BAY NEWS

Newsletter of the San Francisco Gesneriad Society

Volume 29, No. 3, March 2007

 

 
Next Meeting: Sunday, March 18, 2007

Program: Fred Grafelman on African Violets

 

 

 

 

The Prez Sez...

by Katherine Henwood

 

"In like a lamb and out like a lion..."  So they say!  And I must say that so far March has been very gentle. In the garden I have violets in bloom, cymbidiums, primrose, freesias, clivia, an iris and the ever present red geranium that climbs up the cotoneaster.  A flock of robins came in and stripped the cotoneaster several weeks ago, and I notice that a lone robin comes by in the afternoon, just checking I suppose!

 

Not much doing on the gesneriad front, just a chirita and the occasional columnea.

More to come later I hope!

 

This month's program will be on the  African Violet, so bring questions and  maybe some leaves to share?

 

Looking forward to seeing you all.

 

 

This Month’s Program

by Terri Campbell

 

For our March meeting, we will have a speaker, Fred Grafelman, who will give us a talk on African violets (saintpaulias).

 

In February, we missed seeing the slides of Harriet Poss' trip to Ecuador.  Harriet will bring the slides in and we can view them at the next meeting when time permits.

 

 

 

Brazilplants Support Group

by David Waugh

 

Our Club is a member of this group and entitled to seed packets.   Our allotment of seeds for the Oct-Dec 2006 period have now arrived.   Only two members requested seeds so there are 5 seed packets available to anyone who wants them.   They will be put on the raffle table at the March meeting if no one claims them before the raffle.  Here is what is available:

 

 

 

Growing Ideas

by Lorah Gross

 

I was in Panama recently (you can see my pictures at http://img.stimpy.net/pics/panama2007/) and among other activities, I visited an amazing Orchid Farm called Finca Dracula. Since it is nearly impossible for the individual to import orchids into the US, I didn’t take any plants away with me. However, I took many pictures of the gorgeous orchids and also got some growing ideas that would be useful not only for orchids but other kinds of plants, too. There were two ideas in particular that I really liked: using fence walls as a vertical plant stand and using the mesh you get when you buy bulk fruit for growing.

 

Above is a picture of the plants attached to the fence. They wrapped the pots in wire and attached them. I think that it is not only a practical use of tight space but would be an attractive addition to a garden.

 

The other thing that I really liked (and already started using the method with my air plants) is the bulk fruit mesh method. It holds little plants really well, you can put a variety of mixtures in the mesh to control humidity, and it is very easy to hang up and take down. There are two pictures of this: a round ball and a long snake shape.

 

 

Episcias

by Terri Campbell and David Waugh

 

Episcias, sometimes called "flame violets" or "peacock plants," are tropical members of the gesneriaceae family from the mountains of Costa Rica, Peru, Panama, Brazil, Mexico, and some of the Pacific Islands.  They are mainly terrestrial plants and are fibrous rooted. They prefer warmer temperatures, and do not do well in cultivation if the temperatures are below 60 degrees.  Episcias are generally happy growing indoors as long as they have 50% or more humidity.  They may be misted once a day, and humidity trays may be used under the plants to raise the humidity in the air. With sufficient indirect light, they will bloom often with orange, red, pink, white, or yellow flowers, depending on the variety, but the plants are mainly grown for their attractive foliage.  Of the varieties in cultivation, episcia cupreata, fimbriata, lilacina, reptans, sphalera, and xantha may be purchased from various gesneriad suppliers.  Many hybrids are available as well. Belisle's Violets, a nursery in Wisconsin, lists at least 135 varieties in their catalog.

 

As episcias root from cuttings easily, many growers start new cuttings each year.  Stolons or tip cuttings should be used, rather than a single leaf.  They do not root well in water.  In potting mix, and covered in plastic bags or with domes in a warm area, they readily root. Like most gesneriads, they will grow well in a light, soil-less mix and underpotted.

 

Some episcias, the 'Cleopatra' types with bright pink variegated leaves, must be grown inside a plastic dome container or another type of terrarium at all times.  Look for vintage "fruit ripening bowls" in thrift shops or at garage sales.  Suitable containers may also be found new, in glass or plastic.   The episcia species fimbriata, lilacina, and sphalera also appreciate being enclosed in a transparent container.

 

Episcias are semi-dormant during the winter.  They will usually shrink in size, and should be kept moist, but given less water than at other times of the year.   Keeping them covered with domes or plastic will help to keep them warm and give them the humidity they need.

 

They are attractive potted as single plants, or with multiple cuttings in one pot, and may be exhibited either way in a Gesneriad Society show.

 

 

Gesneriaceae of Costa Rica and Board Meeting Retreat

by Jon Dixon

 

In February, the board of the Gesneriad Society came to San Francisco for a weekend planning retreat, to develop new projects for the society.  They met at the building at the arboretum, where they also toured the gardens. During the event I, along with Jeanne Katzenstein got a chance to meet Ricardo Kriebel, a Costa Rican who is currently a graduate student in botany at SF State.  He has recently written a book, the Gesneriaceae of Costa Rica, which a number of people in the Gesneriad Society have bought.  They have given it rave reviews for its botanical information and photos.  The book is part of a series put out by the Missouri Botanical Garden.

 

The board retreat was a two day event with about 23 people, coming from all over the US and Canada.  While the board holds official meetings only at the annual convention this midyear get-together is for long range planning and other issues.  This year, the group decided to devote the two days to membership promotion for the society.  The group held group meetings to develop a discussion format and then broke into individual groups to discuss specific areas identified in the first meeting.  Then, they got back together to discuss the proposals made in the small groups.  The board finished the meetings with an outline of specific projects to work on, with the goal of having the initial work completed by convention time.  The goal of the meetings is to increase the membership in the society, which is important for several reasons.  We want to bring in more gesneriad growers as ell as increase the interest in gesneriads.  The society will benefit with increased membership, making it possible to provide more services to members and obtain better pricing for the publication of the journal.

 

 

Minutes of the February 18, 2007 Meeting

by David Waugh

 

The meeting was called to order at 1:25pm by President Katherine Henwood.   The following were also present:  David Waugh, Larry Williams, Gene and Dotty Sussli, Terri Lynn Campbell,  Jon Dixon, and guests Tommy Liu and Tehshan Lee.  

 

Minutes:  There were no corrections to the minutes for the January meeting which were in the February newsletter. 

 

The Treasurer passed around a report summarizing our financial condition for  January 2007.  We have a comfortable balance in our checking account as well at our CD.  If anyone not at the meeting wants a copy of this report please request it the Treasurer.  There are no outstanding bills.

 

New Business:  We now have a substantial supply of various size pots for sale at cost.  They are available for purchase at the meetings. 

 

Ron Parsons did the program at the November meeting and is entitled to the normal fee we give speakers.  He has suggested that, instead of paying him the fee, we give him membership to our club for 2007 and membership in the Gesneriad Society for year 2007. This was presented to the members present who voted unanimously to accept this method of handling the speaker fee for Ron Parsons.

 

A new book “Gesneriaceae of Costa Rica” has been published.   See the article by Jon Dixon in the newsletter.

 

The Board of Directors of the Gesneriad Society has a retreat every year and this time they elected to come to San Francisco.   See the article by Jon Dixon about the retreat.

 

Continuing Business:   Meeting programs for the rest of the year were discussed and the final results will be listed in the Year Book 2007 to be distributed shortly.  The program for March 2007 will be a lecture by Fred Grafelman, President of the San Francisco African Violet Society

 

The booklet “Know and Grow Gesneriads” has been revised by the Gesneriad Society and will be mailed to all members of the Gesneriad Society shortly.

 

Program:  The program for this meeting was to be a slide show of gesneriads of Equador, but the slides did not arrive.    Instead we discussed Episcias.  See the article in the newsletter.

 

Gene Sussli gave us a history of his interest in gesneriads, starting with streptocarpus.  See the article in the April newsletter.

 

We then did Show and Tell and the Raffle. 

 

The meeting was adjourned by 4pm.             

             

 

 

 

2006 Officers

President:  Katherine Henwood

Vice President:  Terri Lynn Campbell

Secretary:  David Waugh

Treasurer:  Gene Sussli

Newsletter Editor/Webmaster: Lorah Gross lorah@lorah.net

Brazilplants Support Club San Francisco contact: David Waugh

 

 

Meetings: Usually third Sunday of each month, 1-4 p.m. at Library of County Fair Bldg., Golden Gate Park, San Francisco.  (Enter from parking lot North side of 10th Avenue and Lincoln Blvd., turn right through gate next to building, go to third door) 

 

2006 meetings: January 15, February 19, March 19, April 23, May 21, July 16, August 20, September 17, November 19, December 17 Holiday Luncheon at Lakeside Café.

 

Shows, Sales, and Field Trips:

June 3 Display and Sale, June 18 Field Trip to Annie’s Annuals, July 4-8 Convention in Rochester NY, August 11-20 San Mateo County Fair, September 23-24 Show and Sale, October 21 Field Trip to Delta Show.

 

Dues: $10 single, $11 family. Make checks payable to AGS SF, mail to Treasurer.

 

Website: http://www.sfgesneriads.org