MAY 20, 2025 MEETING: "Showing Plants for Show"

Back in May, we were graced with a slew of plants from both Dirk and Charles to showcase “show” plants in preparation for our June Show n’ Sale.

Dirk talked about his care and growing methods for various Astrophytums and ways to nurture the plants into Show specimens. Some tips and tricks Dirk shared include: changing the soil to help the plants grow faster, knowing which plants to water from the bottom pan, and being cautious of semi-sun/semi-shade. He mentioned that while these plants might be easy to grow from seeds and germinate, they’re hard to keep alive—they’re quite finicky with needing too much or too little water. However, once you’ve got a few strong and healthy Astrophytum, Dirk mentioned that hybridizing them would be simple and easy, especially when they can flower 1-2 times a year. Dirk’s Astrophytums in the picture were planted from seeds around 2016, nearly 10 years of growth!

Charles is a connoisseur of very specific and specialized species. He eagerly talked about the genus of the South African plants he brought: Impatiens. The Impatiens Tuberosa plant pictured was grown from a seed 2 years ago. Requiring bright light and partial shade, they are quite easy to care for and grow, so informed Charles. During their growth, Charles tested putting his plant out in the rain, to which they were okay with light rain. However, once Winter hit, Charles made sure to bring the precious Impatiens inside as they will die below 10C. Be aware that Impatiens are self pollinating so be careful when their seeds are ready because they’ll burst! When in their natural habitat, the base of these plants can grow as wide as 1ft with the height also reaching as high as 1ft, too. Some final key characteristics of Impatiens Charles shared are: they can store water in the dry season, their flowers are pink, and their leaves will curl in the evening (opening in the daytime)---Charles was surprised they seemed to have an internal clock!

Thank you Dirk and Charles for showing and sharing your plants with us!