BACPS	Bulletin
	August 2006

In This Issue

	Fifth Annual Show and Sale, August 26, 2006
	Upcoming Events
Wading pools at California Carnivores, July 2006

Fifth Annual Show and Sale, August 26, 2006

by Stephen Davis

Everything is in place for the fifth consecutive BACPS Annual Plant Show and Sale. Now it's time for the club members to step forward and show the Bay Area what incredible plants carnivorous plants are!

The hardest thing we have faced at the show is not getting a location, people, or vendors -- it's getting entries. Perhaps you think that only the best growers are worthy of entering, or perhaps you don't think your plant is perfect, but whatever the reason, WE NEED YOU to bring in your plants to show! (There's going to be more exciting news on changes to the show over the coming weeks. Keep checking the show information on the website!)

People want to see these plants, and we have not done the best possible job showing the public what carnivorous plants are about. If you don't feel up to the competition, forget the competition. THIS IS ABOUT SHOWING AND EDUCATING THE PUBLIC. It's also about having a good time, and the best way to do that is to see lots of plants. If nobody brings plants in, it's only half the fun it would have been.

Last year there was a split-second decision that, made in the wrong direction, would have meant that there would NOT have been a single Cephalotus for everyone to see. How can we have a show without one of the most intricate and interesting CP of them all? I happen to know that that Cephalotus was repotted and won't be appearing this year -- we need a replacement.

And why are there only a few Venus flytraps every year? Let's show the public a carpet of them. Not only a carpet, but bring in all those odd forms! Get people excited!

What about big, mature plants?! Get some help. I know people have vans and would be glad to help.

For those of you who don't like to compete, we will have a box to select on the entry form that says "Display." At least share with us and help educate the public. Also, this is not an orchid show where we are going to tell you your plant is not worthy of judging. Everybody gets to play. I've won several ribbons that I was not expecting to win. I am not the best grower, yet every once in a while someone thinks I have a winner.

Some people have said they can't stay, and we do have a requirement that plants stay until we close at 4:00. My suggestion is that you recruit a friend to take care of the plant for you if you can't stay until the end. (Unfortunately, empty tables at 3:30 is not the statement we want the club to make.) Perhaps you can arrange it at the show, but find a way. We need you!

We expect to have almost every vendor we've had in the past, plus a couple of new ones! We expect quite a turnout of the amateurs, too! Only have a plant or two to sell? Contact Stephen Davis (stephenwd@sbcglobal.net) and we will help you out -- or donate it to the raffle. We have to pay for this somehow.

This is an education show, and in that light, we are asking for some additional help from members.

1. Are you a student and have done a science project or made a presentation on CP at your school, or just on your own?
   1. Bring in pictures of you giving your presentation, perhaps some materials you used, thank-you notes, or posters from the class...whatever you have.
   2. At least one student will bring in her science project to display. Bring yours in too.
   3. Another young member showed a how he had grown some VFTs in tissue culture. It wasn't a school project, but pictures or a display of this would be great.
   4. Anything else you are proud of!
2. Pictures of your collection
   Bring in some pictures of your collection. Show how you are growing them, etc. We will put them up on a board for people to see.
3. Plant Entries "Fun-Fact-To-Know"
   1. Do you have a Fun-Fact-To-Know? We will have a blank template to put in your fun fact. They will be next to your plant, or wherever appropriate. Check the website for entry information.
   2. What's a fun fact?
      1. Drosophyllum is one of only a few CP that are not bog plants. In fact, it requires very dry conditions, and for this reason is a challenge to grow.
      2. Many frogs sit in pitchers and catch insects. Some Nepenthes capture frogs, and when the frogs are eaten, all that is left in the fluid are little matching frog-gloves. Apparently, the skin on the frog hands is resistant to digestion.
      3. Nepenthes pitchers are used to cook rice. They are filled with rice, then put into pots of boiling water.
      4. Nepenthes lowii is a bird toilet.
      5. Nepenthes bicalcarata (known for its two vampire-like fangs) can also be referred to as an ant plant. Ants burrow into the hollow tendrils and raise their young.
      6. Venus flytraps are native to a 70-square-mile area in North and South Carolina.
   3. We will check them for accuracy. Put your source on the back, or give credit to the author if you copied it from a book. We reserve the right to withhold a "fun fact" if we can't verify correctness.

We could also use volunteers. Please contact Dominic Diaz, Show Chairman, at kingdom079@aol.com and tell him what you can do.

Positions that are vacant:

Plant Doctors
Photographer
Judges' Assistants
Runners
Data Entry

Please check the BACPS website for the flyer and take it to local nurseries, work, college campuses, and your favorite hangouts. Email it to your friends, and even your mother to take to her garden club and send to her friends. It's called gorilla marketing, and it's better than anything that I can think of to get the word out and attendance up (and that is coming from someone in advertising).

Upcoming Events

August 26, 2006: BACPS Annual Show and Sale, Lakeside Park Garden Center in Oakland
November 11, 2006: Fall Meeting

Photo Credits

2005 Show photos -- Stephen Davis; California Carnivores wading pools -- Tony Gridley

The BACPS Bulletin serves as a monthly forum for members to make CP-related announcements: events, want ads, items for sale, information sought, growing tips, etc. Submissions must be received by Tony Gridley by the 23rd of the month prior to publication.