The Central Ohio Cactus and Succulent Society Journal
Volume MMXII Number 5, May, 2012
Harry Gate
Henry Fisher
Irmgard Buckel
Bruce Brethauer
President
Vice President
Treasurer
Corresponding Editor
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The Central Ohio Cactus and Succulent Society Journal Volume MMXII Number 5, May, 2012 |
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Harry Gate Henry Fisher Irmgard Buckel Bruce Brethauer |
President Vice President Treasurer Corresponding Editor |
Corresponding Editor: Bruce Brethauer 1338 Virginia Avenue, Apartment C, Columbus, Ohio 43212.
(614) 267-4109 email: bbrethau@columbus.rr.com
An Apology: Last month, I had a complete computer failure which left me unable to edit the newsletter, or contact members via e-mail for a period of over two weeks. At the last minute, Harry Gate sent an e-mail announcement to a number of our members, but many of you did not get any information on our April meeting. In the next month, I will be making the necessary precautions so that in a worst case scenario, we will not experience such a complete shutdown in our ability to communicate with our members and web browsers. I apologize for any inconvenience.
This month's meeting: Our May meeting will be 7:30 pm Wednesday May 16th at the Franklin Park Conservatory. We encourage members to bring in plants from their collections in an informal program of "Show and Tell", but the majority of this meeting will be to make last minute preparations for our Cactus Show and Sale on May 19th and 20th.
We are asking our members to assist us in any way that they can to make this year's show and sale a real success, and hope that everyone can provide a plant or two for our show tables, as well as some plants for our sales area. If you have not done so already, now is the time to start potting up those pups and offsets. More importantly, we hope that we can get as many of our members to assist at the sales table with sales and customer service - even a commitment of one or two hours on either day will make a huge difference. Other ways to assist in making this a more successful event - please remember to provide bags, boxes and trays so that customers can more easily carry multiple plants to their cars. Note pads, scratch pads and ledgers are also very useful items. Tape, price tags and plant labels are also very important - we are now out of our supply of customized society plant labels, and the company which I had dealt with is now imposing a $300 minimum label order - so I chose not to re-order - I am requesting some blank labels from Bill Hendricks, but if any of our members have some spare labels, please consider bringing these to our May meeting. In the next few days, I will also be putting up a file on this website to publicize this event - I will be asking members to print copies and post these at area libraries, nurseries, civic centers etc - anything which we can do to spread the word will be of a great assistance.
We may also need to work out some additional ideas for programs and events for our 2012 calendar.
I will look forward to seeing you at our May meeting.
Minutes: Our April meeting featured a tour of 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. George Keeney, Research Associate of the Department of Entomology began the tour with highlights from the Insectary, a collection featuring variety of living arthropods, including giant African millipedes, hissing Madagascan cockroaches, scorpions, tarantulas, black widow spiders and Australian walking stick insects and many others. Some of the highlights of this portion of the tour included several species of tree dwelling tarantulas from India - these species are noted for their complex markings, fast movement, and (in some species) a generally more potent venom. The individuals in the insectary collection were still adolescents, approximately half of their adult size, but were still impressively large, and already showing their intricate markings in multiple shades of brown. We also discussed the ongoing issues of several insect pests which are spreading trough the state, including the emerald ash borer, and the bed bug: both species appear to be increasing their ranges in the state of Ohio, and both have proven to be highly resistant to our efforts to control them. Following the tour of the insectary, Joan Leonard led a tour of the greenhouses, with a special visit to explore the succulent greenhouse. It was good to see how the collection continues to grow each year. One of the highlights of the tour included a trip to the tropical greenhouse, which houses some of the Amorphophallus titanum plants which Joan had started from seed about 10 years ago. Last year, one plant (now named "Woody") flowered for the first time, making it the first seed grown plant of this species to have flowered in Ohio. At the time of our visit, another plant was beginning to show new growth - but it was too early to determine if the new growth was a new leaf, or a flower bud.
We thank Joan and George for taking time out from their busy schedules to address or Society.
Now is the time to renew your membership with the Central Ohio Cactus and Succulent Society.
Annual fees are $15 per household, which helps to pay for programs, speakers' fees, field trips and newsletter expenses. Society members are also able to participate in our Show and Sale at the Franklin Park Conservatory, and the spring perennial sale at the Kingwood Center in Mansfield, Ohio. So please remember to bring your checkbook to the February meeting, or send a check made payable to the Central Ohio Cactus and Succulent Society to:
Irmgard Buckel
1641 Hess Blvd
Columbus, Ohio 43212
CSSA Corner:
Keep up with the latest updates on the website of the Cactus and Succulent Society of America check their site at: www.cssainc.org.
Plant of the Month: Ceropegia pettignatii
June Highlights: Wednesday, June 20th We will be meeting 7:30 pm Wednesday, June 20th at Franklin Park Conservatory. Joan Leonard will be presenting Amorphophallus titanum, the Giant Corpse Flower, a PowerPoint program and discussion of one of the plant kingdoms most remarkable plants. The Giant Corpse Flower produces the largest un-branched inflorescence - producing a "flower" which can exceed 10 feet tall, and 6 feet wide. The flowers actually generate heat, which is believed to assist in the dispersal of its distinctive aroma - which mimics the scent of rotting flesh - a scent which attracts carrion flies and beetles, which are the primary pollinators of these remarkable plants. The corms of this species are also the largest in the plant kingdom - the largest recorded specimen tipped the scales at over 200 lbs.
The native range of this remarkable species is rapidly disappearing, as forests are being cleared for timber and to produce additional farmlands. Today, many conservatories and universities have joined forces to assist in the propagation and dissemination of seeds produced on plants in cultivation to help preserve this species.
The program features "Woody" the first seed grown A. titanum to have flowered in Ohio. It flowered on April 23rd 2011, and was the culmination of about 10 years of patient cultivation by Joan Leonard and other staff members of the OSU Biological Sciences Greenhouse Facility.