UC Davis Arboretum 2025 fall plant sales: lots of agaves, mangaves, and other succulents
It’s mid-September and therefore time to plan for the upcoming fall plants sales. In the Sacramento area (and beyond), the plant sales at the UC Davis Arboretum Teaching Nursery (ATN) are among the biggest events in the gardening calendar.
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There are four plants sales in the spring, and three in the fall. The dates for the 2025 fall sales are September 27, October 18, and November 15 (all are on a Saturday).
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With the help of student and community volunteers, the ATN grows plants specifically for the spring and fall sales — everything from perennials to succulents to grasses, vines, bulbs, herbs, and trees. All plants are appropriate for our climate so you can be sure that what you buy will live in your garden (as long as you treat it well, of course).
As a volunteer, I’m at the nursery every week, and I can tell you that the sales floor is overflowing with cool plants. According to the online inventory for the September 27 sale, there are more than 28,000 plants from almost 800 different taxa, ranging from to Abutilon to Ziziphus. No matter what plants or gardening style you’re into, there’s plenty to choose from. In fact, the selection is larger than at most commercial nurseries.
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Succulents are my main interest, and I’m happy to report that the category is well represented — from agaves and aloes to echeverias, euphorbias, mangaves, sedums, yuccas, and more. This fall, there’s a particularly strong selection of agaves and mangaves. In fact, I don’t think the ATN has ever offered this many different agaves, including some choice hybrids from Rancho Tissue that aren’t available anywhere else in Northern California:
Agave ‘Blue Flame’
Agave ‘Blue Glow’
Agave ‘Indigo Fusion’ (A. potatorum ‘Spawn’ × isthmensis)
Agave ‘Little Shark’
Agave ‘Sky Silhouette’ (A. ‘Blue Flame’ × isthmensis)
Agave americana ‘Lemon Lime’
Agave americana ‘Marginata’
Agave americana ‘Mediopicta alba’
Agave americana ‘Striata’
Agave attenuata ‘Blue Fantastic’
Agave attenuata ‘Ray of Light’
Agave bracteosa
Agave desmetiana
Agave desmetiana ‘Variegata’
Agave lophantha ‘Quadricolor’
Agave mitis ‘Nova’
Agave parrasana ‘Triumphant’
Agave parryi var. huachucensis
Agave parryi var. truncata
Agave pedunculifera
Agave pygmae ‘Dragon Toes’
Agave sebastiana
Agave tequilana ‘Weber Blue’
Agave toumeyana
Agave victoriae-reginae
Agave vilmoriniana
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| Agave attenuata ‘Ray of Light’ |
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| Agave attenuata ‘Blue Fantastic’ |
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| Agave pedunculifera |
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| Agave ‘Sky Silhouette’ (A. ‘Blue Flame’ × isthmensis) |
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| Agave ‘Sky Silhouette’ (A. ‘Blue Flame’ × isthmensis) |
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| Agave ‘Indigo Fusion’ (A. potatorum ‘Spawn’ × isthmensis) |
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| Agave ‘Indigo Fusion’ (A. potatorum ‘Spawn’ × isthmensis) |
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| Agave parrasana ‘Triumphant’ |
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| Agave pygmae ‘Dragon Toes’ |
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| Agave parryi var. huachucensis |
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| Agave parryi var. huachucensis |
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| Agave parryi var. truncata |
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| Agave sebastiana |
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| Agave sebastiana |
Fall 2025 aloe offerings:
Aloe ‘Blue Elf’
Aloe ‘Caitlin’
Aloe ‘Safari Sunrise’
Aloe × nobilis
Aloe × spinosissima
Aloe ‘Tangerine’ (A. ferox × arborescens)
Aloe rubroviolacea
Aloe striata
Aloe vera
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| Aloe striata |
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| Aloe ‘Tangerine’ |
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| Aloe rubroviolacea |
Echeverias for sale this fall:
Echeveria ‘Caribbean Blue’
Echeveria ‘Chili Lemon’
Echeveria ‘Chroma’
Echeveria ‘Ghost Buster’
Echeveria ‘Giant Blue
Echeveria ‘Imbricata’
Echeveria ‘Little Pearl’
Echeveria ‘Ruffled Red’
Echeveria agavoides ‘Scarlet’
Echeveria compressicaulis
Echeveria runyonii ‘Topsy Turvy’
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| Echeveria ‘Caribbean Blue’ |
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| Echeveria ‘Ghost Buster’ |
If mangaves are your thing, you’re in luck. The ATN carries more mangaves than any other nursery in the Sacramento area, including the brand-new ‘Permanent Wave’ and the sought after ‘Praying Hands’:
×Mangave ‘Aztec King’
×Mangave ‘Black Magic’
×Mangave ‘Falling Waters’
×Mangave ‘Inkblot’
×Mangave ‘Iron Man’
×Mangave ‘Lavender Lady’
×Mangave ‘Mission to Mars’
×Mangave ‘Permanent Wave’
×Mangave ‘Praying Hands’
×Mangave ‘Racing Stripes’
×Mangave ‘Silver Fox’
×Mangave ‘Snow Leopard’
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| ×Mangave ‘Praying Hands’ |
Yuccas, great for landscaping:
Yucca filamentosa ‘Ivory Tower’
Yucca rigida
Yucca rostrata
Yucca rostrata ‘Sapphire Skies’
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| Yucca rostrata |
And a wide variety of other succulents, including these:
Dasylirion wheeleri
Delosperma cooperi ‘Jewel of Desert Amethyst’
Delosperma cooperi ‘Jewel of Desert Peridot’
Delosperma nubigenum ‘Wheels of Wonder Hot Orange’
Dudleya brittonii
Dudleya palmeri
Euphorbia bracteata (=Pedilanthus bracteatus)
Euphorbia lomelii (=Pedilanthus macrocarpus)
Hesperaloe funifera
Hesperaloe parviflora
Hesperaloe parviflora ‘Straight Up’
Hesperaloe parviflora ‘Weeping Pink’
Nolina nelsonii
Sempervivum ciliosum ‘Borisii’
Lots of sedums and close relatives (Hylotelephium, Phedimus)
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| Euphorbia bracteata |
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| Sempervivum ciliosum ‘Borisii’ |
You can download the inventory for the September 27 sale as an Excel or PDF file. I prefer the Excel version because I can sort it by any number of criteria, including location in the nursery and even quantity. If one of the plants I’m interested in is only available in a limited quantity (under 10, say), I typically grab it first during the sale. In the upcoming fall sale, quantities range from 1 (for example for Adenanthos ‘Silver Haze’) to 200 for Carex flacca ‘Blue Zinger’.
Here are the dates for the 2025 fall sales:
- Saturday, September 27 (9 to 1, members only)
- Saturday, October 18 (9 to 1, everyone)
- Saturday, November 15 (clearance sale, 9 to 1, everyone)
Membership starts at $48. For more info, go to this page.
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For more information on the fall plant sales, including what to expect and some useful tips, go to this page.
The UC Davis Arboretum Teaching Nursery where the plant sales are held is located at 1046 Garrod Drive. Volunteers will direct visitors to available parking spaces. Help is available loading your purchases into your car.
Hope to see you there!
© Gerhard Bock, 2025. All rights reserved. To receive all new posts by email, please subscribe here.
This looks like it could be a dangerous event with so many incredible and interesting plants. The plants look fantastic and healthy with really reasonable prices. You are very lucky to have this program/sale so close to you. I would have to give myself a strict budget. The Semp ciliosum looks very much like a mammilaria with it's soft fur. Very cool! Have fun.
ReplyDeleteWow! The breadth of the display is overwhelming. I think the Davis Arboretum has bested even the Huntington's fall sale. Best wishes for a good turnout.
ReplyDeleteOoooh, maybe a September 27 visit is in order? I'd love another Agave sebastiana, along with a few other things you listed. And I have your Cotula hispida.
ReplyDelete