Camaraderie sure spices things up

A couple of Sundays ago, I hosted the Philippine Cactus & Succulent Society’s monthly meeting at my house. It was a particularly rainy week leading up to that Sunday, so I was really hoping for the best, but was prepared for the worst. August in Metro Manila isn’t really the best month to have a garden event. For most cacti and succulents, in particular, many of these actually experience a brief "resting period" around this time of the year, where overall growth slows or stands still, flowers disappear, and the plants just don’t look their best.

On that particular Sunday, I can honestly say, my plants weren’t at their best. Just a few weeks before, quite a number of the plants were in bloom. And sure enough, as I write this article, quite a number of my wards are flowering again, including some rare Astrophytums and Turbinicarpus. That day was quite overcast, but surprisingly, there was no rain for the better part of the day. So much so that I decided to have the merienda tables and food set up in the garden. Fortunately, by the time the inevitable and torrential rains showed up, most of us were done with the food. But we had to move into the house for the rest of the meeting proper. Oh well, I’ll remember to choose a better month to host the meeting next year.

The turnout was quite good, with almost 40 members and friends showing up. After a brief chit-chat, we proceeded to my first greenhouse which houses mainly cacti, with a smattering of succulents on the side. I also have a small collection of rare Euphorbias and Stapeliads like Pseudolithos and Larryleachia (formerly Trichocaulon, but I know these terms all sound like Martian to you anyway) housed here. And I’ve started an interest in Aloes which are located here too. We later explored my second greenhouse on the other side of the house, which contains my Haworthia reference collection.

We spent a good deal of time inside the first greenhouse, where I explained the various types of North and South American cacti which interest me. I’ve arranged my collection in such a way that most of the North American and Mexican cacti are grouped together on one side of the greenhouse (i.e., the side which generally receives most of the direct sunlight), while the South Americans are bunched on the other, less sun-exposed side. I do this because, generally speaking, South American cacti like Gymnocalyciums, Fraileas, Copiapoas and the like can stand more tropical, wetter conditions better than their Mexican and North American counterparts (And I stress the words "generally speaking," for there are always exceptions to the rule here). So it helps me when I water and tend the plants to bunch those with more similar requirements together. It just makes things easier for me and maybe those with very large collections.

Of course, the first thing I explained to the members was that we are all prisoners of our own growing conditions. I believe most of the members do not have ideal growing conditions to begin with, and so many of our plants are not able to achieve their utmost beauty and true capabilities. In my case, my greenhouses are located at the sides of the house. This results in a good part of the day (and the year) where direct sunlight, vital for true growth and flowering, is impaired. And ventilation is also constrained somewhat by the close confines of the house and the surrounding wall. We all yearn for open space and unconstrained sunlight into our desert greenhouses, but we can’t have it all, and our growing regimens and plants just have to adapt to what we’re dealt with.

In my growing conditions, I can say that some plants have thrived. Many of the rarer Mexican cacti like Turbinicarpus species do quite well. Even the very difficult to grow Ariocarpus seem to do fine, although flowering is impaired. One species of Astrophytum which is reputed to be the most difficult to grow in the genus is A. asterias, the sand dollar cactus because of its appearance. This plant thrives and flowers regularly in my conditions. In fact, one beautiful and rare form is flowering right now. But the more common Bishop’s Cap (A. myriostigma) or the Star Cactus (A. ornatum) just don’t do very well with me and produce weaker new growth through the years. And then there are some of the more common Mammillarias which thrive like vegetables elsewhere, but sure have a hard time with me.

I fielded questions from the members throughout the day about the cacti on one side and the South African Haworthias on the other. Some were quite surprised that I’m only watering my cacti once every two weeks right now. But I again stress that this is a function of my growing conditions (location, use of plastic pots, growing medium, etc.); and what works for me may be a total disaster for someone else. But I know quite a few members were disappointed that I did not have any material for sale. Yes, I don’t sell my plants, but I promise to do a better job at propagation in the future. Maybe I’ll have a few items for sale next year.

Hosting friends and others interested in this hobby is always a pleasure for me. I am particularly happy to show guests my collection and explain to them why I like certain plants, why certain plants do well for me, why certain plants just never thrive in my conditions, and other topics of interest. In fact, one of the best things about collecting something or immersing one’s self in a hobby is being able to share that collection and interest with others. I know in my case, this camaraderie is very important and rekindles my interest in my hobbies time and time again. I think hobbyists of all kinds, whether they be philatelists, numismatists, shell collectors or rock enthusiasts, tend to lose some interest in their hobbies if they keep their hobbies to themselves. I think the social aspects of our hobbies, whether these be in meetings, parties or friendly competition, always help to spice things up and make our hobbies that much more interesting for us. My collections and interests always get a boost when I receive compliments or criticism about these, and I welcome both. Thanks to my fellow collectors and friends who help to really spice things up for me!

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E-mail the author at succulentophile@yahoo.com.