(Addendum 2-26-2003)
Please note that there were several errors in the BACPS calendar in the last
newsletter. The following is a corrected version.
BACPS CALENDAR - 2003
February 22 Winter Meeting, County Fair Building, San Francisco
April 1 Deadline for submissions to the next Newsletter
April 26-27 Spring Garden Festival, Lindsay Museum, Walnut Creek
May 10 (not 5) Spring Meeting
May 17 (not 24)* Bug Day, Randall Museum, San Francisco
July 10 Deadline for submissions to the next Newsletter
August 23 (not 29) Summer Meeting, plant show and sale
October 5 Deadline for submissions to the next Newsletter
November 8 (not 15) Fall Meeting, elections
*The Randall Museum moved the event because the original date, May 24, was
on a holiday weekend.
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BAY AREA CARNIVOROUS PLANT SOCIETY NEWSLETTER
Volume 12 Number 1, Winter 2003
February 5, 2003
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NEXT MEETING
Date: February 22, 2003, Saturday
Time: 12:00 Noon
Location: San Francisco County Fair Building, Hall of Flowers
Program: Scot Medbury, "Restoration of the Conservatory"
Scot Medbury, Director of the Conservatory of Flowers in Golden Gate
Park, will give us a slide presentation about the nearly completed
restoration of the Conservatory and his vision for the future. Scott
hopes that carnivorous plants will play a prominent role in the
Conservatory's displays, both permanent and revolving. The meeting
will be held at the San Francisco County Fair Building, which is a
possible venue for some of our future meetings. After the presentation,
Scott will take us on a tour of the Conservatory.
The meeting will start at noon. Members are encouraged to bring plants
for the display table, auction, and raffle. Because the presentation
will be followed immediately by the tour, there will be a change from
the normal order of events. The social, plant sale, display, raffle,
and auction will all take place from noon to 1:30pm. Announcements and
the presentation will start at approximately 1:30pm, after which we
will proceed to the Conservatory.
The San Francisco County Fair Building is located near the corner of
9th Avenue and Lincoln Way, adjacent to the Strybing Botanical Garden
entry gate. If parking is difficult near the Country Fair Building,
try looking along the roads between the Conservatory and County Fair
Building. Please note that the parking lot in back of the County Fair
Building is not open to visitors. For directions refer to
www.strybing.org/visting/page2.html or call 415-661-1316.
Questions regarding the meeting should be directed to Geoff Wong.
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PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE
Geoff Wong
Welcome to the New Year. We are in the process of lining up a series
of programs that should cover a stimulating variety of topics. To
start off the season Scot Medbury will give us an insider's view of
the Conservatory, which has long been one of the premier public venues
for CP and other exotic plant displays in Northern California. For the
summer meeting we are planning a members' plant sale and show. This
will be an opportunity for everyone to show off their best specimens
and to make rare plants available to other members. Over the next
several months nurture those special plants for what should be our
biggest show and sale in years. If anyone has ideas for the show or
would like to assist in organizing it, please contact me.
It is my pleasure to welcome John Pizzicara as the new raffle manager
and to thank outgoing raffle manger Mark Bellinger for all the work he
has done for us over the years. I encourage everyone to help out, even
occasionally, since sharing the work needed to run BACPS helps greatly
in being able to provide for the various programs. We're looking
forward to a great year!
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BUG DAY
Geoff Wong
This year's BUG DAY at the Randall Museum will take place on Saturday
May 24th. BACPS has been invited to take part again in this all day
event that introduces kids to the world of bugs and anything related,
including carnivorous plants. Our participation two years ago was a
great success. (Last year we were notified too late to schedule a
display and our regular meeting was planned for that day already).
We are looking for a BACPS member to work with the Randall Museum to
plan the cp booth and also organize a group of volunteers to bring
plants for display, explain cp to kids, and sell plants. This is a fun
event. If you can assist in any way, please contact Geoff.
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SPRING GARDEN FESTIVAL AT THE LINDSAY MUSEUM
Geoff Wong
The Lindsay Wildlife Museum in Walnut Creek is holding a Spring Garden
Festival the weekend of April 26-27. They have invited BACPS and
several other plant-related groups to host display tables. The focus
of the event is educational, so interesting display plants with people
to explain them would be ideal.
The Festival will be open Saturday and Sunday from 10am to 5pm. The
event generally draws about 2000 people with families and children
accounting for most of the audience.
If anyone is interested in organizing a display table or desires more
information, please contact Geoff Wong or Bob Hole, Museum teacher at
the Lindsay Museum.
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MINUTES FROM THE November 9, 2002 MEETING
Judith Finn
At the start of the meeting Geoff Wong announced that Scot Medbury,
who is the Director at Strybing Botanical Garden and the Conservatory
in San Francisco will be giving a talk about the current restoration
plans for the Conservatory and how our society can help in
contributing to the carnivorous plant display.
Geoff also reminded us that we should check our email addresses with
Bill Weaver to make sure that they are correct so that we will all
receive our newsletters in a timely manner.
We were happy to have with us, Geoff Coffey a writer who authored an
article in the San Francisco Chronicle on the BACPS.
Next Mike Ross held the election of officers. The results were as
follows...
Geoff Wong as President
Greg Lum as Vice-President
Judith Finn as Secretary
Joe Mazrimas as Treasurer
Also noted were...
Bill Weaver and Paul Bourbin - Distributors of the Newsletter
Albert Huntington - Website
Mike Ross - Membership List
John Pizzicara - Raffle Ticket Sales
There were several display plants that were brought in for the show
and tell table. Phil Fausi displayed Sarracenia readii, which he grows
in bright sunlight. He also brought in Sarracenia purpurea ssp. burkei
cv. 'Louis Burke' which he grows in peat moss and sand. He advised
watering them from the top and not growing them too cold. He also
brought in Drosera adelae and Pinguicula lutea cultivated in pure
sphagnum grown on the dry side.
Tuan Nguyen brought in a bog garden of Pinguicula specimens, which he
nurtures in a dry office type environment. He raises them in 50% peat,
25% perlite and 25% sand and uses purified water.
After the Show and Tell table, the auction plants were noted as being
Nepenthes bongso, Nepenthes mulensis, Nepenthes x 'Ile de France',
Nepenthes maxima x veitchii, pinguicula moranensis, 2 Sarracenia
leucophylla plants and various Nepenthes cuttings.
Phil Fausi's lecture on his specialized growing techniques followed
the show and tell. The specimen plants that Phil has displayed at the
meetings over the past years have resulted in much admiration. His
plants have been cultivated to perfection and are the result of many
years of hard work.
The well-attended meeting turned out to be a memorable event. Instead
of getting a few tips on care and cultivation we were treated to an
incredible mini course in producing mammoth size carnivores. Phil not
only is extremely knowledgeable but he is also an exceptional
presenter. We were all left hoping he will come back and speak at
future meetings. I cannot do justice in reporting the content of his
talk, which was lively and humorous and kept everyone's attention.
His main emphasis was to stress the importance of watching your plants
and experimenting. He cautioned not to put off doing the chores that
are crucial to the health of the plants. Phil is not afraid to spend
money or time to give his plants the best conditions. This is
especially true for the advanced grower who invests many dollars into
acquiring rare plant material. He has 1,500 plants in his collection
and repots annually. He has a variety of growing setup conditions to
meet the specific needs of each type of plant.
One growing area has a space that is 4' x 8'x 5' with a combination of
cool and warm lights (40 watts) that he has on for a 7 hour photoperiod
everyday. He mists daily and has a 12-inch window fan that runs 24
hours a day. The plants are in trays and the whole setup is covered in
plastic to keep the humidity high. He did caution everyone not to
believe everything they read about growing cps, but to experiment a
little. For example, he grows the highland Nepenthes veitchii at high
temperatures with increased humidity. The secret is to give the plant
a 15-20 degree drop in temperature at night. For Nepenthes
albomarginata, he always uses reverse osmosis water and gives it
plenty of light in order to produce big pitchers. He always keeps
pitchers filled with water.
Another growing space is a moss chamber. He makes a deep box out of
hardware cloth and fills it with long fibered sphagnum moss. He then
places saucers upside down to lift the plants up so that the plants
don't stay too wet. The pitchers are cradled in the moss and this
helps them to achieve perfection that one cannot get otherwise.
When Phil needs super humid conditions, he uses a 15" by 30" square
Styrofoam box and makes tiny air holes in the box. He places his
plants on inverted pots in moss inside the box. He then removes the
lids in the wintertime for air circulation. He is very careful in
removing all decaying debris as to prevent any unwanted disease from
infecting the growing area. This is an excellent way to raise plants
that require high humidity, like that of the hot and humid tropical
rainforest. Later, he begins by hardening them off in another chamber
that has 75 percent relative humidity.
Phil also showed us how to propagate Pinguicula from leaf cuttings by
placing them in trays of peat and sand top dressed with live sphagnum.
He advises that Pinguicula esseriana and Pinguicula lusitanica require
shade and dry winter conditions, while Pinguicula primuliflora likes
deep water. Pinguicula gigantea and Pinguicula moranensis require
bright sun and plenty of room to grow. Phil starts his Pinguicula
plants from winter leaves that are pulled off from the bottom with a
small piece of the rhizome attached from the mother plants. He has an
unheated greenhouse, which has a lower relative humidity than his
specialized growing chambers, but the plants do adapt over time. He
keeps Venus Fly Traps barely moist when they are dormant. For his
flytraps he grows them in 50% sand and 50%peat moss. By letting the
plants dry out this will lead to bigger and healthier traps. He also
does not allow the plants to flower in the springtime and picks all
the flowers off, before they have chance to open, so that the crosses
are not contaminated. For fast drainage, Phil uses equal parts damp
peat moss, charcoal, small bark and pumice (sometimes sand) with big
pots and reverse osmosis water. He repots every two years at any time
of the year and makes certain that all the old plant material around
the root system is taken away.
This was only a fraction of the advice that Phil gave us. He has a
wealth of information and experiences to share with everyone. Phil
has created a very detailed and meticulous way of growing his plants,
which results in sublime specimen plants.
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BACPS CALENDAR
2003
February 22 Winter Meeting, County Fair Building, San Francisco
April 1 Deadline for submissions to the next Newsletter
May 5 Spring Meeting
May 24 Bug Day, Randall Museum, San Francisco
July 10 Deadline for submissions to the next Newsletter
August 29 Summer Meeting
October 5 Deadline for submissions to the next Newsletter
November 15 Fall Meeting
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TREASURER'S REPORT
November 9, 2002
JOE MAZRIMAS
INCOME BALANCE DEBIT
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Sellers 40.00
Raffle 82.00
Regular Auction 86.00
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TOTAL INCOME 188.00
Current activity (08-18-02 to 5-18-02) 188.00
Previous balance (05-18-02) 2984.81
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BALANCE (8/17/02) $3119.81
U. C. Berkeley Fund (separate) $1427.50
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ANNOUNCEMENTS
This section is available for members to post plant-related
announcements (events, items wanted or available, information wanted
or to share, etc.). Please submit announcements to the editor.
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BACPS CONTACTS
President Geoff Wong
Vice-President Greg Lum
Secretary Judith Finn
Treasurer Joe Mazrimas
Newsletter Editor Greg Lum
E-mail Distributor Bill Weaver
Snail Mail Distributor Paul Bourbin
Business Manager Larry Logoteta
Membership List Mike Ross
Auction Manager Glen Rankin
Auctioneer Peter D'Amato
Raffle Manager John Pizzicara
Website Manager Albert Huntington
Website: http://www.bacps.org
Mailing address: BACPS, 825 Bennington Street, Manteca, CA 95336
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Please send articles or comments to the editor, Greg Lum.
If you wish to be added or removed from the
distribution list, please send a message to Bill Weaver.
This document has been formatted for 10 point Courier