Recent events!
Wednesday, March 20, 2024 - The program this month featured 2 giants in the succulent world, 2 men from South Africa.
Adam Harrower - "The miniature world of the Knersvlakte, South Africa"
Adam is from Cape Town where he is the succulent curator at Kirstenbosch Botanical Garden. It is one of the premier botanical gardens in the world where a lot of research has been conducted.
Karel DuToit - "Richtersveld - The Spectacular Wilderness"
Karel is from Springbok, is a commander of the endangered species unit of the South African Police Force. Karel became interested in the native succulents of his region and now conducts more field work than just about anyone. He spends a lot of time working cases and trying to catch people collecting wild plants to export for sale. In the past few years, there has been an epidemic of plant poaching to send overseas for sale. Karel talked a bit about the poaching and police work but mostly about all the beautiful plants he has seen in nature.

Wednesday, February 28, 2024 - Horticultural Discussion!
Our program was a free-for-all question and answer session about growing cacti and succulents.  
Topics included pest control, fertilizer, watering issues, outdoor gardens, cold frames, soil mixes, etc....
Panelists include Steven Brack, Ralph Peters, Rob Romero, & Greg Smith (and others)

Wednesday, January 17, 2024 - Our speaker was Gretchen Ward.  She talked about Christmas and Easter cacti, their variation, and how to grow them to make lots of flowers.

Saturday, December 9, 2023 - Holiday Potluck dinner.  CSSNM provided the meat dishes and members brought in salads, casseroles, soups, breads, deserts, etc. to share.  Following the meal, members provided informal, short, "5 minute" presentations,  Setup was at 5 pm and dinner at 6 pm.We had a large crowd (40+ people) this year. 

Wednesday, November 15, 2023 - Dave Ferguson presented the "Dry Fruited Prickly Pears of New Mexico".  All of these dry fruited prickly pears are very cold hardy and have brightly colored flowers. They can be grown in xeric gardens almost anywhere in NM except the high elevations above 8000 ft. Dave shows all the species and varieties with many in flower.

Wednesday, October 18, 2023 - Woody Minnich presented the "Gymnocalyciums"

Saturday and Sunday, September 2 and 3, 2023 (Labor Day weekend) We hosted a show with presentations at the Albuquerque Botanic Garden
from 10 am to 4 pm.

Wednesday, August 16, 2023 - Steven Brack talked about "The cacti, rock garden plants and volcanoes of Neuquen in Argentina".

Wednesday, June 21, 2023 - Elliott Gordon talked about making outdoor gardens a great habitat for wildlife. Bees and other pollinators are critical for food production and sustaining the world's natural ecosystems. In this introductory presentation, we learned about the lives and value of North American pollinators, the major current threats to their survival, and simple solutions for pollinator conservation that anyone can implement in their cactus and succulent gardens.

Saturday, May 13, 2023 - We visited Laurel and Ginny Sillerud and their very diverse garden with all sorts of cacti, yuccas, agaves, and other xeric plants.
 
Saturday & Sunday, April 8 and 9, 2023 - 2023 Spring show and sale!

March 15, 2023 - Jeff Thompson from Pueblo, CO has been making hybrids with Echinocereus and has some amazing results with incredible flowers. He specializes in making hybrids that are hardy for our outdoor gardens.

February 15, 2023 - Daniel Carbajal from Belen gave a program on growing Haworthias, Aloes, and Sanseverias. He grows them outdoors under shade cloth when it is above freezing. His plants are very pretty and well grown from being outdoors for over half of the year getting natural sunlight, fresh air, and some rain.

Wednesday, January 18, 2023 - Steven Brack presented "Adventures in Hardy Cacti and Succulents".  He has been experimenting with different kinds of cacti and succulents for the past several years in different beds in his yard in Albuquerque.  Some very nice surprises have come to light with many different plants that can be grown here and do well.  The great unknown is the number of hardy South African mesembs that can be grown here, he has just begun the work on testing them.

Wednesday, November 16, 2022 - Penny Hoe talked about the pollination of cactus flowers by native bees. She has many close up pictures of various bees doing their work.

Wednesday, November 9, 2022 - Club members were invited on a hike and 8 people came to hike in the Gutierrez - Milne Open Space in the foothills east of the Sandias.  It was a very nice day and we did see a lot of cacti, yuccas, various wildflowers, and some Verbenas in flower.

Wednesday, October 19, 2022 - This month we talked about Lithops which are currently flowering! What are they?  How does one grow them?....
Rebecca Stoneman's presentation was "Sowats Revisted, a Cactus Journey in Kanab Creek Wilderness". This wilderness region is south of Fredonia AZ and feeds into the Grand Canyon.  It is really scenic "canyon country"

Saturday & Sunday, September 3 & 4, 2022 - CSSNM hosted  a Labor Day Show at the Albuquerque Botanic Garden.  We were near the main entrance to the botanic garden and had over 1200 visitors.

Wednesday, August 17, 2022 - Gretchen Ward talked about epiphytic cacti; most have large, spectacular flowers.  There are several genera of these plants, as well as a huge number of hybrids that have been bred for floral traits. These plants are native to more tropical regions, during the summer monsoon season they are very happy with the higher humidity here. She talked quite a bit about how to grow them here and have them flower well.

Wednesday, June 15, 2022 - Ralph Peters talked about the miniature cactus, Pediocactus knowltonii (see photos below), and its history.  It is found on only 1 hill in New Mexico near the border with Colorado. It was re-discovered by the CSSNM after the original discoverer (Fred Knowlton) was killed in a house fire.  He showed photos from 3 different visits to the habitat.  He talked about their cultivation, including growing them from seed.
P. knowltonii in habitat
Young P. knowltonii with bud
P. knowltonii with flowers

May 14, 2022 - Hike to see flowering cacti north of Rio Rancho, NM

May 7, 2022 - Tour of yards and greenhouses of 3 CSSNM members that live in the NE Heights of Albuquerque

April 9 & 10, 2022 - Spring Show & Sale at the Albuquerque Garden Center!

Wednesday, March 16, 2022 at 7 pm -- This was a hybrid in-person/ZOOM meeting.  Siegfried Lodwig talked about having cactus and succulent flowers in every week of the year.  Check out his galleries of flower pictures!

Saturday, February 26, 2022 at 10:00 am -- Jakub Jilemicky from Prague, Czech Republic talked about Haworthias via Zoom. He is an expert on Haworthias, both in nature and in cultivation, and has taken many trips to South Africa to study them. He also talked about the many other succulents that grow with Haworthias.

Friday, January 21, 2022 -- Tom Glavich talked about Geophytic Plants -- plants that have large underground tubers in order to survive in a dry environment.

December 17, 2021 -- Holiday Party via Zoom again this month.  We had 8 different members do mini-presentations including from cacti and succulents of Argentina, hiking in the Guadalupe Mountains, and growing Christmas Cacti from seed.  We closed with music from Bill DellaRocco

November 19, 2021 -- Our program was presented by Bert Hendriksen who grows cacti and succulents on Vancouver Island, British Columbia which is an extremely wet location (at least for people from New Mexico!).

October 15, 2021 --  Dan Mahr, a retired professor from the University of Wisconsin, talked about the "Cacti of Brazil".

September 17, 2021 -  Steven Brack, Ralph Peters and Rod Haenii (from Colorado) talked about "Growing Mesembs Outdoors in New Mexico".  The "Mesemb group" is from southern Africa and includes "ice plants", "living stones" and many other interesting plants.  The number of genera is huge and includes Delosperma, Lithops, Ttitanopsis, Rabiea, Aloinopsis, Conophytum, Argyroderma, Ruschia,....  Many make good yard plants in Albuquerque!

August 20, 2021 -- The program was "Cacti & Succulents of New Mexico" by Steven Brack.  Steven has been traveling New Mexico (and the SW USA, Mexico, South Africa,...) for many years searching for plants so this was an entertaining and informative talk.

Friday, June 18, 2021 - Laurel Sillerud's garden was one that we visited in May.  He talked about how the garden was made and built.  He has a huge amount of rock work and many very nice rock specimens. He talked about highlights in the garden over the years and about what plants have done well for him. This garden is just amazing and the flower show is incredible.

May 2021 - We visited a few member's gardens!  The first garden visit was Saturday, May 8th, at the home of Laurel Sillerud.  The second visit was Saturday, May 15th when we visited Robert Perz and Greg Smith.

Friday, March 19, 2021
Jimmy Black from San Antonio, TX talked about the cacti from west Texas, the region west of the Pecos River.  Nearly all of these cacti can be grown here in Albuquerque in a sunny garden, and many have great flowers.

Friday, February 19, 2021 - The presentation by Steven Brack/Monica Ulivelli from Italy was about the recent movement to grow cacti and succulents in a style like they would be in the wild, and to make the pot look like a wild setting. There is a strong interest to recreate a natural scene in the pot, and to use natural soil materials.  The Italians practicing this put a lot of work into the presentation in the pot.
There is a Facebook group called 'Wild grown cacti and succulents'.

Friday, January 15, 2021 - The program "My Cold Tolerant Succulent Life" was given by Rod Haenni from the Denver area.  He has been experimenting with cold hardiness in cacti and succulents for many years, and has tried all sorts of plants other than the typical material.

Saturday, December 19, 2020 at 7 pm - We had a Zoom meeting consisting of 5 minute presentations by members! Speakers showed a plant or pictures of plants or other related subjects.

Friday, November 20, 2020  - Gary Duke gave the talk "What Kind of Cactus Is It?” - about how to determine the genus for many kinds of cacti. His talk is designed to help beginners to know what traits to look at to ID a cactus plant.  Gary has provided a handout that members can use during and after the presentation.

October 17, 2020  - Jakub Jilemicky talked about "The Best of Western Cape Succulents".  In this talk, he showed the high diversity of succulent flora of this part of South Africa with focus on Haworthias - he started at Namaqualand, went through the Cape Wine country, Little Karoo and finished at Great Karoo. 
He is an expert on the genus Haworthia in habitat.  He has taken many trips to South Africa to study the genus in nature, and has a very extensive collection where he produces and grows new plants from seed.  He has a well-known web site - www.haworthia-gasteria.com which is dedicated to the genera Haworthia, Astroloba and Gasteria.

September 11, 2020 - We had a Zoom meeting. Peter Breslin talked about the Cacti & Succulents of Baja California.  This is a huge area, more than 1000 miles long, with many mountains and rugged coastlines and everywhere you travel you will see cacti and succulents.  Many islands on both sides of Baja have many kinds of endemics. This program will have many beautiful plants in spectacular habitats.

Friday, August 21, 2020 - We had a Zoom meeting. Rob Romero's presentation was "The other Big Bend, travels through Big Bend Ranch State Park".

Friday, July 17, 2020 - We had a Zoom meeting (over the internet) so everyone could stay home.  It appeared to be successful.  Ralph Peters talked about Springtime in SE New Mexico.  There are many interesting cacti & succulents in this region and many are good yard plants in Albuquerque.

Friday, February 14, 2020 - Woody Minnich talked about world-wide conservation efforts in "Cactus and Succulent Conservation around the World".  Woody has provided a brief description of the presentation.

Friday, January 17, 2020 - Steven Brack presented "Out of the fire and into the pan".   In South Africa there are millions of places where flat exposed rock surfaces erode to create broad flat shallow pans that fill up with a thin layer of rock grit. In these pans many kinds of succulents, bulbs, etc have adapted to survive. During the cool months in winter and spring there is often overnight dew or frost that collects on the rocks that give a steady supply of moisture to the plants. Sometimes in the winter and spring there is a long drizzle or even rain that can fill the pans with water. At times the plants can be submerged.  During the hot dry summer months there is very little moisture so the plants go dormant, some pull down under the rocks to hide, while others endure the heat.   The program had many photos from nature.

Friday, November 15, 2019 - Irwin Lightstone from Texas gave a talk on photography of cacti and succulents.  His photos are beautiful.

Friday, October 18, 2019 - John Oberhausen from Santa Fe gave a presentation on “Cactus Rescue Project and the Santa Fe Cholla”.  It is the story of two people who decided to save an endangered plant, the Santa Fe Cholla, and in the process, are not only saving this endangered plant, but started a grass roots group that promotes the use of cactus as a xeric garden alternative in our drought plagued desert southwest. The Cactus Rescue Project has not only put in numerous community cactus gardens as a public service and teaching opportunity, but also gives classes and lectures to people on how they can do this in their own home gardens.

August 31 - September 2, 2019 - Cactus & Succulent Show at the Albuquerque Botanic Garden.  Pictures from this show and previous shows are in picture galleries.

Friday, August 16, 2019 - Gary Duke (a CSSNM member, years ago) talked about Bolivia in Bloom.  He selected photos that show cacti (including Cleistocactus, Echinopsis, Lobivia, Weingartia, Rebutia, and Sulcorebutia), bromeliads and wildflowers in bloom in the Bolivian spring.  His 3 week tour with Guillermo Rivera circled the altiplano with a side trip down into the eastern lowlands around Santa Cruz.

Friday, June 21, 2019 - Our speaker was Ad Konings on the Sex Life of Succulents.  The talk was very informative and entertaining.  There were a lot of microscopic photos about the pollination process of various cacti and succulents.”

Saturday May 4, 2019 - We had a garden tour to 2 cactus gardens in the north valley of Albuquerque from 1 pm to 3:30 pm; see link for more info. There was not a regular monthly meeting at the Garden Center.

Friday, March 15, 2019 - The program was be by Erik Gensler who grows many Echeveria agavoides.  He selects different strains of them for various characters, with different patterns of color in the leaves.  Then he makes seeds of them and grows new plants.  Many of the plants are very spectacular.  They are very well adapted to growing in NM.  Our cool nights, during most of the year, really enhances the colors.

Friday, February 15, 2019 - Oleg Lagutin talked about his trip to South Africa last year. He focused on all the many kinds of miniature bulbs in habitat and also showed and discussed many other succulents like Haworthias, Adromischus, Aloes, the Stapelia family and some of the thousands of kinds of living stone type plants as well.  A picture gallery shows a few examples.

Friday, January 18, 2019 - Woody Minnich talked about the Cacti of Chile.  He showed photos from his 5 trips to Chile .  The Atacama Desert is the driest region on earth, with rainfall amounts of just a few hundredths of an inch annually.  This with fog supports a rich cactus flora of genera like Copiapoa, Neoporteria, Eriosyce and Eulychnia, among others.  This photo gallery shows a few plants from this area.

Friday, November 16, 2018 - Steven Brack talked about some recent trips to southern NM and far north Chihuahua and showed the cacti and other xeric plants that grow there. The 2 most significant plants shown are Echinocereus chloranthus v. rhyolithensis and Echinocactus parryi. 


Echinocereus chloranthus v. rhyolithensis Echinocactus parryi

Friday, October 19, 2018 - Jim Hastings, the Gringo Gourmet from El Paso talked and prepared a dish using Opuntias.  Among his favorite dishes is rajas Poblanos (chile strips), pan roasted corn and garlic and chicken broth for a great soup.

Saturday - Monday, September 1-3, 2018 - We hosted a Cactus & Succulent Show, Demonstrations, and Presentations at the Albuquerque Botanic Garden. This link has more information about the show and the Albuquerque Botanic Garden.  Checkout the picture galleries of the shows.

Coloradoa mesae-verde in NM
Friday, August 17, 2018  Our speaker was Ralph Peters who talked about the beautiful scenery and interesting plants of NW New Mexico and Eastern Arizona.  Some of the scenery includes Angel Peak, Pastora Peak and Canyon de Chelley with plants like Coloradoa (Sclerocactus) mesae-verde, Pediocactus knowltonii (which grows only on one hill in NM), Toumeya papyracantha and the elusive Pediocactus simpsonii of NE Arizona.

Friday, June 16, 2018 - Our program, by Lisa Mandelkern from Las Cruces, was about the cacti of southern NM.  Many species of cacti are native to southern NM.  The good news is that almost all of them are quite easy to grow in an outdoor cactus garden in the Albuquerque area.  Some kinds need a sheltered area to protect them from winter's cold.

Saturday, May 12, 2018 - We visited 3 gardens in the NE Heights of Albuquerque!

Friday, March 16, 2018 - Our speaker Jeff Thompson, from Pueblo CO, talked about cold-hardy cacti and had some plants to sell.

February 16, 2018 - Kelly Griffin gave a program on the Cacti and Succulents of Chile. Chile is rich with cacti, with spectacular Copiapoas, Eriosyce and Neoporterias dominating the cacti.  There are also many types of columnar cacti including Trichocereus and Eulychnia.  Succulents include Calandrinia that are small herbaceous plants with colorful flowers.  Kelly explores the world for plants to introduce for Altmann's Specialty Plants, a very large cactus and succulent nursery based in Vista, CA. 

January 19, 2018 - Steven Brack presented a program on Cultivation & Germination of Pediocactus, Sclerocactus and Toumeya.  A picture gallery shows some of these plants in flower and as seedlings. 

November 17, 2017 - Doug Dawson from Phoenix talked about the genus Lithops:The Wild and the Tame (living stones) from South Africa.  A picture gallery shows a tiny sample of these beauties.

Thunder River erupting from a cliff in the Grand Canyon
October, 20, 2017 - Ralph Peters talked about a backpacking trip to Thunder River in the Grand Canyon.  He saw lots of nice scenery and interesting plants.  Check out the picture gallery!

September 1-4, 2017 - The CSSNM held an educational exhibit at the Albuquerque Botanic Garden over the Labor Day Weekend   The club had a live plant exhibit, special presentations & demonstrations, and a Kactus Kidz corner,  all designed to educate the public about these beautiful and unique plants.  Presentations included slide shows on how to use cactus & succulents in the landscape, a how-to presentation on the edible prickly pear with information on nutritional values, and planting a cactus garden.   Demonstrations included one on potting, dividing & repotting these plants.  Under the Big Green Umbrella the Kactus Kidz held forth with fun activities including three different games with prizes and handouts to color for the younger set.   The live plant exhibit included free copies of approximately 40  CSSNM "how-to" publications also found on this website.  Several galleries show some pictures taken by members and some of the 2000 visitors who attended the educational exhibits.

August 18, 2017 - Marcia Tatroe from Denver talked about hardy rock gardens and provided a handout!

June 16, 2017 - Kelly Griffin talked about Agaves in habitat.

May 19, 2017 - Steve Lovecky presentated Stuck on Texas Cacti.

March 17, 2017 - John "Obie" Oberhausen presented Cactus Rescue Project/Creating a Cactus Community which was be about the goals of Cactus Rescue Project and what efforts have been done to promote the use of cactus. It discussed how various gardens were built and are maintained. Also included was the variety of plants now being used in the gardens and in the local community.

Friday, February 17, 2017 - Regular meeting.  Ian Latella talked about Lizards of NM.  He has done ten years of field work on the reptiles of NM and recently completed his Master's at UNM.
 
Friday, January 20, 2017 - Woody Minnich talked about Socotra which is a desert island in the Arabian Sea.  It has many interesting plants, places and people; a sample may be seen in a gallery of pictures.

Friday, November 18, 2016 - Bill DellaRocco gave a presentation on "How my Cactus Guru from Minnesota developed techniques to enable strong growth and bloom in the cool and dreary state of Maine".  It generated a lot of discussion.

Friday, October 21, 2016 - Our program was Random Musings and Meanderings About Cacti and Growing Them by Siegfried Lodwig.  Sig commented: "I’ll bring in some show-and-tell plants.  No pictures.  I invite anyone and everyone to bring in their own plants, with questions and/or comments.  We, the club, don’t do enough of just looking at and talking about plants at our meetings.  We have a profound depth of expertise among our members.  We need to do more to share this out among all of us.
Some smart person once said: The only stupid question is the one you don’t ask
."
Check out Sig's plant pictures in galleries at the CSSNM website.

Friday, September 23, 2016 - Ralph Peters talked about the minature cactus, Pediocactus knowltonii (see photo below), and its history.  It is found on only 1 hill in New Mexico near the border with Colorado. It was re-discovered by the CSSNM after the original discoverer (Fred Knowlton) was killed in a house fire.
Pedio. knowltonii in habitat

Saturday, August 27, 2016 at Noon.  We visited John Oberhausen's gardens near Eldorado, NM (a bit East of Santa Fe).
Directions ... I-25 north about 5 miles past Santa Fe to exit 290 (Lamy and Clines Corner). Stay to right to head south on US-285. First traffic light(about 1/2 mile) make a right onto Avenida de Amistad. Follow about 1 mile and the community center parking lot is on the right. Head towards the large windmill and park. By then you can't miss it! The address is 1 Hacienda Loop.
Eldorado Garden

Friday, June 17, 2016 - Sig Lodwig talked about grafting cacti.  Grafting is used to quickly grow difficult plants and salvage plants that have problems.  He demonstrated the process of grafting using super glue jel, discussed the details and pitfalls, showed some pictures, brought grafts of various ages to inspect, etc.

Saturday, May 21, 2016 -  Garden Visit!  Last year, Margaret Todd and Donna Behme did a presentation for the club about their landscape which incorporates many cold-hardy succulents and cacti as well as other garden/plant goodies.  They had a garden visit.

Saturday, May 14, 2016 - Field trip to Mesa Garden in Belen NM! 

Friday, March 18, 2016 - Steve Brack did a program on South Africa.  His last trip was in August 2015, which is late Winter/early Spring there.  The Winter rains had been very good, so the deserts were just overloaded with succulents and daisy types in full flower.  He has never seen anything like this before with huge expanses of flowers, and a lot of wildlife out eating the flowers.  Various antelopes and zebras were stuffing themselves on all the soft growth and flowers.   This will be a fun show of bulbs, succulents, annuals, and all sorts of wildlife.
picture gallery

Friday, February 19, 2016 - Oleg Lagutin talked about growing cacti and succulents in Russia; specifically what kinds of plants they grow, and how they grow them.
A greenhouse in Moscow
Glandulicactus mathsonii

Friday, January 15, 2016 - Woody Minnich gave a presentation entitled "Mexico, The Hidden Treasures of Coahuila.Woody is well known for his beautiful presentations containing lots of pictures of the scenery and people, as well as the plants.

Friday, November 20, 2015  Ralph Peters talked about the fantastic scenery and interesting cacti of Northern Arizona region.  Five cacti species are found only in Northern AZ and 2 more cacti species are found only in Northern AZ and within a few miles of the Arizona border.  A number of other "taxa" -- species. varieties, or ?? are found only in this region.  The "common" plants are pretty amazing too!
Vermillion Cliffs area

Friday, October 16, 2015 Ian Latella, a graduate student for the UNM Biology Department, gave a presentation on the snakes and lizards of New Mexico that we may encounter when looking for cactus and succulents.  He discussed basic details off their natural history and identification of the species.

August 21, 2015  Grey Gustafson from UNM talked about Cacti/Insect relationships.  Some insects kill many of our local cacti.  In particular, Moneilema semipunctatum (cactus borer beetle --  http://www.cabi.org/isc/datasheet/120558) is a signicant threat to many local cacti including Sclerocactus.  During a recent visit to Scl. mesae-verde habitat in SW Colorado, Ralph Peters saw that about half of the large plants were infested with larvae; most of them will probably die from the borer's damage and the associated bacterial infection.

Friday, June 19, 2015 -  Margaret Todd and Donna Behme talked about the landscaping at their house.  Very briefly, their landscape is oriented toward pollinators (bees, butterflies and hummers).  It is also bird friendly.   It features native and adapted plants, with cactus & succulents being a major part of the landscape.   They are not just an after thought as in so many landscapes --  in their landscape they are a feature.

Friday, May 15, 2015 - Sig Lodwig presented a program which showed flower pictures of the very many small cacti that are easy to keep in limited space.  It?s possible to have cactus flowers from this group any time of the year.  The talk is divided into Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter.  Sig brought in some plants now in flower.  A sample of his photographs may be found in his picture galleries.
 
Friday, March 20, 2015 - Steve Brack showed many pictures of the vegetative bodies (NOT FLOWERS) of Lithops.  Understanding how and when they grow is critical to the successful cultivation of these fascinating living stones.

Friday, February 20 - Dave Ferguson gave a talk focusing on the classification and evolution of the family Cactaceae, primarily in the context of how it relates to other families, but also within the family itself.  This gave some insight to some questions people might have in the back of their minds, such as - for instance - why some things that seem very different can be grafted onto one another, and grow.

January 16, 2015 - Oleg Lagutin presented the program on the genus Haworthia. His talk covered the plants in the genus, and the cultivation they need.  He also talked about pollination and seed prodouction, and growing them from seed.  He provided a few Haworthia pictures.  He is starting a nursery.

November 21, 2014  Ralph Peters talked about the cultivation of Pediocactus, Sclerocactus and Toumeya plants including germinating them from seed and growing them from tiny seedlings to flowering plants.  These 3 genera grow in our area and have fantastic forms and flowers.  They also have a reputation of being difficult to germinate and grow.  The link above shows some seedlings and mature plants and the presentation contains more info.

Variegated aloe
 October 17, 2014 - Joyce Hochtritt of J&J Cactus and Succulents talked about oddities of the cactus and succulent world; these include variegated plants, various "monstrose" forms, cristates, and the like.  Joyce brought some show and tell plants and a few sale plants.

August 15, 2014 - Leo Chance from Pueblo Colorado presented Ideas for Albuquerque Gardens.  He is the author of  the book "Cacti and Succulents for Cold Climates: 274 Outstanding Species for Challenging Conditions" which is available at Amazon and other book sellers. 
June 20, 2014 - Penny Hoe and Martha Parker had a program on Hardy Sedums for Albuquerque.  Penny and Martha showed photos and discussed cultivation of sedums that are evergreen ground covers, non-evergreen groundcovers, and tall, late-blooming sedums often used as specimen plants.  We have a category of iffy sedums (not consistently hardy but available locally).  The information should be of interest both to those who wish to xeriscape with plants that are not prickly and to persons drawn to esoteric and rare plants.
For more info, check out the plant documents section on succulents.

May 16, 2014 Rich Reif presented the program - Flora and Fauna of Australia Australia is reported to be the most desired of destinations for American travelers, but the least realized.  Australia has a unique flora and fauna compared to what is familiar, perhaps as weird and alien as the cacti and other succulents from the old and new world that we admire.  And, yes, cacti were mentioned.

On March 22, 2014, we went on a field trip to Mesa Garden to see cacti and some mesembs in flower; see the picture gallery.

February 18, 2014 Daniela Roth discussed the New Mexico Endangered Plant Program.  She is currently the Endangered Plant Program Coordinator for the New Mexico State Forestry Division and the chair for the New Mexico Rare Plant Technical Council.  She has worked with rare and endangered plants in the American Southwest for over 17 years, including 12 years on the Navajo Nation and 3 years for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.  Her presentation outlined the purpose and function of the New Mexico Endangered Plant Program and emphasized the work currently under way with endangered cacti of New Mexico.

On January 17, 2014 We had program is about a recent trip to Madagascar by Woody Minnich which had the title "Madagascar - Land of the Giants ".

The November 15, 2013 program helped our members, including newer ones, to understand what happens to the plants at our society's (April) show.  (The same rules are used at the State Fair show.)  The discussion included how plants are entered, labeled, displayed and judged.  A panel of 3 experienced judges conducted an open panel judging of a number of plants that have been brought in for this purpose.  See the Presenting Plants for Show article for our club's official rules.

On October 8, 2013, we went on a field trip to Mesa Garden to see all the mesembs in flower.  A picture gallery shows a few of the beautiful flowers and plants that we saw.  We also had a great potluck dinner after spending time in the greenhouses.  Steven and Linda Brack were great hosts -- Thank you!

Friday June 21, 2013  Steven Brack presented a program on the flowers of hardy and near-hardy cacti showing the range of colors and forms you can expect from the huge variety of hardy cacti that can be grown in central NM.

Adenium flowers
Friday May 17, 2013  The program, by Ralph Peters,  focused on Adeniums and their cultivation.  Adeniums combine eye-catching sculptural form with an abundance of showy flowers over a long period of time, typically from early May through early October in Albuquerque.  Pictures, mature plants, and 3 month old seedlings showed off these interesting plants.  Adenium seeds were available to allow attendees to grow their own.  See the Adenium website for some beautiful examples.

Friday, March 15, 2013 - The program was supplied by Ad Konings, a naturalist living in El Paso Tx and publisher of Cichlid Press.  It was about the flora of the Franklin Mountains near El Paso, Tx and centered on cacti, agaves, and yuccas as well as wildflowers, reptiles, and insects.  Part of the program also showed landscaping in urban areas and some areas of touristic interest.  It provided ideas of what to see and do in this nearby region.  Many of the cacti were shown in flower!

February 15, 2013 - The program was  The Great American Southwest by Woody Minnich.  He discussed the seven most cactus and succulent rich states; Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas and Utah and showed lots of beautiful photographs.

January 18, 2013  We had a forum on greenhouses!  Several club members talked about their greenhouses ? how they are built, how they are heated, cooled, what they grow in them, etc.  People thinking about putting up a greenhouse heard information about types, designs, costs, benefits, problems...  Current greenhouse owners  picked up some tips & tricks from other owners. 

Nov 16, 2012  Steven Brack held a forum on outdoor cactus and succulent gardens in central NM.  Speakers included Dan Finley and Ralph Peters of Albuquerque, and John Oberhausen of Santa Fe.  They talked about setting up gardens, choosing the plants, and then the care of the garden after planting.

October 22, 2012 5:30pm to 10:00pm - An Evening with the Cold-Hardy Experts
Leo Chance from Colorado Springs, CO has recently published a book "Cacti and Succulents for Cold Climates".  Leo spoke from 6:00pm to 7:00pm.  Following his talk we had book sales and signing and a catered dinner.
Panayoti Kelaidis is Senior Curator at the Denver Botanic Gardens and Director of Outreach; he has introduced many cacti and succulents for yard use.  Panayoti spoke from 8:30pm to 9:30 pm on "Planning for the Cold Hardy Rock Garden".
September 13-23, 2012 - No meeting!  We had display at the Flower Building at the State Fair.  Thanks to all the volunteers!

Ariocarpus fissuratus
Friday, August 17, 2012 - The program was given by Steven Brack on Ariocarpus, Aztekiums and Lophophora of Northeast Mexico.  It is based on a field trip by A Laras of Greece; he spent some weeks during October searching for these plants and found most of them in flower.  There are lots of very nice habitat photos which are not commonly seen.

June 15, 2012:  Woody Minnich talked about Rio Grande Do Sul, Brazil.  This region is the center of the distribution of the Parodias (Notocactus, Brasilicactus, Brasiliparodia, Malacocarpus and Eriocactus) and Fraileas as well as some of the Gymnocalyciums, Echinopsis, Bromeliads, other succulents and other unusual plants and animals.

CSSNM Outing on Saturday May 12, 2012
We visited Whitfield Wildlife area, along the Rio Grande in Belen, which is a great spot for birding, native bosque vegetation and a nice cactus garden in progress.  Next, we visited Daniel and Socorro at their nursery, Rio Grande Cacti,  south of Socorro along NM Hwy 1.  They grow many kinds of hardy and native plants which were available for purchase.  Finally, a nice picnic at the Bosque del Apache Wildlife refuge south of San Antonio.  Near the picnic area is a very nice cactus garden with many plants in flower.  We enjoyed the cactus garden and a visit the bosque with all the birds and other wildlife.

Friday, March 16, 7 pm, at the Albuquerque Garden Center,  10120 Lomas NE.
Sig Lodwig talked about Cactus flower in Mid Winter?, Yes many do!   Sig is working on compiling data on flowering for many cacti, and showed a lot of kinds that flower in mid winter.  With a broad collection you can have plants in flower every day of the year.
Neoporteria Matucana Xmas cactus
Neoportereia species Matucana weberbaueri Zygocactus species
Crassula Dorotheanthus
              bellidiformis. Nananthus
Jade plant (Crassula portulacea) Dorotheanthus bellidiformis. Nananthus aff. broomii.

Friday, February 17: Dan Finley talked about Ferocactus, and a few close friends: their habitats, descriptions, "likes" and dislikes, distributions, including few comments about their botanical history with an array of photographs in habitat and in cultivation
F dig F gl F lind
Ferocactus diguetii, in habitat on an island in the Gulf of California. Ferocactus glaucescens, in association in habitat with Mammillaria geminispina, in "the Valley of the Old Men" in Mexico. Ferocactus lindsayi, growing in habitat along the Rio Infiernillo on the southern Pacific coast of Mexico.
The ambient temperature was 97 degrees, and it was the very dead of winter.

Friday, January 20, 2012: Woody Minnich talked about Namibia, a dry place in a wet time.  Woody's comments follow:
This is the trip that Steve Brack and I enjoyed together this last May. I suspect that between our two presentations we should cover everything that we did and saw and I am sure that our two styles will be very different. I can't wait to share my vision of our trip with Steve and I hope the club won't mind having me doing a second presentation. This should be a very entertaining talk and, as usual, I will include everything about Namibia from the people, animals, plants to the landscapes. Namibia a very beautiful and magical place. This will also be the first time showing the not so well known "sociable desert rats" also known as Team Namibia!??
More information is available on this talk and on Woody Minnich

Friday, November 18, 2011: Peru, from the Sea to the Sky by Woody Minnich.  Peru is a country of strong contrasts.  The coastal plain is very dry and foggy with many cacti.   The dry west side of the Andes is filled with cacti, bromeliads, etc.  The high Andes has freezing temps every night of the year and a host of remarkable plants.  Off to the east lies the Amazon basin, a rain forest that has a few cacti and lots of orchids, bromeliads, etc.
On Saturday, October 8, 2011 more than 20 people had a chance to tour the greenhouses at Mesa Garden, Belen NM,  The primary draw for the trip were the flowering Mesembs.  Thousands of plants were flowering!

On Saturday, October 8, 2011 more than 20 people had a chance to tour the greenhouses at Mesa Garden, Belen NM,  The primary draw for the trip were the flowering Mesembs that originate in South Africa and Namibia.  A few pictures follow.
Steve and group in a Mesem greenhouse Lithops hookeri flowers! Lithops verruculosa flowers!
Lithops julii flowers! Conophytum minutum flowers! Conophytum maughanii
We had a great time!  Thank-you Steve & Linda Brack for hosting this fantastic field trip!

Friday, August 19, 2011 - Steven Brack had a presentation on his recent 3 week trip to Namibia in May this year. The first week was in the south and southwest which is mostly mesemb country with lots of Lithops, Conophytums and other small succulents like Othonna, Tylecodon and many Aloes.   The final 2/3 of the trip was in the northern half of the country which is summer rainfall, rolling hills and low mountains covered with millions of Commiphora and other bonsai type trees.  There are also many large caudex plants like Pachypodium, Adenia, Adenium and many others.  Cyphostemma, in the grape family, form a small, very fat caudex to huge massive beasts that weigh tons.  In the far north things get very wild, not an organized game park, but just wild with all the usual African animals and several tribes of people that have lived here for many thousands of years.  One tribe is still primarily stone age, part hunter gatherers and part herders. Visiting Namibia is a nature lovers paradise, a huge set of plants, many animals, birds, insects, etc.  It has huge areas of wild wilderness, with a slight risk from malaria and lions.

June 17, 2011 - Ralph Peters discussed 2 recent trips to Big Bend Ranch State Park in Texas slightly west of Big Bend National Park.  The geology is fantastic including Solitario and there are many interesting and unique cacti too!  Echinocereus viridiflorus v. canus is found only in Solitario.
 
May 20, 2011 - Sig Lodwig talked about the Big Bend National Park in flower.  He saw lots of wildflowers and many species of cacti in flower too!

April 9 and 10, 2011 - Spring Show and Sale at the Albuquerque Garden Center at 10120 Lomas NE.  The Show and Sale was open from 10:00 AM until 4:00 PM on Saturday and Sunday.
 
February and March 2011 - Discussion of the extremely cold weather (-10 F and colder) and its effect on landscape and greenhouse plants.

November 2010 - A slide show of a fantastic cactus and succulent plant garden in the Andes was the topic of the presentation.

August 2010  Greg Smith discussed growing plants from seeds which was followed by a seed planting lab.

Saturday, June 5, 2010  Santa Fe and Los Alamos field trip!  We visited the community garden (including cacti & succulents) that John Oberhauser has organised. Sig Lodwig in Los Alamos invited us up for a visit to his marvelous greenhouse and garden.

May 2010 -  Jean Brody--"Travels through Maya County".

February 2010 - Guillermo Rivera presented a talk on the cacti and bromeliads of Peru, wonderful ancient archeological ruins like Machu Picchu and fantastic scenic areas.

January 2010 - Sig Lodwig likes to have some plants blooming every month (day?) of the year!  He talked about his choices for free-flowering cactus and succulent plants  and how he grows them.

November 2009 - The program showed an outdoor cactus and succulent garden in Colorado Springs. Leo Chance has packed his yard with many surprising cacti including surpises like Lobivias, Mammillarias, Notocactus, Gymnocalycium, and Echinocereus.  Surprising succulents include Lithops, Othonnas, Euphorbias, and many other mesembs and South Africa material. The photos taken are very impressive, with many plants in flower, so very pretty. 

October 2009 - John Oberhausen talked about the CommunityGarden/Outdoor classroom at the Eldorado School Community Garden in SE Santa Fe. Many species of cacti and succulents can be grown in this cold climate! The cactus garden has received support from the CSSNM. 

August 2009 The Jewel Cacti of Mexico  Woody Minnich talked about all the miniature "gems" native to Mexico; cacti like Turbinicarpus, Epithelantha, Ariocarpus, and many tiny Mammillarias. They are all the tiny cacti that hide so well from view. He showed photos taken in nature so you could really see what they should look like.

June 2009  Spring in South Africa,  Steve Brack discussed his trip to South Africa in August 2008.  Because of good rains, masses of wild flowers covered the landscape. 
March 2009 Cacti of the New World: Succulents with Areoles, Their Growth Patterns and Lifestyles
Daniel Finley discussed the habitat (and some cultivated) photos of many succulent plants, especially cacti (endemic to the western hemisphere). Interspersed among the pictures are some discussions about their origins, unusual metabolism, distribution, and lifestyles, as well as Latin names, but no exams.

February 2009: Ralph Peters discussed a backpacking trip into the Grand Canyon last April.  Many plants were growing and flowering including fields of sego lilies, agaves, opuntias, Echinocereus engelmanii, ....! The scenery is pretty nice too!

January 2009: Our speaker Woody Minnich discussed a recent trip to Brazil and all the fantastic cacti and succulents in their dry regions.

November 2008: A talk was given by Panayoti Kelaidis from the Denver Botanical Garden.  He specializes is making outdoor rockeries using hardy succulents and cacti.  His real emphasis is discovering new kinds of succulents (especially from Africa) that will grow outdoors in Denver.