The Huntington Library, Art Museum and Botanical Gardens in San Marino is presenting a Zoom version of the Annual Succulent Plants Symposium for the second year in a row on Friday, September 3, 4 to 5:30 p.m.
In this 38th edition of the annual event, six of California’s most notable experts on succulent plant propagation will conduct a one-hour lightning-round discussion about the plants that challenge them the most as growers and put their skill sets to the test.
A 30-minute Q&A session follows the presentation.
Speaker of the Month Joe Stead, from Orange Coast College, will talk about succulent propagation, specifically “Burseraceae: Propagating Against All Odds.” Stead has worked in the Orange Coast College Horticulture Department for the last 24 years. He works full-time as a coordinator and teaches part-time. The classes he teaches include Plant propagation, Greenhouse science, and Cactus and Succulents and their use in the Landscape.
Stead will have a short keynote presentation followed by a demonstration of various types of propagation. He will bring some plants to sell. Also, he says that when he gives a talk on propagation he always has some plants to give away.
Ernesto Sandoval, Manager of the Botanical Conservatory at UC Davis, will talk about “Dorstenia gigas: Seeds and Cuttings (How and Why).” The UC Davis Botanical Conservatory is both a teaching and research facility and contains many exotic plants. One species, the titan arum, is one of the world’s largest and rarest flowering plants.
Sandoval takes pride in finding new possibilities for cross-campus collaboration. He hosts students in the Conservatory, leading tours of the nearly 4,000 plant species found within. He feels fortunate to work with many different types of students, including STEM and non-STEM majors.
Brian Kemble, from the Ruth Bancroft Garden and Nursery in Walnut Creek, will speak about “Echeveria cuspidata var. zaragozae: A Miniature Gem from Northeastern Mexico.” He has been with the Ruth Bancroft Garden since 1980 and is highly regarded in the horticultural world. He is a prolific writer and lecturer on botanical topics, especially relating to succulent plants. Kemble has a B.A. in Philosophy from Antioch College, and he began concentrating on succulents soon after moving to San Francisco in 1971.
Kemble’s work has included hybridizing aloes, agaves, gasterias and some South American cacti. He has traveled extensively in Mexico, Madagascar and southern Africa, studying and photographing plants in their native habitats. His gardening column, “On the Dry Side,” appears in several newspapers in the San Francisco Bay Area, and his photos have been published in numerous books on succulents.
Rob Skillin, founding member of the Central Coast Cactus and Succulents Society, will speak about “Propagating Adenia; Success and Frustration.” He has been growing cacti and succulents for 40 years, and have been involved in various local societies, starting with the San Diego C&SS in the 1970’s, then to Santa Barbara and Bakersfield clubs. At Central Coast C&SS, he was first President and first Show and Sale chair. He has also been involved with the Cactus And Succulent Society Of America (CSSA) as a member of its Board of Directors, and as a CSSA certified Judge.
Skillin enjoys photography and travel, with botanical explorations of the western U.S., Mexico, portions of South America, Africa, Madagascar and the Middle East. He speaks regularly to clubs throughout California. Many of his photographs have been published as illustrations for articles and covers of the Journal and Haseltonia, as well as the Timber Press “Book of Succulents of the World.”
John Trager, Curator of the Desert Collections at The Huntington, will speak on “Propagation Notes from the Huntington Desert Collections.” He has been with The Huntington since 1983. Prior to that, he had worked with Master Propagator Frank Horwood at Abbey Garden Nursery when it was in Carpinteria. Trager’s horticultural writings have appeared in the Cactus and Succulent Journal, the Euphorbia Journal, the Brooklyn Botanic Garden’s Garden Record, Garden (the journal of the Royal Horticultural Society) and the Rock Garden Quarterly and “Flora,” the two-volume encyclopedia published in 2003.
As a photographer, Trager’s over 2,000 images have been published in numerous textbooks and horticultural journals including Aloe, American Horticulture and Fine Gardening. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Horticulture from Cal Poly Pomona and earlier studied Botany at UCSB and Santa Barbara City College.
Randy Baldwin, partner and General Manager of San Marcos Growers, will present “Propagating the White Rhino Agave, Agave victoriae-reginae Albomarginata.” San Marcos Growers is a wholesale nursery in Santa Barbara known in the nursery industry for the diversity of plants that it grows and for the introduction of new plants suitable for cultivation in California. Baldwin has worked there since 1981. Prior to this, he worked for a retail nursery while completing a BA in Environmental Studies at the University of California at Santa Barbara.
In his spare time, Baldwin speaks to groups about his love of plants and maintains web pages for the San Marcos Growers Horticultural website.
The event on Friday will be held online via Zoom. The link will be sent to attendees in the registration confirmation email.
To register for free, visit www.huntington.org/events/
For more information, call (626) 405-2100.
