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November 2004

TCSS BOARD

OfficersPresident: Richard Wiedhopf

885-6367Vice President: Kevin Barber

Secretary: Lynda RyanTreasurer: Valarie Miller

Board of Directors:Past-President: Vonn Watkins

Gail Virtes (2004)Barry McCormick (2004)

Jack Ramsey (2004)Joe Frannea (2005)

Marty Harow (2005)Peter Hubbell (2005)

Dan Birt (2006)Chris Monrad (2006)Mark Sitter (2006)

CSSA Affiliate Rep: Helen Barber

Cactus Rescue: Chris MonradEducational: Joe Frannea

Free Plants: Norma Beckman

Librarian: Jenny ConiglioPrograms: Kevin Barber

Refreshments: Patsy FranneaSales: Jack Ramsey

Technology: Kevin Barber

Editor: Barry McCormickjbarrymcc@earthlink.net

Deadline for copy:18th of each month

TCSS Web Page:www.tucsoncactus.org

Next MeetingThursday, November 4 at 7:00 pm

Junior League of Tucson2099 E. River Road

Tucson

November RefreshmentsThose with family names beginning with

T to Z, please bring your choice ofrefreshment to the meeting.

Everyone is Welcome!Bring your friends, join in the fun,and meet the cactus and succulent

community.

Thursday, November 4, 2004Matt Johnson

7:00 PM

Matt Johnson, author of Cacti, OtherSucculents, and Unusual Xerophytes oSouthern Arizona will present the secopart of his program on local native Cacand Succulents.

Matt is a long-time Tucson resident whreceived both his BS and MS degrees iHorticulture from the University ofArizona. He is presently Curator for thDesert Legume Program, a seed bankproject jointly sponsored by the UA

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, and the Boyce ThompsonSouthwestern Arboretum. He has been growing cacti and succulentshis life, and has traveled extensively in the Southwest and throughouthe world.

Matt is the author of over 50 publications on botany & horticulture of

arid climate plants including his previous book: The Trees of Sonora,Mexico (Felger, Johnson, and Wilson, 2001, Oxford University Press

This will be the second part of Matts presentation and will primarilyfeature Opuntia species.

Sunday, December 12, 2004Annual Holiday Party

12:00 Noon

CaminoEscuela

River Road

Campell

St. PhillipsPlaza

Parking Junior League of TucsonKiva Bldg.

2099 E. River Road299-5753Meeting Place

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Presidents Message

It is hard to believe that

another year of activities isnearing completion. Thankyou for the time you donate toconservation, education,outreach, and volunteerism --it really makes this societyenjoyable and fun. Ourmembership has increased to

over 500 individuals, and keeping everyoneinvolved is an enjoyable challenge.

At the November meeting the nominationcommittee will present a slate ofofficers and board of directors forthe coming year. Their job is toinsure that there is at least onequalified candidate for each position. Youwill have the opportunity to nominate additionalcandidates for each office. The nominee must be amember and be willing to serve. A ballot will besent to every member and results will be announcedat the December annual meeting and holiday party.

Speaking of the holiday party, itstime to break out that favoriterecipe and get ready for our annualmeeting and holiday party onDecember 12, 2004. We providethe entrees and you provide salads,vegetables, desserts etc. We collect

food and money for the Tucson Community FoodBank and have a fun gift exchange. Moreinformation will be coming to you later inNovember. Because of our growing membership,

reservations are important.Chris Monrad, Rescue Committee Chair, madearrangements to display our rescue program at theMountain States Wholesale Nursery open house inGlendale, AZ on October 22. Members of theCentral Arizona Cactus and Succulent Societyjoined us. We have been working with them toestablish a rescue program in the Phoenix area. Theopen house drew about 300 professionals from allover the southwest and we were able to tell the story

about our rescue programs. Everyone who came our display was impressed by our conservationactivity.

The next day we had a display at Plaza Palomino,along with many other garden groups, and had the

opportunity to tell our story in Tucson. Manythanks to Jack & Helen Ramsey and Peter & EvelHubbell for representing TCSS at this event.

It is also time to vote if you are a member of theCactus and Succulent Society of America. Theballot is on the back of the Newsletter To ThePoint which, by the way, is edited by our membePeter Bockenthien. [Note, especially, that DickWiedhopf is the candidate for Vice President of thCSSA Ed.] Thank you,

Dick Wiedhopf, Presiden

Carrillo School Receives TCSS Grant

All third grade students atCarrillo Magnet School inthe Tucson Unified SchooDistrict will participate in project to create a signedcactus garden so children cresearch, identify, and

describe native plants. A $400 TCSS grant wasrecently awarded to facilitate the purchase of cacti

create decorated tiles for plant identification, andprepare and print cactus guides.

The site for the garden is in a neighborhood park Parquecito directly across from the school atLa Pilita (420 S. Main). This is a historic propertand has received a Bricks and Mortar Grant forrenovations. The La Pilita Association is in

partnership with the City of Tucson and has theresponsibility for stewardship of this historicproperty.

El Parquecito

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The sixty Carrillo third graders will research avariety of desert plants through field trips andreviewing written materials and present theirfindings by a prepared speech to learn how toeffectively convey information to an audience. Thestudents will also improve their writing skills bycreating a plant identification guide so future

students and visitors to the site can learn more aboutnative plants.

This project is a unique collaboration between aschool, a nonprofit association, a city park, aneighborhood, and now the Tucson Cactus &Succulent Society. Could you possibly think of abetter way to use TCSS profits from our CactusRescue Crew program!

Joe Frannea

Plant Rescue Committee

Cactus rescue activities continue ata fever pitch. We had a rescue atthe Rancho Vistoso developmentnear the Tortolita Mountains inOro Valley on October 16. Thesite has very convenient access,and we rescued many hedgehogs

and Mammillaria, and a good supply of barrels. We

will be back to thissame site after the

developer hastaken out theinventoried plantshe will reuse, andwe will rescue theremainder. Theever-presentgrading equipmentis a grim reminder

just how important it is that we react quickly to thinvitation to rescue.

A major development in our rescue operations thimonth was the joint rescue with the Central ArizoCactus and Succulent Society at the Verrado sitenear Buckeye, in the foothills of the White TankMountains. Rescued plants included Ferocactus

cylindraceus, Echinocereus engelmannii, and

saguaro. These joint rescues will be done by TCSuntil the Phoenix group gets the experience andconfidence to start their own operation. A numbeof CACSS members have joined our society so thare covered under our permits and insurance.

On Wednesday, October 13 we did anotherlandscape plant rescue, obtaining cuttings of amonstrose cereus for our members.

Barry McCorm

Cactus and Succulent GardeningCalendar

Watch for a new feature to start soon: our Cactusand Succulent GardeningCalendar. This monthly featuwill briefly address things to dand watch for in ourlandscaping, patio container, awindowsill gardening, month

month. We will also include specific advice on twdifferent plants we would all love to raise, given bour experienced members. The plants we featurewill be covered for an entire year, so we will havedetailed culture information when we need it. Insubsequent years we will feature different plants agrowers. We will be calling upon all of ourexperienced growers to build a feature that willsteadily improve over the years.

Barry McCorm

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TCSS Rescue Cacti for SaleLots & lots to choose from..

Barrels - from 2 to 14 diameter (about $1 per inch)Hedgehogs from 1 to 20 heads (about $1 per head)

TCSS Club Members receive a 15% discountCall Joe or Patsy if interested 575-7126

New Member Listings and changes

Photos by Barry McCormick, Kevin Barber, Joe Frannea and Chris Monrad. Logo Artwork by Vonn Wat

Tucson Cactus and Succulent Society7510 E. Rio Verde Rd.Tucson, AZ 85715-3537