The Beaver Tale January 2008

President’s Note
Wow! Where has the time gone? The New Year is almost upon us; we are only days from the
after-the-holidays sales at the malls. That means it’s time for my monthly message to you out
there in cactus and succulent land. First of all, holiday greetings to everyone! I hope no one
gets so hung over on New Year’s Eve that they won’t be able to make our January meeting on
the third. Our speaker and presenter for January is our VP, Victor Lindsey. I don’t have details
on his presentation but I’m sure it will be interesting, educational, and, hopefully, inspiring.

January’s elected Board of Directors meeting is December 30th; there won’t be a BOD meeting
prior to the “at large” CSSSN meeting January 3rd. Among other things on the 3rd, we’ll be
inducting our new secretary, Stephanie Thomas, and announcing and introducing the at-large
Executive Board members for the upcoming year. By the way, if you have not already renewed
membership for 2008, bring your checkbook or some cash to keep your membership current. I
suspect there will be many leftover goodies from all those New Year’s Eve bashes, so we’ll likely
have plenty of refreshments. I’ll leave it to Liz, our newsletter editor, to provide guidance on who
brings what. I’ll bring the garage full of pop left from December’s dinner.

Hey, speaking of December bashes, that was a great spread! I welcome your feedback on
whether or not the club should continue that approach to having the “meat and potatoes”
catered, (thanks for handling that, Pete) with club members bringing the rest. We did go a bit
overboard this year with the turkey and ham; there was a lot left over. But, I guess that is fixable
next year. Speaking of “thanks,” I want to publicly thank Susan Kent and Dave and Kris Turner,
for providing every member the terrific gift plants, and Marilyn Brenner for her efforts in providing
decorations and overseeing the gift exchange.

Finally, speaking of next year, the December 30 Board meeting will focus on plans for the
coming year. I welcome your feedback. Please contact me by phone or e-mail with any
suggestions or ideas you have regarding sales and shows, field trips, guest speakers, or other
things that the club can do to make it more user friendly. After all, we are not just about making
and spending money, and having fun. We are about education and conservation as well. Let us
hear from you. Check out our web site (http://www.csssn.org/) as well as the Yahoo! member’s
forum, where you can post messages and reach us that way too:
(http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/CSSSN/).

See you in January! Phil Lawton

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 Next Meeting Date/Time
January 3, 2008
Regular Meeting Starts at 7:00 PM
Please come early to help set up!
All members with excess or left over
Holiday goodies should bring them for
refreshments! Should/could be yummy!
(Cheeses, crackers, dips, cookies, odd
bottles of bev’s, crockpot of ham or
turkey soup?)
Meetings are the first Thursday every
month at the Garden Club near Lorenzi
Park, at the corner of Washington & Twin
Lakes Drive.
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http://www.csssn.org Lists the club
Officers; If you wish to assist an
officer, please use the “CONTACT”
feature on the website.
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If you have an e-mail address, we’ll e-
mail the newsletter. BUT,if you can’t be
“GREEN,” please notify Liz at
dicnliz7067@netzero.net and she’ll
snail mail it.
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Planned Events
Winter and early spring are great
outing months. Plan one with friends,
family, and/or club members!
Celebrate Cactus Spring Show & Sale
April 12 and 13
January Program
Victor Lindsey, our Vice President, will be reviewing
results of his program survey as well as leading a
discussion regarding 2008 activities.
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Annual dues are payable in January!
Individual - $15.00; Household - $25
Name(s): ____________________________________
_____________________________________________
Street: ______________________________________
City, State, Zip ________________________________
Phone: ______________________________________
e-mail address: ________________________________
email & website are default methods of communication.
With that, you may elect to receive the Silver State
Gardener free. It arrives by snail mail. Check below:
□ YES, send it! or □ NO, thank you.
We will collect dues at the meeting or you may mail them.
Thanks for your continued interest!
CSSSN – Membership
P O Box 57110
Las Vegas, NV 89157

Turner-Greenhouse- http://www.turner-greenhouse.com
Dave & Kris Turner
645-2032 4455 Quadrel Street, Las Vegas, NV 89129
We specialize in Cactus & Succulents for the Landscaper & Collector
Native Nevada Cactus, Hedgehogs, Beavertails Red & Golden Barrels, Rainbow Cactus
Yuccas, Joshuas, Ocotillos, Aloes, Agaves
We also have a large selection of additional Succulents from all over the world for the house & patio.

Calplants.com -
http://www.cabrillonets.com/calplants
Watch for Saffron Crocus popping up in your
xeriscape. If you want other interesting xeriscape We are always looking for rare, special, and large
plant ideas, contact the “Tomato Lady” (Leslie Doyle) specimen Cactus & Succulents to buy.
http://www.sweettomatotestgarden.com Call 800-384-4559
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 Jellybeans and Showy Snowcrops
by Renee O'Connell
Originally published in Garden Compass magazine
Nov/Dec 2003
Used with permission from Altman Plants.

(Special Note from Susan Kent: Remember where you live! This is a good article, and
we want to use other similar articles released by Altman Plants. We thank them for their
permission. Nonetheless, the climate and water conditions here in Southern Nevada
differ from those in almost every other part of the country. Make sure you contact a
knowledgeable local area gardener to verify appropriate plant material and growing
conditions!)

Sedums are amongst the most forgiving plants that

exist. These rugged plants will grow in the poorest
sandy soils, in rocky crags, on rotted wood or just about
anywhere. Sedums are generally very drought tolerant,
heat tolerant, cold tolerant, and will grow in shade to full
sun. Native habitats include Korea, China, Siberia,
Japan, the Himalayas, Europe and the Americas.

Sedums comprise a very large, diverse and colorful

genus of the family Crassulaceae, and are tenacious rock scramblers, often
clinging to the steep faces of mountains.

One subgenus of Sedum includes the multitudinous cultivars of Sedum telephium

and spectabilis, which reach heights of 15" to 30", providing height for rock gardens
or for borders along walkways. In late August through September, these various
cultivars erupt in firework displays of masses of star-shaped flowers of vivid rose,
snow white, rich salmon, or rose mauve. The foliage varies from light green to
glaucous blue green, bronze, dusky purple, or variegated, providing added
dimension to the gardener's palette. Sedum spectabilis 'Neon', with neon pink floral
displays, accents the warm russet pink of Sedum telephium 'Autumn Joy'. Sedum
'Purple Emperor' has deep purple foliage, topped with violet rose flowers. The
variegated forms include Sedum alboreseum variegata, which has blue green
leaves with golden yellow centers and rose flowers. Another variegate is Sedum
'Frosty Morn', with blue green foliage margined in white, topped with snow-white
flowers. The Sedum telephium/spectabilis complex is exceedingly cold hardy,
surviving under frozen ground in the winter. Their strategy for enduring such cold is
to lose all foliage, and survive underground as dormant rhizomes, ready to quickly
regrow when all danger of frost is past.

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 Many Sedums can be used as excellent, non-invasive ground covers, including
Sedums spurium, spathulifolium, mexicanum, makinoi and many others too
numerous to mention. The many forms of Sedum spurium include Sedum spurium
"Dragon's Blood" with bronzed red serrated foliage and deep pink flowers, Sedum
spurium "Red Beauty" with intense deep red scalloped foliage and deep rose
flowers, and Sedum spurium 'Tricolor', with green white, and pink foliage. The
Sedum spathulifolium forms include "Capo Blanco", a beautiful mass of small
silvery white rosettes, and "Purpureum", an equally beautiful mass of small dusky
burgundy rosettes. Many of these smaller Sedums add points of interest cascading
over rocks in the rockery or garden.

Various other Sedums, of a slightly more succulent nature, are highly sought for
their intense colors for use in gardens and rockeries. These include Sedum
adolphii, nussbaumerianum, and 'California Sunset', which form graceful clusters in
landscapes and rockeries. The "Jellybeans" (Sedum rubrotinctum, Sedum
rubrotinctum'Aurora', Sedum pachyphyllum, Sedum hernandezii), so named for
their exceedingly plump and colorful jellybean shapes, offer color accents as well.
Sedum rubrotinctum, with green "jellybean" leaves, blushes intense red in winter or
in drought. Sedum rubrotinctum 'Aurora' is a delightful chimera, exhibiting intense
pink, green or white "jelly beans" on the same plant. Sedum pachyphyllum provides
blue-green "jellybeans", tipped in deep rose red in cold or full sun.

Sedum morganianum ('Burro Tail'),'Burrito', Sedum sieboldii, and the Sedum

cauticola cultivars make outstanding hanging basket subjects or can be used to
cascade over walls or rocks in shadier landscapes. Sedum 'Burrito' has cacscading
stems of pale bluish green "jellybeans". Sedum sieboldii has powdery blue
crenulate leaves on cascading stems, and rose flowers in the fall. Sedum sieboldii
'Mediovariegatum' is a variegate form which has lemon yellow centers on each
powdery blue leaf. Sedum cauticola and its hybrids, including 'Bertram Anderson'
and 'Sunset Cloud', are very cold hardy with rounded, blue gray or blue violet
foliage on cascading purplish stems, and deep rose flowers in the autumn.

As can be seen in the photo, Sedums can be combined in a myriad of ways to

create a visually exciting and enduring landscape.

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If you received a plant for the holidays, take a winter day to do some research on
it! Visit the Springs Preserve library. You might be able to contribute a photo
and a few written words about it in our next Newsletter.

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Check out the greeting on page five from the Brenners! Marilyn takes great pride
in spending time putting this together. I’m sure Michael is right with her! Find
your name!

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