CSSA 2025 Biennial Convention – Schedule

The CSSA Biennial Convention welcomes succulent and enthusiasts of all experience levels.

Schedule of Events*

Day 1 – Wednesday, April 23
3:00pm – 6:00pmEarly Registration
6:00pm – 9:00pmMeet and Greet in Hotel Bar / Lobby
Day 2 – Thursday, April 24
7:00am – 6:00pmRegistration
7:30am – 5:20pmField Trips – Busses leave from front entrance of Marriott – Please arrive 15 minutes BEFORE departure
7:30am – 5:05pmAnza Borrego and Agua Caliente BBQ
7:45am – 5:15pmSafari Park
8:00am – 4:15pmNorth Country Gardens
8:15am – 3:30pmSan Diego Gardens
8:45am – 5:20pmNurseries West
9:00am – 3:50pmNurseries East
6:00pm – 8:30pmWelcome Reception with Cash Bar
8:00pm – 10:00pmPlants, Pots, Books, and Art Sales Open to All-Access Convention Attendees
Day 3 – Friday, April 25
7:00am – 5:00pmRegistration
7:00am – 5:00pmPlants, Pots, Books, and Art Sales
7:00am – 5:00pmHost Club Hospitality Tables
8:00am – 8:30amWelcome and Opening Comments
8:30am – 9:20amJulia Etter & Martin Kristen – Exploring the Sierra Gorda of Queretaro, Mexico
9:25am – 10:15amBrian Kemble – From Mega to Ankober: Looking for Succulents in Ethiopia
10:15am – 10:35amBreak
10:35am – 11:25amElisabeth Sarnes – Flowering Southern Patagonia
11:30am – 12:00pmAttila Kapitany – Australian Bulbous Succulent Plants
12:00pm – 1:30pmLunch on Your Own
1:30pm – 2:00pmAndry Petignat – Uncarina: the Mousetrap Tree
2:05pm – 2:35pmAndrew Hankey – South African Indigenous Garden Plants (book)
2:35pm – 3:00pmBreak
3:00pm – 3:50pmJeremy Spath – Scouring the Earth for Exceptional, Rare, and New Agaves
4:00pm – 5:00pmConservation Forum
5:00pm – 6:00pmAffiliates Meeting
6:00pm – 7:30pmDinner on Your Own
7:30pm – 9:30pmRare Plant and Book Auction and Cash Bar
Day 4 – Saturday, April 26
7:00am – 5:00pmRegistration
7:00am – 5:00pmPlants, Pots, Books, and Art Sales
7:00am – 5:00pmHospitality Table
8:00am – 8:30amOpening Annoucements
8:30am – 9:20amJoe Stead – My Journey with Operculicarya
9:25am – 10:15amMichelle Cloud-Hughes – A Decade Amongst the Retrorse Barbs: Recent Adventures and Advances in Cylindropuntia Research
10:15am – 10:35amBreak
10:35am – 11:25amGuillermo Rivera – Argentina Cacti: the Importance of Habitat Knowledge in Taxonomy
11:30am – 12:00pmJulia Etter and Martin Kristen – Agavaceae and Crassulaceae: New, Recent and Still Undescribed New Species
12:00pm – 1:30pmLunch On Your Own
1:30pm – 2:20pmTom McCoy – Saudi Arabian Aloes
2:25pm – 2:55pmKelly Griffin – Making New Aloe Hybrids: Painting with Natures Palette
2:55pm – 3:30pmBreak
3:30pm – 4:00pmPieter Van Wyk – Background of the Gariep Centers of Endemism
5:00pm – 6:00pmCash Bar
6:00pm – 10:00pmBanquet and Awards – Keynote Address by Steven Hammer
Day 5 – Sunday, April 27
7:00am – 9:00amRegistration
7:00am – 1:30pmPlants, Pots, Books, and Art Sales
7:00am – 3:00pmHospitality Table
8:00am – 8:30amAnnouncements
8:30am – 9:20amPieter Van Wyk – Background on the Richtersveld Desert Botanical Garden
9:25am – 10:15amAndry Petignat – Stapelianthus of Madagascar
10:15am – 10:35amBreak
10:35am – 11:25amAndrew Hankey – Exploring the Mpumalanga Province Escarpment: The New South African Ledebouria Species and Insights from the Field
11:30am – 12:00pmElisabeth Sarnes – Maihueniopsis in Chile
12:00pm – 1:30pmLunch On Your Own
1:30pm – 2:20pmAttila Kapitany – Iconically Australian: Cycads along with other Spinescent and Xerophytic Succulent Plants
2:25pm – 3:15pmKelly Griffin – Dudleyas: Unveiling Living Art on the cliffs, the New, the Beautiful and a few of the Strange
3:20pm – 3:50pmBrian Kemble – A Closer Look at Mangaves
3:55pm – 4:25pmAttila Kapitany – TBD
4:25pm – 4:30pmClosing Remarks
All Times Pacific
*Schedule Subject to Change

CSSA Memberships start at only $20/year

Join the CSSA Biennial Convention in San Diego this April 2025! Open to all CSSA members, this event is perfect for enthusiasts at every level. Become a member today and don’t miss out!