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Capel's Capers
Jeff and Diana |
Jeff and Diana
have been on their travels again (lucky devils) - enjoy the spring with the
Capels, and who is this addition to their family…?
The Northern Weekend 2005
One can hardly believe it is one
year since the last weekend at Alston Hall. Thanks to Julie and Ian Priestley we
were transported in their time machine to the venue. The overseas speaker was
delayed in arrival by the birth of his first child a son, and David Minnion
rescheduled his talks to cover the first evening. A super wide screen
presentation entitled ‘Pediocactus and Sclerocactus’ and a further one on
Sunday afternoon on the ‘Big Bend, Texas’.
The overseas speaker Petr Pavelka
from the Czech Republic arrived later on Friday evening and over the next two
days gave three superb talks on the Richtersveld, Madagascar and ‘Namibia from
South to North’, his knowledge and presentation being of outstanding quality.
Ralph Tomlinson gave a talk on
Bolivia presented in his own brilliant style and last but not least John
Watmough who gave two excellent talks on ‘Succulents on a shoestring’ and
‘Thelocactus’ that had the audience in hysterics and showed the fantastic
knowledge he has.
As always the food was superb and
left one with the problem of how to lose weight before another year flies by.
This was the most enjoyable weekend we have experienced so far at the Northern
Weekend and we congratulate Ralph Hewitt and his team for their efforts.
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The Continental Trip 2005
Wednesday 30th
March – It was a foggy and miserable day as we made our way to Hull to
catch the ferry to Zeebrugge in Belgium. We arrived in good time and we
were aboard and had our evening meal well before sailing time.
Thursday 31st
March – After a smooth crossing the ferry docked at 8.30am to a sunny
but cool morning and soon after we were on our way to Cactus Flower, the
nursery of Ward Verschueren in Rumst, Belgium where there was a good
selection of plants at reasonable prices. We then went on to Goch in
Germany to visit the nursery of Heinrich Vermaseren. After leaving there
we then travelled to our hotel in Ede, Holland.
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Part
of Aad Vijverberg’s private collection. |
Friday 1st April
– After an early breakfast at 6.30am. we were on our way to the first nursery
of the day, Katze, in Wankum, Germany, a small nursery, very clean and tidy,
with reasonably priced plants. By this time the weather was very warm. The next
call was to Ernst Specks in Erkelenz, still in Germany, whose nursery is always
popular and where many plants were purchased by members of our party. Then to
Ingo Breuer’s, who has just moved into a new nursery and has not yet got it
organised so it was a bit difficult to look around. The ladies of the party were
sitting on the side letting the men look around and Ingo recommended an Italian
ice-cream parlour across the road. The ladies all went to have a look; there was
a choice of about 20 flavours at 50 cents a scoop to a maximum of 4 scoops per
cone. It was delicious! Needless to say when the ladies returned with their
ice-creams there was a mass exodus of the men get theirs. So there is something
that can get the men away from the plants.
In the evening Paul Klaassen
who is Dutch and was a member of our party, gave an interesting talk in the
hotel on Peru and Argentina to the Dutch Society and our party was invited, Paul
giving the talk in Dutch and English.
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Plants are
unloaded at Rugby - another successful trip!
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Saturday 2nd
April – The coach was loaded with our bags and boxes and after we had
breakfast we were on the road by 7.30am. to the first nursery of the day,
Jan Bieshevel’s at Lexmond. We spent an hour there and then we were on
our way to the nursery of Aad Vijverberg in Honselerdijk, then onto Cok
Grootschholten’s just down the road from the last one. Finally we
travelled to Paul and Mary Hoogvliet’s nursery which is situated on the
outskirts of Rotterdam only a few miles from the Euro-Port. On our way to
the port we stopped at a small town called Brielle, in the suburbs of
Rotterdam, for a look around the shops, this is where Paul Klaassen was
brought up and went to school,
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Sunday 3rd April
– After a smooth crossing from Rotterdam we arrived back at Hull at about
8.00am. to a cold but sunny morning, tired but well satisfied with the well
organised trip.
Diana gains a new family member
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Our Branch’s sales
season started on the 23rd and 24th April at Holcot Village; a
new venue for ourselves and the organisers. Although crowd numbers were
not as good as anticipated the rain held off and at the end of the two
days we managed to make a small profit for the branch. Our stall looked
well laid out and was very well stocked.
Diana’s new family
member came by the way of a raffle prize, Mr. Teddy Holcot, and the
proceeds from the raffle went to the Air Ambulance Fund.
Many thanks to all who
helped on the stall.
Jeff and Diana Capel. |
Teddy
Holcot in habitat
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Odds and Endpieces the
bits that fill the printed magazine |
Pollen Wanted!
Bingeing the best solution in Beijing?
Chilean rainsticks
Death by cacti
Finally
Pollen
Wanted!
I was reading on the internet
of a Texas growers plea for pollen to pollinate his plant of Agave bovicornuta
variegata. His was a lone plant and it takes two Agaves to tango. Luckily pollen
can be sent through the post, it naturally remains viable for several days and
its shelf life can be increased by drying it with a chemical desiccant and
chilling. This is the sort of thing that interests Northants News readers (well
the Ed anyway). Would we hear the patter of tiny bovicornuta feet at some time
in the future? More important, would they be the desirable variegated form? I
wrote to Larry and here is a diary of the relevant events
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15
September Just a note to let you know the flower of the A. bovicornuta
variegata has still not burst out of the ‘asparagus’ form. No
flower yet and the pollen in the flower sent me by Ron in California in
early August is probably dead. I have to start a quest for another
flower but the cooler weather has stopped the development of the bovi's
flower. I have watered it heavily and fertilized it max, hoping to
push it, but to no avail. |
28
September The A. bovicornuta variegata is finally starting to bloom.
All the panicles are spread and the flowers are all bud stage. I have a
source of pollen so I hope to pollinate when the flowers are well opened. I have
the scaffold...my private oil derrick according to Mrs....so I will be able to
get up there….. It is 14ft high and the ladder is fixed in place so it
is easy to ascend.
The suspense was killing me;
how did this little drama unfold?
| 17 May:
I live in Kerrville, Texas, and frosts occur perhaps five or six per
winter with temps down as low as the mid-teens. The Agave bovicornuata
variegata froze in late November. I was hospitalised at the time unable to
do anything and, not expecting my wife to climb the ‘derrick’, it was
lost. The temp was 16ºF so I doubt any covering without added heat source
would have done the job and that would have been difficult to do for even
myself. I did get pollen from two sources and stood with brush at the
ready for open flowers but I never got the chance. They were all still in
bud when the end came. I understand that Mesa Gardens has seed for A. bovi
variegata so I will try to start another from seed. I'll let you know
about the next episode of pollination excitement in about ten years!! |
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So no mass production of
bovicornuta agavettes from that quarter. Agave bovicornuta is an attractive, but
large (up to 6ft wide), species from Mexico which can tolerate
a little frost and is widely grown as an ornamental plant in gardens in the US.
Its common name is the ‘cow-horn agave’ so there is no need to wonder where
the plant’s Latin name came from.
Trev
Bingeing
the best solution in Beijing?
(Internet quotes from
Cactus_etc…)
Hi
List:
Have
a rather technical question. I have a Lophophora clump with many, many little
heads with plenty of wool. Recently, I noticed some spider web like matter with
little black specks on some of the heads, and upon closer inspection, I have
found that there must be some sort of insect eating away at this plant, but I
cannot find it / them… etc., etc. Thanks!
Wen-Chun
in Beijing, China
Hi
List:
Try
alcohol
Lorraine
Hi
List:
I
would second Lorraine's suggestion: Whenever I find mealies or scale on my
plants, I generally find that a stiff gin and tonic makes the situation seem a
lot less dire.
Jake
Chilean
Rainstick - Hand Made Cactus Wood! 30 Inch!
(More pinched from the internet - desert.com)
Product Details
This handmade rainstick is crafted from cactus
wood and filled with river stones. Each thorn from the dried cactus plant is
pressed into the hollow shaft of the rainstick to create the music of gently
falling rain as the river stones fall over them. The rainsticks are then
individually decorated. Traditionally in Chilean culture, rainsticks were used
to prompt the gods of the Diaguitas that rain was needed.
Authentically decorated in vivid colors, the
handcrafted Chilean rainstick is a great conversation piece and instrumental
addition.
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These have much better, fuller tone
than the cheaper bamboo rainsticks.
Cactus wood was the original wood
rainsticks were made of.
Rainstick is 30 inches long (76 cm).
Authentic. Hand Made in Chile.
Condition: New In Box!
Or, of course, if you
want to produce real rain just ask the Wrays to go on holiday! |
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Death
by cacti!
(Even more from the net.)
A search for ‘cacti’ in
the books of the US Ebay produced a hit for The Fortean Times Book of Strange
Deaths. Well OK, I’m interested: who has died a strange death by cacti?
Among 350 exotic extinctions
there is a ‘cactus revenge killing’. Ummm.... There is also a ‘Chicken
sex death, chainsaw suicide, death by doughnut, and flying
turnip tragedy with pictures. A very funny read.’ I just hope the cactus
wasn’t hurt in the making of this book.
Finally
Above
is the final article in the printed edition. The members of the Northampton and
Milton Keynes branch of the BCSS hope you enjoy the internet edition.
Trev_trevorwray@aol.com
