Succulents and More™

Whenever I’m in San Diego, I try to make a stop at OASIS Water Efficient Gardens in Escondido. OASIS is part of Altman Plants, the largest commercial grower of ornamental plants in the US. Virtually all of the succulents you see in big box stores like Lowe’s and Home Depot are from Altman. In recent years, the company has branched out beyond succulents into perennials , roses , tropicals , and now even proteas . OASIS is Altman’s retail outlet, located on their Escondido growing grounds. As you can see in the photos below, it’s nothing fancy – in fact, it’s about as basic as it gets. But that doesn’t matter because it’s all about the plants. I’ve been to OASIS several times over the years, and every time I found a few special plants that aren’t available in the big box stores even though they’re propagated through tissue culture. Last year, a friend got me a couple of variegated agaves (‘Orca’ and ‘Orizaba’). Online, they still sell for over $100; at OASIS they were $20. This time, I ...