The Arid Adaptations of Jeffery Lee Moore

The following is a profile of Jeff Moore (Arid Adaptations, Tucson, AZ) that I wrote for the CSSA Journal, the quarterly publication of the Cactus and Succulent Society of America (Volume 95-2, June 12, 2023). I've been meaning to repost it here on Succulents and More, but for some reasons I didn't get around to it until now. 

Jeff is probably the best nurseryman I know. His propagation and growing skills are legendary. I've written about him and his nursery, Arid Adaptations, before (see “Related posts” at the bottom), but I thought you might enjoy this more detailed profile.

——————————————

For succulent lovers, Tucson, Arizona is one of the hottest destinations in the country. The city is surrounded by spectacular scenery, ranging from the desert to mountains. Places like Saguaro National Park, the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, and Tohono Chul Park allow you to get up close to the native vegetation of the Sonoran Desert without being afraid of getting lost in the wild. And if you want to bring a piece of the desert into your own garden, you’re in luck, too: Tucson has no shortage of great nurseries specializing in cacti and other succulents. One of the best is so far under the radar that even many Tucsonans are unaware of its existence: Arid Adaptations. That’s partially because of circumstance and partially by design. The nursery is located off the beaten path northwest of town and it’s not set up for walk-in customers. It doesn’t sell tchotchkes like talavera elephants, nor does it sell shovels, rakes or hoes—or potting mixes or soil amendments. At Arid Adaptations, it’s all about the plants.

Cactus on a stick, anyone? Jeff Moore holding a saguaro seedling.

The nursery is run by one man: Jeffery Lee Moore (not to be confused with the other succulent enthusiast, author and nurseryman Jeff Moore, who owns and operates Solana Succulents in San Diego County). He’s the owner, manager, grower, maintenance, and repair guy. He does everything that needs doing, and he does it with discipline, dedication, and sheer doggedness. He sows seeds, pampers the seedlings, grows them until they’re large enough, and then sells them. When something breaks—usually irrigation, but sometimes the very structures that house the plants—he fixes it. In the winter, when a freeze alarm goes off in the middle of the night, he’s the one to leap out of bed. It’s hard work, underappreciated, and underpaid, but Jeff wouldn’t have it any other way.

Originally from El Centro in California’s Imperial Valley, Jeff ’s family moved to Tucson when he was 12. He had been gardening since he was 6 and began to grow vegetables after the move. “I wanted to learn how to cook,” he explains, “but we were too poor to buy extra ingredients for me to experiment with, so I started a veggie garden.”

Even though Jeff clearly had a green thumb, becoming a professional plant grower wasn’t on his mind. “I made the brilliant decision to major in music,” he says. “I graduated from high school at 14, and started college at 16. It seemed like a good idea at the time. I’ve always been more of a free spirit, no real plan. I just wanted to make music, and be a hippie farmer.”

College was soon put on hold so Jeff could move out. He got a job at a nursery and did an internship at Native Seeds/SEARCH, a non-profit conservation organization selling heirloom seeds. “My primary job was helping grow various crops for seed production, but I also taught classes, and helped clean seed that was eventually sold. I’m especially grateful for my experience working with seeds. I use those skills constantly. It’s especially important for my breeding programs. Improperly collected or stored seeds will be useless for reliable germination.”

In addition, Jeff was volunteering for the research department of the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, doing flora studies for Ironwood Forest National Monument. After a year, he was offered a full-time position, initially working as a general horticulturist. “It became obvious that my passion and my skills growing cactus and succulents were by far the best in the botany department so I was given the opportunity to design and install the exhibits that focused on these plants, including the Agave Garden, Boojum Hill, and the Thornscrub exhibits.” After ten years, it was time to move on. “I needed more opportunities than the Desert Museum had to offer,” Jeff explains. “It was a great job, but I didn’t want to follow the pattern of so many others there who had the same job for 30 years.”

In 2005, Jeff bought three acres near Marana, just north of the western unit of Saguaro National Park. The property was unimproved and had nothing but desert shrubs and a few eucalyptus trees on it. Through years of back-breaking labor, he transformed the lot into what it is now: a thriving desert garden filled with trees, shrubs, cacti, agaves, aloes and all manner of heat-loving perennials. Jeff lives on the property and shares it with a cat and three dogs. If you follow Jeff on social media, you know Mr. Fluffy, Jeff ’s canine alter ego.

Jeff and two of his dogs

Jeff started building a nursery right after he bought the property but didn’t apply for a business license until 2012 after he had left the Desert Museum. “Cacti grow slow,” Jeff says, “and I wanted to build my inventory before going at it full-time.”

Initially, he had only one greenhouse with a few thousand plants, around 500 species. Now he has 11 greenhouses (approximately 60,000 square feet), all built by himself, and he has plans for six more. The greenhouses were sited and constructed in such a way that they would have the least impact on the natural vegetation. As a result, they aren’t all clustered together but distributed throughout the property. Jeff estimates that he currently has about 250,000 plants from 2,500 species. With his trademark dry humor, he wisecracks: “I’m not completely sure because I can’t count that high.”

Peeking into one of the hoop houses    

Three of Jeff's hoop houses

Aloe ferox amid a sea of succulents

Enormous variety of cactus in just one greenhouse

Endless sea of seedlings

Larger cacti outside Jeff's house

Most of the plants in Jeff ’s greenhouses are grown by himself. He does buy Adenium seedlings about once a year if he doesn’t have enough of his own (Adeniums sell well, especially when they’re in flower). “I don’t think I’m a better grower than anyone else,” Jeff says. “It’s because I’m poor and can’t afford to buy plants, but it’s also because I have better success if I’m working with plants that are accustomed to my environment, not bringing in plants from a different nursery environment.”

Echinocactus platyacanthus and Mammillaria spinosissima seedlings

     with flowers and fruits

Colorful fruits on Mammillaria boolii

Gymnocalycium baldianum and Mammillaria hahniana

Jeff prefers to produce his own seeds as much as possible. “It’s not plant hoarding if they are for seed stock, right?” he thinks. Some seeds are collected in the wild, which gives Jeff the opportunity to explore interesting places to hike and camp. As with the construction of his greenhouses and his general life philosophy, his goal is to have as little impact on the natural environment as possible. “I’ll collect some habitat seeds, but I keep the best plants in my nursery for future seed production. It has taken more than a decade to produce seeds on some plants,” he adds. “Wild collection of seeds has its place as long as it’s not excessive and, just as importantly, the collector knows what’s viable. I remember asking my mother to collect seeds on a trip she took. She brought back dried flower bits, not a single fruit.” (Editor’s note: be sure you have the proper permits and permissions to collect seed from habitat).

Astrophytum caput-medusae seedlings

Astrophytum myriostigma babies in many sizes and (winter) color

Parodia erubescens

Jeff has a couple of mist benches for starting seeds. “I have several areas with varying humidity, light, and misting frequency to accommodate all the various conditions seeds from different species need to germinate,” he explains. “I’d say my primary method involves crossing my fingers and hoping for the best. It seems to be working.” The quality of the plants Jeff produces speaks for itself.

Trichocereus hybrid

Agave chazaroi and Thelocactus setispinus

Parodia erubescens and Mammillaria boolii

To find out more about Jeff ’s methods for seed propagation, check out this presentation originally created for the Central Arizona Cactus and Succulent Society.

The soil mix Jeff uses is quite consistent throughout the nursery, but it still varies according to the specific needs of any given plant. “Generally, it’s 55% pumice, 25% organic compost, 10% vermiculite, 5% calcium, and 5% granular fertilizer containing micronutrients,” Jeff says. “It can vary by season, too. If it’s later in the year and I’m planting into a large pot, I’ll add more pumice and calcium.”

With so many greenhouses and plants, Jeff relies on automated systems for irrigation. “Some systems are programmed to run daily, some once a week, and other areas are watered by hand once a month,” Jeff explains. “My plants are from so many different climates, and they have many different needs.” Jeff fertilizes young plants more frequently and cuts back as they get bigger. Jeff doesn’t have his own well, which would essentially give him free water. “I pay for water,” he says. “I want it to be expensive so I limit my water use. We live in a desert, and I want to make sure I do my part to use the least amount possible. A financial penalty encourages that.”

When asked which plants are particularly easy or hard for him to grow, Jeff replies with self-deprecating modesty: “I’m pretty good at killing everything, though I have the lowest failure rate among small cacti from Mexico and southern South America. For some reason, I have the hardest time growing and keeping alive really common plants like Rebutia, Cereus peruvianus, saguaro, and golden barrels.”

Jeff sells plants in 2-inch pots all the way up to 25-gallon tubs. “I have 5- to 10-year plans for most species I grow,” he explains. “A certain amount is held back for future, larger pot sizes. So if I start 10,000 Ferocactus pringlei seedlings, for example, I’ll keep about 200 of the most vigorous for 3-gallon pots, 500 for 8-inch pots, 1,000 for 6-inch pots, 1,000+ for 4-inch pots, and the rest might be sold in 2-inch pots to my wholesale customers.”

In addition to wholesale growers, Jeff ’s customers include retail nurseries in Phoenix and Tucson as well as Tucson-area farmers markets. For Jeff, that’s a good way to sell to the public since he isn’t set up for walk-in retail at his property. He does accommodate collectors interested in visiting the nursery and buying plants, subject to prior appointment.

Plants heading for the farmer's market

Truckload of plants for the farmer's market

Running a nursery—taking care of hundreds of thousands of plants, constantly making more, and then selling them—is an enormous undertaking that typically would require at least a few employees. Jeff does it all by himself. As if the nursery wasn’t challenging and time-consuming enough, he has begun to expand beyond ornamental plants. In typical fashion, he doesn’t do it half-heartedly: He grows an increasing variety of fruits and vegetables—everything from tomatoes, squash, eggplants, and peppers to peaches, berries, passionfruit, and citrus—and has about 160 fruit trees. Runoff from the nursery that would normally be wasted is used to irrigate the farm. Jeff also has 30 chickens; they give him not only eggs but also plenty of organic fertilizer to feed the garden and orchard. Anything Jeff doesn’t eat himself or share with friends and neighbors is sold at farmers markets..

Murcott mandarins and Lisbon lemons

Jeff is excited about his integrated farm and plans to grow even more fruits and vegetables, focusing on those that can be cultivated efficiently and sustainably. The most recent additions to the farm include several hundred asparagus and strawberry plants. Being self-sufficient and helping to feed others are big drivers for Jeff. For somebody who cares so deeply about plants, this seems like a natural evolution.

Like virtually all growers of ornamental plants, Jeff is also a collector. He started collecting at age 20 with a Mammillaria spinosissima and still has some of his early plants. Unlike many who specialize in a few specific genera, Jeff ’s interests are broader and ever evolving: “Every year I find a new thing to obsess over,” he admits. His collection includes everything from small cacti staged in designer pots to large succulents like aloes which are planted throughout the property. “I want it to be more like a beautiful desert garden with a cactus nursery here and there,” Jeff adds.

Jeff has about 2,000 plants from 800 species in his personal collection. To accommodate them, he has a 1,500-square foot greenhouse as well as another 1,000 square feet of outdoor bench space. Among the plants that have been in his collection the longest are some members of the Didiereaceae family, including Alluaudia procera, Alluaudia comosa, and Didierea madagascariensis, as well as Coryphantha macromeris, a very slow-growing cactus native to Texas and southern New Mexico. The one plant he’s most excited about having in his collection is Adenia pechuelii, a member of the Passifloraceae family native to Namibia.

While Jeff collects a variety of things, it’s no secret that fat plants have a special place in his heart. “I love caudiciforms,” he raves. “Give me a nice thick plant to stage, and I’ll be quite satisfied. Staging plants to mimic their appearance in nature is my favorite method,” he says. Sometimes I’ll use contrasting rocks to accentuate the plant, but other times I’ll use rocks that match the plant, almost too well. I once entered a plant in a show that looked exactly like the rocks in the pot. The people accepting submissions said “ ‘there’s no plant in this pot.’” The rarity of a plant doesn’t factor into its appeal: “I’m attracted to character, in people and in plants. Rarity isn’t the attraction. That’s like an ego thing for people. Plants happen to be rare because knowledge is required to understand what some ugly, extremely expensive seedling will grow into.”

Thelocactus bicolor paired with mustard-yellow rocks Jeff got at the Tucson Gem & Mineral Show

Pseudolithos migiurtinus, a succulent so odd that only a collector could love it

Euphorbia bupleurifolia in Jeff's personal collection

Euphorbia alfredii in Jeff's personal collection

Variegated Ferocactus hybrid

Like most of the plants he produces for sale, the majority of Jeff ’s collection plants are seed-grown as well. “Here’s a little secret,” he says. “I started my nursery partially to justify buying seeds of all the plants I’ve always wanted. I have most of my collection goals as a result.”

4 year-old Pseudolithos sphaericus. Photo courtesy of Jeff Moore.

Euphorbia stellata. Photo courtesy of Jeffery Moore.

Frailea castanea. Photo courtesy of Jeffery Moore.

If you ever get to see Jeff ’s collection and fall in love with a particular plant, you might leave with a broken heart. When asked if he ever sells plants from his collection, Jeff ’s answer is quick and succinct: “Never!”

But you don’t need to leave empty-handed. Jeff has so many outstanding plants for sale that you’re sure to find a few things to add to your own collection. And if you don’t have a collection yet, it might be time to start one!

——————————————

Jeff’s nursery isn’t open to the public, but people can contact him to make an appointment if they’re looking for something specific (contact info here). The plant list on his web site gives you an idea of the kinds of plants he grows.

Jeff also sells seeds through Arid Origins, and he's a very active seller (@AridOrigins) on the Palmstreet live shopping platform.

Tucson-area folks can find Jeff and a rotating selection of plants at the Rillito Park Farmers Market (4502 North 1st Avenue) on Sundays and at the Green Valley Village Farmers & Artisans Market every Wednesday.

RELATED POSTS:

• Jeff Moore, the hardest-working plantsman in Tucson (January 2023)
• Visiting Jeff Moore / Arid Adaptations Nursery in Tucson, AZ (May 2021)
• Visiting Jeff Moore's Arid Adaptations Nursery in Tucson, Arizona (December 2019)

© Gerhard Bock, 2025. All rights reserved. To receive all new posts by email, please subscribe here.