Don't forget the On-Line talk on tuesday

[Tina]

need to cancel that holiday & get your priorities right,
hope you have a good holiday somewhere nice ?, although anywhere I don't have to do the cooking is nice for me but cocktails make the world a happier place

[MatDz]

need to cancel that holiday & get your priorities right,
hope you have a good holiday somewhere nice ?, although anywhere I don't have to do the cooking is nice for me but cocktails make the world a happier place

I'm flying back I'm afraid from a "long weekend" family visit, but hard to argue with the cooking and cocktails part I can sort both out for myself, but there's this bit of guilty pleasure when someone else does the work!

[Aiko]

Gutted it's right in the middle of my Ryanair flight, doubt they'll provide it as onboard entertainment...

I have only flown once in my life, back in 1999. But I suspect by now they are able to provide a wifi-connection on board so you can watch via an iPad or alike. Trains and busses have them! Or is that only available for first class and / or for a high additional payment?

[MatDz]

We're going heavy off topic here, but yes, WiFi is available on long haul flights for some rather hefty price, and probably within Europe in 1st/business class with decent airlines (Ryanair certainly isn't one, but no one expects it to be - I just need to get from place A to place B for the lower price available).

[Jim_Mercer]

The ACTUAL TUESDAY TALK ( note title of thread) is below, this should be a really nice talk from Thomas,
ENJOY

Topic: Thomas Guerry – Discovering Baja California
Time: Tuesday 20 June 2023 at 7.30pm (BST)
Meeting ID: 869 1940 7727
Passcode: bcss

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kHWpNJnO

Thomas Guerry is a chemical engineer and has been growing cacti since he was a teenager − about 20 years ago. He is passionate about small opuntias and has travelled several times to South America to see these plants in habitat, as well as other cacti of course.

After trips to Argentina and Chile, he went to Mexico to discover Baja California. As he set out on this adventure, he was not familiar with the cacti of this region but by the end of the trip, he had enormously enriched his knowledge of the subject. His talk will focus on ten different locations in Baja California, each being special for a different reason: the variety of plants, landscapes, sought-after species, etc.

That link took me to a page of international dial up numbers not the talk!
this one seemshttps://us02web.zoom.us/j/86919407727?p ... 93MmY2dz09

[Jim_Mercer]

Matija Strlic – News from the miniature world of Pelargonium sect. Hoarea
Time: Tuesday 4 July 2023 at 7.30pm (BST)

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84689262043?p ... hCc2QvQT09

Matija Strlic is chemist by profession, working in academia and researching cultural heritage. While none of this has much to do with pelargoniums, he has been studying the genus for the past 20 years. As a curator of the Reference Collection of Pelargoniums of the International Geraniaceae Group, he works with many botanical gardens and has been developing an online guide to the genus, www.pelargonium.si, which covers most of the currently known section Hoarea. We are fortunate to have a world class expert speak for us on these extraordinary plants.

Section Hoarea is comprised of about 100, mostly small, daisy-sized pelargonium species with an extensive tuberous rootstock. They are as diverse as the genus as a whole but are not cultivated widely. Hareaas are not well understood and can be found in seasonally wet alluvial habitats, as part of the arid succulent veld, as well as on the high mountains of the Eastern Cape. Following a surge in interest in the section in the 1980s, most of the recent knowledge came from amateur botanists – citizen scientists, which this talk will explore. Please join us for what we are sure will prove to be a captivating talk on these less well known but fascinating plants.

[Phil_SK]

Topic: Martin Lowry - Lobivia

Time: Tuesday 18 July 2023 at 7.30pm (BST)
Meeting ID: 841 9095 6189
Passcode: bcss
Join Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84190956189?p ... ltaUVSUT09

We are very pleased to welcome back Martin Lowry to talk to the BCSS. Martin is one of the leading authorities on South American cacti and a world-respected plant explorer who has made dozens of plant-hunting trips to South America. Martin has been instrumental in finding and describing many new plants. Earlier in his life Martin was an academic working and lecturing at the University of Hull. He has since retired and is now dedicating even more of his time to studying cacti. Martin is one of the very few academics that can one minute be writing an extremely technical paper and the next giving a beginner some cultivation advice. Martin is an expert grower and was for many years an active member of the BCSS Shows Committee.

Tonight Martin is going to speak to us about one of his first loves – Lobivia. This is a very large genus which quite rightly is popular amongst collectors and horticulturalists alike. This genus has a diverse physical appearance and has some of the most spectacular flowers in the cactus family. We are sure that after tonight you will also be a fan of the genus Lobivia.

[Tina]

BCSS August 2023 Talks
Our talks take place twice a month on the first and third Tuesday with members and friends all equally welcome. Please contact the talks team at bcss.talk@gmail.com if you have any suggestions or ideas for talks or speakers, or indeed would like to give a presentation yourself.
Topic: Ogie Placido - Colourful Aloe hybrids for all year-round interest
Time: Tuesday 1 August 2023 at 7.30pm (BST)

Meeting ID: 865 6495 2143
Passcode: bcss

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86564952143?p ... FIUEdvdz09

Ogie has recently been featured in Garden News Magazine about the changing face of succulent collectors in the 21st Century.
Ogie Placido as known in Social Media was born in the Philippines. He has been living in the UK since May 2008. As a young boy, as far as he can remember he was always surrounded by plants in their farm when growing up. His passion for planting and propagation was influenced by his Grandfather who is an agriculturist/farmer. He was exposed to planting and cultivating crops and it has become a second nature. When he was at secondary school, one of his favourite subjects was Biology. The plants that he collected back then were Orchids, bromeliads and also some small cacti and succulents.
Last year he decided to concentrate on his nursery propagating and breeding aloes together with Carnivorous Plants as a full-time career. This is after working as a Head Chef/Catering Manager for rehabilitation and Care home in Bristol.
Ogie’s talk will focus primarily on recent trends on Aloe hybrids and why there is the need to have different gene pool to create his very own lines that mainly want to achieve with vibrant colours, varied textures, shape and lastly the size of the rosette. He will also share his experience and the journey on what has influenced him so much on his breeding program. He has visited notable aloe hybrid nurseries in The Philippines and Thailand last year.
The evolving fashion in plants and the need of space will also be a part of the conversation and why we need to provide small sizes aloes that appeals to everyone especially for the new collectors who are just starting their hobbies. These plants are perfect to be placed in windowsill for people who live in an apartment block but still wants to have plants inside their home that provides needed character and colours all year round.

[Tina]

Don't forget the TALK

[Tina]

Zoom Talk Reminder
Tomorrow evening at 7.30pm (BST)
We hope you all can make it!


Topic: Norbert Sarnes - The Genus Pterocactus
Time: Tuesday 15 August 2023 at 7.30pm (BST)
Meeting ID: 851 5637 7460
Passcode: bcss
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85156377460?p ... 5vS282Zz09

For this amazing talk, we are very proud to welcome Norbert Sarnes, the world authority on Pterocactus and a joint author of the enthralling book on the same subject. Norbert and his wife Elisabeth are great friends and supporters of the BCSS. Norbert has been cultivating cacti since 1978 and is a member of the DKG, BCSS, CSSA, IOS and the Tephrocactus Study Group. His special love belongs to his wife, his children and the cacti from Patagonia (in northwest Argentina and Chile). If he had known the beautiful Andean violas earlier - who knows if he would have ever bothered with cacti (we are so pleased that he discovered cacti first).

The talk will present the described species of Pterocactus and three undescribed species. Norbert will aim to explain how to distinguish these species and what pterocacti have in common with icebergs and penguins. We know from previous talks that we will be in for some fantastic photography and a commentary that will be both fun and informative.