Minutes from February 28 Meeting
I am going to try and make this short so you can read on about the exciting things that are happening with the BACPS this year.
A lot has been going on with the BACPS behind the scenes: a new and professionally designed newsletter, seed sales, plant sale staffed by BACPS members, and other subtle changes designed to make the meetings more fun and get more plants in your hands. I am hoping you will start to see the foundation being built for the coming years soon.
We have several new people taking over for longtime volunteers. Many of them felt that it was time to give someone else a chance to participate and have fun while they worked in another area of the BACPS.
The bottom line is that the society is always seeking to do more for you, and more importantly, with you. It is my hope that as we have more opportunities to participate, more members will have some time to contribute in some way. Keep your eyes open for the new programs and the opportunities to get more involved and have more fun.
Stephen Davis
Do you often have a plant or two you would like to sell but don't want to be tied down at the sales tables? Now you don't have to worry about bringing in plants to sell. In order to help our members get the most out of our meetings, the BACPS will staff the sales table and sell your plants for you. Just bring your plants and an inventory list with your prices, and we'll handle the rest. Any plants sold by the BACPS will have 10% of their sales given to the club. Members who still wish to handle their own plant sales may still sell their plants at the sales table as well.
Many of us are familiar with Allen Lowrie's trilogy Carnivorous Plants of Australia. Some of us might know that Allen also has a seed list that puts all others to shame. Specializing in Australian Drosera, this list also has many rare and unusual CP seeds. One of the problems with ordering from this seed list, however, is that it's notoriously hard to get, and once you have it, you have to mail your order via standard mail.
In order to help BACPS members order these exceptional seeds, we'll be placing group seed orders for our members. At each meeting, members will get to look at the catalog and place pre-paid orders. At the next meeting, you will be able to pick up your order.
The next meeting is in September and will be for our plant show. Last year Phil Faulisi was Chairman of it and it was a huge success. Unfortunately he was not able to manage it this year, but we are expecting it to be at least as big as last year. Start grooming your plants now! To see some of the plants we had last year, go to the BACPS website, www.bacps.org, and check out the Pictures from the plant show.
As co-chairman I really enjoyed working on the show. We are looking for volunteers for Chairman and to help with the show. If you are interested, please email Stephen.
by Judith Finn
58 in attendance
Location: University of California Botanical Garden, Berkeley
Stephen Davis informed the group that Christie Fremon would be the new editor. She has already put a professional new look on our monthly bulletin. We are so grateful that she is willing to take on the editorship that Bill Weaver has done so well over the past few years.
Stephen also mentioned the formation of the NORTH AMERICAN SARRACENIA CONSERVANCY. This organization is dedicated to the preservation of Sarracenia genetic diversity. It is still in the early stages of formation, and you can get involved by going to www.terraforums.com. Discussions are currently under the heading of U.S. National Sarracenia Collection.
Stephen also encouraged people to sell their excess plants at our quarterly meeting, which would make plants available to the members and also help benefit the society. He suggested that a member volunteer to sell the plants for the group because that would encourage people who also wish to socialize to bring in their plants.
Stephen also reminded us of the importance of helping with educating people about our favorite plants. Larry Logoteta and Joe Mazrimas will once again volunteer at the Lindsay Museum spring event. We have not heard whether the Randall Museum will be holding their annual Bug Day. If it does happen, usually in late April or May, we will need help manning our table. Stephen also suggested that the group help install bog gardens at educational insitutions.
Peter D'Amato gave a talk on his field trip to the Gasquet region near the Oregon border. This is definitely Darlingtonia californica country. Peter made the trip with Damon and Dan Collingsworth last fall. Peter gave us some background. In the 1800s, Brackenridge first recognized Darlingtonia as being carnivorous. It is similar to Heliamphora in that bacteria, not enzymes, digest the insect prey. There is also a white midge that lays eggs in the bottom or the pitcher and initially breaks down insects for the plant. Brackenridge sent plants to Torrey, who named the plant after Dr. Darlington.
Peter made his first trip to this region in September 1983.
Peter then introduced Harry Tryon, who was his guide through the Del Norte territory. Harry was raised there and is very familiar with all the habitats of the CPs.
Damon told us the location is 20 miles below the Oregon border, 400 miles from the Bay Area, and not far from Crescent City.
Peter showed us wonderful slides of Pinguicula growing on serpentine rock and moss. There were 3- to 5-inch in diameter Pinguicula macroceras ssp. nortensis. It spreads by seed and gemmae on road cuts. At South Fort there were wonderful Darlingtonia growing on crumbling serpentine cliffs. Pinguicula were abundant on wet seeps and were growing on algae. Their vertical habitat has cold nights and 80- to 90-degree days in the summer. There was a slide of Darlingtonia Falls with cascades of Darlingtonia with five-fingered ferns and azaleas.
Harry told of the fauna that inhabits the region. There are rattlesnakes, bear, mountain lions, and deer (that are sometimes known to bite the hoods off the Darlingtonia). They showed slides of bear tracks alongside muddy pools filled with Darlingtonia. The seeds are carried by the fur of the bears and deer. They showed a 100-foot-wide swath of Darlingtonia growing up a creek. The area is threatened by mining because of the presence of nickel. Drosera rotundifolia were growing on the top of the slope. The groundwater percolates through the crumbly serpentine, and the peaty humus is where the rotundifolia is found. They showed us some bleached-out pitchers growing on Franciscan rock with manzanitas -- a harsh environment.
Off Route 199, north of Gasquet, is a botanical site complete with a parking lot. There is a two-acre site filled with Darlingtonia and mats of sundews. They seem to have a unique, and possibly symbiotic, relationship with praying mantids -- each group had their own territory.
Peter announced that he would probably be going next September to the Gasquet region and invited members. Harry passed out his card and maps of the region, and said he would be happy to be a guide to any member who would be interested. This seemed to be wise because most of the sites could easily be missed, and there is always the possibility of four-legged creatures and alpine hunters (pot growers). Harry's address is P.O. Box 24, Gasquet, CA 95543, and his phone number is 707-457-3705.
Peter ended his talk by giving some advice on growing Darlingtonia californica. He advises a large barrel or a light-colored pot that will not be as likely to heat up in the sun. Cold water applied on hot days will also help keep the roots cooler.
Peter, as usual, gave a very enjoyable talk, and many members expressed an interest in getting together next fall to see the wonderful habitat of Darlingtonia.
Tray of Sarracenia and Drosera brought in by Larry Logoteta.
Nepenthes supplied by Tim: Nepenthes truncata × ventricosa, N. × dyeriana, N. × nagoya, N. alata × ventricosa, N. × wrigleyana, N. reinwardtiana.
Max offered N. gracilis, N. maxima × veitchii, N.
burkei × villosa, N. rafflesiana, N. sanguinea, and
Cephalotus follicularis 'Hummer's giant'.
Several species of flowering Mexican Pinguicula grown at U.C.B. in a cool-growing greenhouse.
Utricularia subulata grown by Melissa Mork on her windowsill.
Nepenthes ventricosa, Heliamphora minor, Drosera tokaiensis, Sarracenia willisii × oreophila, and Pinguicula emarginata grown by Katherine Henwood. She places a straw down the inside of the pot to water from below. Katherine also makes her own plant containers. She grows her specimens outside.
Drosera regia, D. aliciae, D. scorpioides, D. capensis, and Pinguicula emarginata were brought in by Stephen Davis. He stressed the importance of displaying our CPs in attractive containers.
by Stephen Davis
My parents looked at me and grinned when I said I was writing the "Pest of the Quarter" article. "An autobiography?" my father asked. "You've had that title for 42 years now. Nobody cares." If anyone is wondering why I am the way I am, you now have a hint of my troubled childhood.
For the second year in a row, aphids have done their spring damage to the plants in my outdoor bog. The Drosera capensis are a twisted mass, and some of the Sarracenia are badly deformed, sometimes twisting almost into a circle.
Aren't carnivorous plants supposed to eat bugs? It's my own fault, I guess. I hate using pesticides, and I couldn't find the organic, probably harmless spray that won't kill my fish in the adjacent pond. Next year I will have some stockpiled and will spray earlier.
For those not familiar with aphids, they are little green or black, winged, or wingless, sap-sucking insect terrors that even Stephen King won't write about. Although very small, 1/16-1/4 inch, they can wreak a lot of damage in large numbers as they pierce the plant's leaves and stems and drink the sap or fluids of the plant. They also cause problems with mold, which feeds off the sweet nectar they secrete and deposit on the leaves of the plant in such quantities that you sometimes notice the nectar before you see the bug. The nectar also attracts ants, with which they have a symbiotic relationship. The ants protect the aphids from predators, while the aphids secrete their sweet nectar that the ants take back to the nest for food.
I'm not an advocate of pesticides, but sometimes there is just no choice. Many of my plants put up one set of leaves, especially the Sarracenia, and waiting for the beneficial insects to kick in, as they always do, can ruin the best leaves of the season. For that reason I have had to resort to the use of some chemicals.
Using chemicals on our CP is a scary thing. After all, no manufacturer tests on CP, and so there are no special instructions or warnings that their chemical will cause problems. When you think of the special nature of CP, and how they absorb nutrients from their prey through their leaves, you begin to realize that this might be a more difficult decision than you initially thought.
After reading a lot online and in books, the bottom line is, BE CAREFUL. Most of the well-known brands seem to be OK. But buy the major brand names and try it on a test plant first, if you can.
The problems are not necessarily due to the active ingredient. It appears that it is sometimes the "inactive" ingredients that bring disaster. I've read online about someone who bought a Kmart brand of a well-known pesticide that had something in it that damaged their CP, while others have been very successful with the same chemical, but a different brand. Finding out about these ingredients is really hard, and takes a lot of work. Some people in the CP listserve have written about their fact-finding experiences, and I certainly don't have the time to do what they did.
If you have Peter D'Amato's book The Savage Garden, there is a good section on chemicals. He, and others, often suggest you use wettable powders, as they get around some of the problems of the unknown ingredients.
My personal favorite is Pond Care Herbal Aphid control. It is a mix of mint oil and thyme. It kills aphids on contact, but you have to wash it off after 5 or 10 minutes. If you don't, you run the risk of burning young tender leaves. There is no lasting effect at all, so you have to spray often if there is a heavy infestation. I like the fact that it seems relatively benign, is safe around fish, and it even smells good. Be careful of natural chemicals, though. Many of our most deadly chemicals came from plants and animals. I still treat this with nearly the same care I would use for a much more toxic chemical. You MUST rinse it off, by the way. I've gotten away with not rinsing the plants a few times, but it finally caught up with me and burned some of the Drosera. I just use a sprinkling can with RO water in it and quickly pass it over the plants 5 to 10 minutes after applying it.
The biggest downside to Pond Care Herbal Aphid Control is that it has the word "pond" on the label, so it's very expensive: $12.50 for a spray bottle at OSH, and sometimes over $15 for the same bottle at specialty nurseries.
If a systemic is desired, and I will try that next year if the aphids are anything like they were this year, try Orthene. As a systemic, it is absorbed by the plant, killing the insects as they feed long after you have left for work or vacation.
Malathion, an organophosphorus pesticide, is widely used for both domestic and commercial agricultural purposes. Not a systemic, it's longer lasting than Herbal Care, but not much. Oddly, it has medicinal uses. It is considered to be one of the safest organophosphate insecticides, but the agricultural grade has impurities from the manufacturing process, and from just sitting around, that appears to be a bigger problem than the pure malathion. These impurities can be a problem for both you and your plants, so again, get a name brand.
Diazonon is another chemical some people have used successfully. However, it is also one where someone used an off brand and did damage to their plants. If you have a major brand, and it's sitting in your chemical cabinet, it will work.
Insecticidal soaps have a bad reputation when used on sundews, but sars and Nepenthes seem to be tough enough. I would advise a trial of your own before you did a full-scale application.
Chris Turbeville visited my garden last spring and gave me this suggestion: Use "alternating pyrethrins and oil of neem. I alternate a light misting every 2 days. Seems to discourage them quite well." I have not tried this yet. I would suggest being very cautious with this method and try it on a few plants first.
Joe Mazrimas, another BACPS member, had two tactics for dealing with these pests. Another member, Melissa Mork, suggests a therapeutic solution.
Natural predators are a great choice, but I have had little success at introducing them. If you want to feed your plants, though, ladybugs are great. They might also lay their eggs nearby before they fly off, and the larvae are voracious eaters.
The problem of aphids in a terrarium brings in another wrinkle. I would not use Malathion, or Orthene, or anything else I can think of in the house that I would use in the garden. I might use the Pond Care Herbal Aphid Control. Many people use a flea collar with some success. It takes time, so you have to be patient.
For further information you can do a search of the CP Listserve online: http://omnisterra.com/mailman/listinfo/cp_omnisterra.com
If you are concerned about safety, a Google search brings up many interesting articles on chemicals mentioned in the article.
The next "Pest of the Quarter" will be Thrip. If you want to write the article, contact us. If you would rather just tell us what you use, that would be great. Compiling personal experiences can be really helpful, and I'm certain other members will appreciate the information.
If you are interested in volunteering for any of these positions, please contact Stephen Davis.
We still need a chairman to run the September Plant Show. This is a really fun event to put on, and is really fun to organize. You will have the help of myself and the board.
We still need another volunteer to help out with plant sales at our meetings. Responsibilities include staying at the sales table during meetings to sell the plants that other members have brought in. This is a great way to meet other members, and also a great way to have first pick at the plants for sale.
by Joe Mazrimas
Scientists tell us the West Nile Virus, which is spread by mosquitoes, is coming to Northern California this summer. Many growers grow their plants in pots that sit in trays or saucers of water. Mosquitoes will find this water, lay eggs, and a new batch will hatch. One simple method to discourage this process is to spray PAM in the trays and saucers. This leaves an oily film on the water surface, and the larvae can't breathe through the oil layer. This method should be harmless to the plants. Don't forget the pitchers as well.
This year has been a bit hectic, because not only were we changing editors for the BACPS Newsletter, but we were also trying to give it a more professional and colorful look.
But despite what the BACPS Officers and I have been dreaming up for this Newsletter, it is truly a publication meant for the members of the BACPS.
In future issues, I'll be trying to make this a newsletter for and about our members. If any of you have any suggestions or ideas about what you'd like to see in the future, please feel free to contact me. I can't wait to hear what you think.
Christie R. Fremon
September 18: Summer Meeting/Plant Show, UC Botanical Garden
November 13: Fall Meeting, UC Botanical Garden
The BACPS Newsletter is a quarterly publication produced by the Bay Area Carnivorous Plant Society. For more information on membership, subscriptions, or events, please visit our website: www.bacps.org.
BACPS
825 Bennington St.
Manteca, CA 95336