohio. Mark is an avid grower of succulent plants, and grows an impressive selection of hardy cacti. Mark has participated in several of our sales at the Franklin Park Conservatory, offering a selection of select succulents for the home, and hardy cactus garden.
August
Wednesday August 20th: 7:30 pm at the Franklin Park Conservatory - Program to be announced
Saturday September 19th (?)
The Cincinnati Cactus and Succulent Society will be having its annual show and sale at the Krohn Conservatory. I hope that we can get some of our members to this event to meet with their members and possibly make arrangements for future joint meetings and events.
Sunday September 20th
We will be having our joint meeting with the Midwest Cactus and Succulent Society at Klynn Nurseries in Perry, Ohio. Bill Hendricks will lead the program with a PowerPoint presentation of one of his travels (in years past, his travel logs have included trips to South Africa, the Baja peninsula, and China), I suspect that this year's program will be of his most recent trip to Cabo San Lucas. Following the meeting, Bill will lead a tour through his hardy cactus bed - which is one of the largest private cactus gardens which I have seen in Ohio, and includes plants collected during his many trips to the American Southwest. The trip should also include a tour of his succulent greenhouse - a massive collection which includes thousands - if not tens of thousands of plants. Every year, Bill has been quite generous in giving away offsets seedlings and starts of his many plants. If you have not joined us for this event in the past, make a special effort to attend, as this is always one of our best meetings.
Wednesday, October 21st 7:30 at the Franklin Park Conservatory.
Program to be announced
November
Wednesday November 19th: We will be meeting 7:30 p.m. at the Franklin Park Conservatory.
Tom Winn and Ken Frieling of the Glasshouse Works will lead an informal chat on some of the more unusual plants in their nursery, and will also sell a selection of succulents, and other unusual plants from the Glasshouse Works.
Wednesday December 16th;
We will be meeting 7:30 at the Franklin Park Conservatory This is the time of our annual winter potluck. Members are asked to bring a covered dinner or side-dish to share with other members and guests. This is an informal meeting, without a scheduled program, but will include elections for our officers for 2010, and a planning session for programs for 2010.