When and Where
Why Attend Our Meetings?
Why Attend Our Meetings?
We'd love for you to join us. Visitors welcomed!
Why Attend Our Meetings?
Why Attend Our Meetings?
Why Attend Our Meetings?
They are fun, educational, and you will leave with more plants!
CSSM Recorded Programs
Why Attend Our Meetings?
CSSM Recorded Programs
Check out our latest recorded programs on YouTube.
CSSM Monthly Programs
Via ZOOM Meeting September 19, 2020 - Kelly Griffin: Cacti and Succulents of Chile
Note Change in Start Time from 1pm to 3:30pm!
Kelly Griffin is a plant explorer, propagator, hybridizer, researcher, writer and photographer, speaker, nursery owner, and manager of succulent plant development for Altman Plants. He is also a Director of the Cactus and Succulent Society of America.
He has introduced over 100 succulents, including the popular Aloe ‘Christmas Carol’, Agave ‘Blue Glow’, and Agave guiengola ‘Creme Brulee’. Kelly has been credited by Denver Botanic Garden’s Panayote Kelaidis as having “propelled overnight the container succulent craze across the U.S".
Kelly comes to us warmly recommended by long-time friend and mentor Woody Minnich, who was our featured speaker in October 2019.
Time: 3:30p-5:30p
Location: ZOOM Meeting (Details will be sent to all members)
Via ZOOM Meeting October 17, 2020 - Russell Wagner: Mesembs
Note Change in Start Time from 1pm to 3:30pm!
Russell is the founder of Little Sphaeroid Press, which publishes fine books on succulent plants and desert ecologies. He is also past Editor of the Cactus and Succulent Journal, which is the magazine of the Cactus and Succulent Society of America. Russell maintains a large and varied collection of seed-grown mesembs, rare winter-rainfall bulbs and other neophytes, succulent daisies, and a smattering of miniature cacti. An enthusiast of growing from seed (95% of his collection came from seed he grew himself), Russell loves to encourage people to try it.
Topic: Russell will lead off with a tour of his greenhouse, then segue into a slide presentation touching on an overview of the Mesembryanthemum genera with many of his own photos of plants in cultivation and habitat, also touching on his experiences in hybridization and exploration.
Time: 3:30p-6:00p
Location: ZOOM Meeting (Details will be sent to all members)
Via ZOOM Meeting November 21, 2020 - Gunnar Eisel: The Folklore, Enchantment, and Evolution of the C&S Hobby from 1889 to the Present Day
Note Change in Start Time from 1pm to 3:30pm!
The allure of cacti and succulents has fascinated people for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. However, unlike some other horticultural endeavors, interest in C&S is fairly new. This program focuses on the people, the changing American landscape, and a curious set of events that have shaped our hobby as we find it today.
Gunnar Eisel's interest in cacti and succulents can be traced back to his childhood infatuation with photographing night-blooming cereus flowers and a few unfortunate encounters with opuntia glochids. His interest in cacti became intensified through many annual trips to the Anza-Borrego desert.
Born and raised near Heidelberg, Germany, Eisel taught music at CSULA, CSUF, Whittier College, and Fullerton College. He recently retired as music professor at Citrus College in Glendora where his students were frequently subjected to his rantings regarding cacti and succulents.
An avid C&S collector, he serves as Executive Director of the Cactus and Succulent Society of America and President of the San Gabriel Valley Cactus and Succulent Society.
Time: 3:30p-6:00p
Location: ZOOM Meeting (Details will be sent to all members)
Via Zoom Meeting December 19, 2020 - Lau Magner: Westward Ho! The Southwest Unmasked
Note Change in Start Time from 1pm to 3:30pm!
Lau, past President and currently a Vice President of CSSM, is known for leading unique expeditions to the desert Southwest in pursuit of plants, national parks, quirky American roadside discoveries (Kathy’s Kosmic Kowgirl Kafe, Area 51, The Goddess Institute), and hole-in-the-wall authentic Mexican eateries.
Lau will present a travelogue sharing the sights and mostly true exploits of his most recent expedition (pre Covid-19) leading a band of 20+ CSSM members who made camp in Ajo, Arizona and explored south to Mexico, east to Tucson, and west to Quitobaquito.
Time: 3:30p-6:00p
Location: ZOOM Meeting (Details will be sent to all members)
JANUARY 16, 2021 and BEYOND
Stay tuned for more information about upcoming programs. Whether in person or via Zoom, we are hard at work putting together an exciting schedule of programs right through June!
Check back often.