Los Angeles
Cactus and Succulent Society
Mission Statement
The Los Angeles Cactus and Succulent Society (LACSS) cultivates the study and enjoyment of cactus and succulent plants through educational programs and activities that promote the hobby within a community of fellow enthusiasts and among the greater public.
Come and Visit!
Welcome to the website of the Los Angeles Cactus and Succulent Society. Our nearly 200 members come from throughout the southland and share a passion for cacti and succulents. Throughout the history of LACSS, many of the most prominent researchers, authors, and collectors of the succulent world have been leaders and members of our society.
LACSS meets monthly in the San Fernando Valley to enjoy stimulating presentations, hands-on workshops, plant sales, mini-shows, raffles, trading, and other activities. In addition, LACSS offers field trips to member gardens, nurseries, and private collections. We serve the greater community by offering free educational activities, and presenting an exciting annual festival in April or June, and a Fall Sale.
In order to share the joys and benefits of collecting and cultivating cacti and succulents, we invite you to check out our general meetings on the 1st Thursday of each month at ONEgeneration Senior Enrichment Center at 18255 Victory Blvd.
Doors open at 6:15 for the Social Hour, Ask an Expert, and much more. The business meeting starts promptly at 7pm. Attendance is FREE and open to the public. Each new visitor receives a free plant! We hope to see you at a meeting soon.
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REFRESHMENT REMINDER
Our next meeting is June 6, 2024 Last names beginning with F, G and I, please bring treats!
It is a collective effort that we provide refreshments for our members at the meeting! As you know, bringing refreshments to the meeting is a way to make our meetings more enjoyable and welcoming for everyone.
This month, last names beginning with " F, G and I" It’s your turn!
We kindly ask that each member brings a small contribution of snacks or drinks to share with the group. A lot of us are coming straight from work and appreciate that we are mindful of empty stomachs.
Examples of refreshments that you could bring include:
Appetizers / Sides Cookies or pastries Fruit or vegetables Chips and dip Finger food Pizza
Please bring your contribution in a “disposable” dish!
If bringing refreshments is a difficulty, we ask that you leave a donation in the “Donation Jar” at the Refreshment Table. The club relies on your contribution to continue supplying our membership with sustenance.
We appreciate your cooperation and look forward to seeing you at the meeting.
Thank you,
LACSS
Renew your membership NOW!
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Meeting
June 6, 2024
Doors open 6:15PM
One Generation
18255 Victory Blvd
Reseda CA
June Speaker- Phillippe de Vosjoli
Philippe de Vosjoli has raised caudiciform and pachycaul plants on and off since the 1970s when he first saw specimens of ant plants (Hydnophytum and Myrmecodia species) at Jerry Horne’s nursery in Florida. In the 80s, while in graduate school, he partnered with Richard Wagner in a part-time business in Massachusetts that specialized in unusual plants, including caudexed succulents they imported from Africa. After moving to California in 1985 to pursue his interest in developing methods for keeping and breeding amphibians and reptiles, he attended several of the southern California cactus and succulent shows, which reignited his interest in these plants. As an author and publisher of a magazine and over 40 books on the husbandry and propagation of amphibians and reptiles, he decided to try his hand at writing a plant book on caudiciforms and pachycauls titled Pachyforms, which became a category bestseller. During that time, he also befriended Rudy Lime, a pioneer of SOMA (Succulents as a Medium of Art, a term coined by Rudy) and they worked together to co-author the book Bonsai Succulents. He has just finished a new expanded edition of Pachyforms, which will be available at the meeting.
Pachyforms: An Introduction to some of the most extraordinary plants on planet Earth.
I coined the term ‘pachyforms’ to describe plants that develop proportionately large and thick bodies, species that include caudiciform (forming caudex-like bodies) and pachycaul (thick trunked/body) succulents. Because many of these plants look otherworldly and like living sculptures, they have become increasingly popular in recent years, often making up a significant portion of cactus and succulent shows and ranking among the best investment plants. In fact, just adding the term caudex in an online plant description will increase the number of views or clicks in social media groups and digital marketplaces (whether the plant develops a caudex or not).
My talk will focus on the physical and botanical features of these plants and aspects of their ecologies that are important for their cultivation but not widely known. That knowledge can increase long term success and produce plants with characters that more closely resemble plants in nature. In addition to plants in cultivation, I plan to show plants in the wild photographed by Rob Skillin, a significant contributor to the expanded edition of Pachyforms.
