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When and Where
We'd love for you to join us
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Why Attend Our Meetings?
They are fun, educational, and you will leave with more plants!
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CSSM Recorded Programs
Check out our latest recorded programs on YouTube
September 14, 2024: 18th Annual Cactus and Succulent Festival
In-person Celebration
Visit our Festival page for more details
Mark your calendars for this must-attend event. The Festival is always a great time to admire hundreds of plants on exhibit, to buy fabulous plants, pots, books, tools, and gifts from 25+ vendors, and to feast on the best hot dogs this side of Fenway Park.
Time: 9:00a-4:00p
Location: Norfolk Public Library - 2 Liberty Lane, Norfolk, MA 02056
November 3, 2024: Searching for Succulents in All the Wrong Places
Important Note: We break from tradition to meet on a Sunday and to combine October's and November's meetings. This to present a very special program by a very special guest speaker - Panayoti Kelaidis!
In a lifetime of plant exploration and introductions, Panayoti Kelaidis has logged miles all over the world in search of succulents, ranging from South Africa, Europe, the Caucasus, Turkey, the Himalayas, Central Asia, and the Andes. A noted horticulturist, plant explorer, and the Director of Outreach and Senior Curator at the Denver Botanic Garden where he designed and curated their famous Rock Alpine Garden, Kelaidis has visited all the global ‘hot spots’ of the succulent world - places known for their rich and exotic succulent habitats and the source of many of our own collections.
But Kelaidis has also found succulent treasures in ‘Wrong Places’ - geographical areas that aren’t commonly thought of as succulent habitats - and many of those discoveries are hardy and able to thrive in our East Coast gardens.
Kelaidis’ Wrong Places include a large swath of the Himalayas, east and central Asia, high altitudes of South Africa, Argentina, and southern Patagonia, and our own Rocky Mountains.
He has introduced hundreds of native ornamentals and exotic plants to the gardening public, most notably delosperma, or ‘ice plants’, and many of those that he will show us from ‘the Wrong Places’ are similarly available in the plant trade.
Please keep in mind that this is a special meeting, starting at 12 Noon, on Sunday, November 3rd in Norfolk! See you then.
Time: 12:00p-4:00p
Location: Norfolk Public Library - 2 Liberty Lane, Norfolk, MA 02056
January 4, 2025: CSSM Holiday Party
In-person Celebration
IMPORTANT NOTE: Due to availability, we must move this celebration after the holidays.
No formal meeting, we’ll be having a potluck lunch with lots of laughter, an optional gift swap, and gift plants for all registered attendees. CSSM Registered Members only.
Time: 1:00p-4:00p
Location: First Universalist Society Meeting House - 262 Chestnut St, Franklin, MA 02038
January 18, 2025: Agavaceae & Crassulaceae Highlights of Jalisco and Michoacan, Mexico
Virtual meeting via Zoom
Nearly 20 years ago, Julia Etter and Martin Kristen made Jalisco, Mexico their home, embracing the local culture and lifestyle. Now practically Mexican, they immerse themselves in tending their expansive garden and greenhouse, designing a botanical garden for a major Tequila factory, and caring for a lively menagerie of chickens and seven cats. Despite their busy lives, they still seize every opportunity to explore the field. Since 2009, Julia and Martin have collaborated with botanists from the Institute of Biology at UNAM and the University of Guadalajara. Their contributions to botany have been honored with several plant species named after them, including Agave kristenii, Echeveria juliana, E. kristenii, Graptopetalum kristenii, and Sedum kristenii. Their work has been widely published in books, journals, and online, reflecting their deep commitment to sharing the beauty and knowledge of these remarkable plants. More information about their work can be found at agavaceae.com and crassulaceae.com.
Time: 1:00p-4:00p
Location: Zoom details to be sent to members
February 15, 2025: Sulcorebutia: a Virtual Tour Through Bolivia
Virtual meeting via Zoom
Sulcorebutia is a genus of fascinating, but taxonomically confusing miniature cacti from the high altitudes in the Bolivian Andies that can put on spectacular flowering displays. This presentation will start by introducing the genus Sulcorebutia from a scientific perspective. This will include a brief discussion on the taxonomy of these plants including how they are related (or not) to many similar-looking groups including Aylostera, Cintia, Rebutia, Mediolobivia, and Weingartia, plus information on other aspects of their biology. Next, it will summarize some of the special care that these plants require to do well and flower profusely in cultivation. Finally, it will conclude with a "virtual tour of Bolivia": a slide show of plants from my collection grouped by locality to reflect which species can be seen in vicinity of one another in nature.
Jackson Burkholder grew up attending Colorado Cactus and Succulent Society events which sparked his lifelong passion for desert flora. He studied horticulture at Colorado State University for his undergrad and recently graduated from Texas State University with a master’s degree in biology after conducting extensive research on cactus extrafloral nectaries.
Jackson has served on the board of directors of the Cactus and Succulent Society of America since 2020, and has held many board positions within the Colorado Cactus and Succulent Society. When he is not working on research projects, Jackson can be found in his greenhouse where he focuses on cultivating South American cacti and winter hardy North American species or at an antique mall or garage sale keeping an eye out for cameras, clocks, and art from the past.
Time: 1:00p-4:00p
Location: Zoom details to be sent to members
March 15, 2025: Crassula
In-person meeting
The genus Crassula is a diverse group of about 200 species of succulent plants, native all around the world, including one obscure representative in the New England flora. Southern Africa, however, is the region with by far the greatest number of crassulas, especially the winter-rainfall regions of South Africa, where many of the species of interest to succulent plant collectors originate. Matt Opel will discuss the forms, ecology and cultivation of a wide variety of Crassula, ranging from the omnipresent Jade Plant (C. ovata), to choice dwarf succulents like the Strawberry Crassula (C. fragarioides),to the peculiar umbrella-leaved geophyte C. umbella.
Matthew R. Opel, PhD
Matt Opel is a native of the Northeast U.S., who started exhibiting definite signs of being obsessive about desert plants in elementary school, when he spent his lunch money buying Lithops at a local botanical garden plant sale. He has a degree in biology from Cornell University, and received a doctorate from the University of Connecticut for research on the morphology and evolution of the South African dwarf succulent genus Conophytum. He has traveled for botanizing in southern Africa and the American Southwest. Matt has published on botanical subjects, primarily South African succulents but also carnivorous plants and ferns. He currently lives in the quiet corner of Connecticut, and works as collections scientist for the UConn Botanical Conservatory.
Time: 1:00p-4:00p
Location: Norfolk Public Library - 2 Liberty Lane, Norfolk, MA 02056
April 19, 2025
In-person meeting
Details to follow.
Time: 1:00p-4:00p
Location: Norfolk Public Library - 2 Liberty Lane, Norfolk, MA 02056
May 17, 2025: Sedums
In-person meeting
Ed Snodgrass, owner and president of Green Roof Plants, a wholesale perennial nursery that specializes in providing plants for green roof gardens, will be speaking about sedums. He will introduce both hardy outdoor varieties and suitable candidates for windowsill and greenhouse growing. Over the years, Ed has traveled extensively in search of plant varieties that thrive in the extreme conditions of open-air, year-round, highly exposed locations. His journeys have taken him to New Zealand, Australia, North Africa, the Northwest U.S., and Mexico.
As a leading expert in green roofs and horticulture, Ed has consulted on projects across the United States, Europe, and in countries including New Zealand, China, Australia, Mexico, and Morocco. He is a popular speaker and the author of Green Roof Plants: A Resource and Planting Guide (Timber Press, 2006).
Ed also collaborates with academic institutions on green roof research, including the University of Maryland, Penn State University, and others both domestically and internationally. At Emory Knoll Farms, the home of Green Roof Plants, the company grows sedums, succulents, herbaceous perennials, grasses, and bulbs. The farm features 10 green roofs dedicated to testing plants, soil mixes, stormwater management, and biodiversity, as well as numerous trial gardens for evaluating new plant varieties.
Time: 1:00p-4:00p
Location: Norfolk Public Library - 2 Liberty Lane, Norfolk, MA 02056
June 21, 2025: Annual Picnic
In-person event
This year we’ll explore some of New England’s oldest greenhouses and enjoy a group picnic to kick off the summer.
Time: 1:00p-4:00p
Location: Directions to the picnic will be sent to members in May. Keep an eye out!