CactusWorldLIVE! – Online talks for November 2021 - next months talks are published just before the end of the month
Please note that this month the talks are on the second and third Tuesday – 9th and 16th November. Please contact the talks team at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. if you have any suggestions or ideas for talks or speakers.
Please also put 7th December in your diary as this will be our “Ask the Experts” special evening. This is your chance to ask any questions you may have about cacti and succulents. You will be able to personally put your questions to our panel of experts on the night. Alternatively, you can send a question through in advance, and we will invite you to ask it on the night or we can read the question out if you prefer. If you wish to put a question forward in advance, please email it to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Topic: Ask the Experts
Time: Tuesday 7 December 2021 at 7:30pm (GMT/UTC)
Meeting ID: 821 0350 5176
Passcode: bcss
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82103505176?pwd=TkZWNThqOUt2MmVQM3IxVlhtUlFIUT09
This is your chance to ask any questions you may have about cacti and succulents and their cultivation. You will be able to put your questions personally to our panel of experts on the night. Alternatively, you can send a question through in advance and we will invite you to ask it on the night, or we can read the question out if you prefer. If you wish to put a question forward in advance, please email it to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
THE PANEL:
Elizabeth Maddock
I have been growing these plants for well over twenty years and I am primarily a succulent grower, focusing mainly on the Crassulaceae, concentrating on Aeonium and Sedum but also Aloe, Agave and Gasteria. I do have over 50 cacti too and some I have had for a long time. I do feel passionately about how our plants are grown, they need the right conditions to do well, and I try to promote this in the advice I give.
Norbert and Elisabeth Sarnes
As ‘old bones’ we have been collecting and cultivating cacti since 1977. We were originally mainly enthusiastic about North American and Caribbean cacti, but after our first trip to South America, we dedicated ourselves fully to the cacti of Patagonia. In addition, we also cultivate some plants from Chile and north-west Argentina. Our special love is for the genera Austrocactus, Pterocactus and Maihueniopsis.
Stirling Baker
I have been growing cactus and succulent plants since the mid-1970s. I have always had a general collection but have also specialised in Haworthia and allied genera. I am an ardent exhibitor at both local and national level and have also had the privilege of managing the last three National Shows, and have been a member of the Shows Committee for the last 20 years.
Topic: Tom Guy Hart Dyke – Plant Hunter & Gardener with Passion
Time: Tuesday 21 December 2021 at 7:30pm (GMT/UTC)
Meeting ID: 862 7570 9124
Passcode: bcss
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86275709124?pwd=eWRoZmZ6ejU4dFpLUVpINVYvZFMwQT09
Tom is a renowned plant expert, plant hunter, and TV personality. Importantly for us he is also patron of the BCSS and has been a great advocate and supporter of the Society.
Tom first shot to fame in 2000, when he was unfortunately kidnapped for nine months in the Colombian jungle on a plant hunting expedition that went dangerously wrong. After Tom’s return home to his ancestral home of Lullingstone Castle in Kent, he and Paul Winder wrote the best-selling book ‘The Cloud Garden’ detailing their experiences in the jungle. Tom’s jungle antics – building gardens in the mountains, much to the annoyance of his captors - cemented his reputation as a ‘plant nut’.
Since his release from captivity, Tom has been busy building the 'World' in his back garden at Lullingstone Castle commandeering his granny’s 18th Century Walled Garden. The idea of the World Garden was born out of a time of despair while in captivity. His dream garden contains the plants he has collected from across the globe, planted out in their respective countries of origin.
In this exciting talk Tom will discuss his interests and great passions with stories from an exciting life (perhaps too exciting at times?). This promises to be a very entertaining evening and we are privileged to have Tom speak to the BCSS as our patron for the Christmas special. Please join us for this special event at 7:30pm GMT on 21 December.
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