ti group meeting in Southern California

[Tropicalken]

There will be a meeting of the newly formed ti group (cordyline fruticosa) this coming Sat. June 6 at 9:00 A.M. in Gardena California. I am posting this here in case there are interested people in Southern California that have not heard about this new group. Below is a copy of the notice that was sent out to existing members. If you have any interest, please come and join us.

Greetings ti lovers,

Our next ti meeting is Sat. June 6 at 9:00 A.M. at Mel Toyofuku's home in Gardena. Mel is going to talk about his growing techniques which should prove interesting and informative. Mel travels to Hawaii several times a year bringing back new ti material and ti seeds. He has an extensive collection and many new hybrids that he has grown from seed. Mel said he will provide some sandwich snacks for the attendees. His address is 16311 Manhattan Place, Gardena CA. 90247. If you get lost his number is 310 532-5365.

Directions from 405 South

Take the Redondo Beach Blvd. exit 40B

Turn left onto Redondo Beach Blvd. - go 2.2 mi.

Turn right onto S Manhattan Pl. and proceed to 16311 Manhattan Pl. - 0.4 mi.

Directions from 405 North

Take Western Ave exit 38B

Turn right onto S. Western Ave. - l.5 mi.

Turn left onto W. Gardena Blvd. - 0.1 mi.

Turn right onto S. Manhattan Pl. and proceed to 16311 Manhattan Pl. - 0.1 mi.

I hope to see you all there.

Ken - mailing for David Bain who is in Hawaii at present.

[epicure3]

I'm sure that you'll find some interest here. Ti plants are a favorite of mine. I can't make the trip, unfortunately.

[Tropicalken]

I'm sure that you'll find some interest here. Ti plants are a favorite of mine. I can't make the trip, unfortunately.

Hopefully there are more people down your way that might have some interest. Our initial meeting in April had over a dozen people. I expect that to grow as word gets out. The plan discussed at the first meeting was to have a meeting every two months and see if that works. So the next one should be in early Aug. We're trying to rotate the meeting around to different yards in the Los Angeles and Orange County areas at the moment, but I see no reason why that couldn't expand up and down the coast. If we can't book a yard for a meeting, Johnny Mendoza of Tropical Vibe Nursery in Newport Beach will provide the meeting place. We had our initial meeting there.

Thanks for your reply and spread the word around to any of your plant friends that might be interested.

Ken Garlock - South Pasadena, CA

[junglegalfla]

I wish there was a group here in the Tampa area

[Tropicalken]

I wish there was a group here in the Tampa area

The best way to get a group going is to be active in it yourself. First see if there is enough interest in your area to support a group. I'll bet you there is. The problem is getting people to organize it and keep it running. The most likely candidates would be people who are retired. They don't have all the pressures of a job to deal with and will have more time to deal with what needs to be done. Also it would be a good idea if you can find a nursery in your area that has an interest in selling ti plants and form an association with them. It would be a place where you can have meetings when there are no volunteers to have one at their home. Are there any ti growers in your area? I know there are a few in the southern part of the state. It seems a club should have started down that way years ago. I'm sure that such nurseries would be very cooperative about helping out as long as the burden of running the club was not on them. Their time is needed to run their businesses.

So, to sum it up, get active and search out other ti enthusiasts in your area. Meet up with them and see if you can get something going. Eventually it will end up being a great way to get growing information from members and distributing new and interesting ti varieties.

Ken

[Tropicalken]

Sorry, I posted this under a new topic by mistake.

There have been quite a few hits on this thread. If you are in the Southern California area and have decided to attend, please inform me so I can pass the information on to the host of the meeting. Probably there won't be that many, but on the other hand I wouldn't want a lot of people showing up without giving the host notice.

Thanks,

Ken

[The Germinator]

Will there be a plant sale?

[Tropicalken]

Will there be a plant sale?

There is no official plant sale as far as I know unless our host has some extras he intends to sell or raffle. This is only our second meeting so people have not started propogating from the varieties they have. I'm sure that will start now that we have organized. Still it might be worth your while to check out the plants that are being grown so you know what culitvars you would be interested in to obtain in the future. I know Mel has an extensive collection. I have over 100 types myself, so I'm sure material will be available soon. If you're really into ti plants, going to a meeting would hook you up with others that you could obtain or swap material with.

Thanks for your inquiry,

Ken

[Kim]

So how did the ti group meeting go? Any photos to share? I enjoy ti plants and would like to find souces for more that do well in southern California. Always room for another bromeliad, orchid, or ti plant!

[Tropicalken]

So how did the ti group meeting go? Any photos to share? I enjoy ti plants and would like to find souces for more that do well in southern California. Always room for another bromeliad, orchid, or ti plant!

Hi Kim,

The ti meeting went well. There were around 14 people there. Mel, the host had a large collection of ti plants in pots, which were kept in a shade house. He also had quite a few new varieties that he had raised from seed. He gave us tips on soils used when potting ti plants up, natural products to ward off insect damage, and showed us how he starts his seeds. His wife cooked a beautiful buffet which everyone enjoyed.

I did take a few pictures, but my camera has something wrong with it and will not download the pictures to the computer. On top of that I'm not too computer literate to begin with and so have never posted pictures.

If you send your address to tropicalkenn@sbcglobal.net , I can send you an attachment that shows different sources of ti.

Our next meeting will be at my home on Sat. Aug. 1 at 9:00 A.M. The address is 1415 Indiana Ave. South Pasadena, CA. I'll be posting it as a new topic on the board in the near future.

Thanks for your inquiry about the meeting.

Ken