Gunnar Eisel’s interest in cacti and succulents can be traced back to his childhood infatuation with photographing night-blooming cereus flowers and a few unfortunate encounters with opuntia glochids. His interest in cacti became intensified through many annual trips to the Anza-Borrego desert.
Born and raised near Heidelberg, Germany, Eisel has taught music at CSULA, CSUF, Whittier College Fullerton College and Citrus College. He recently retired as a full-time music theory and history of music professor at Citrus College in Glendora, CA where his students were occasionally subjected to his rantings regarding cacti and succulents.
An avid cactus and succulent collector, he served as Executive Director of the Cactus and Succulent Society of America (CSSA) for 15 years. President of the San Gabriel Valley Cactus and Succulent Society, and Inter-city Show and Sale Chair.
The John R. Rodman Arboretum at Pitzer College: A
Jewel of C&S Landscaping
The Arboretum was the brainchild of Pitzer College Environmental Studies professor John Rodman who served as its director from 1988 to 2001. Joe Clements followed him as director from 2001 to 2015 when he retired.
The 30+ acre arboretum is composed of 15 distinct garden areas. Several disciplines make use of the arboretum, including art, anthropology and environmental studies. This topic is particularly interesting for a number of reasons. It’s a relatively new landscape installation with most plants easily obtainable in the trade. These plants are also suitable to our area and easy to propagate. You may be inspired by the landscaping and find some of the ideas useful in our own landscaping projects.
Gates Cactus and Succulent Society 