Succulents and More™

I’ve been dragging my feet on this, but the time has finally come to address the elephant in the room. The winter of 2025–2026 has been like no other I can remember. We got down to freezing maybe a couple of times, for a few hours near sunrise, but that was it. Some mild frost, but no serious freeze. And we haven’t had excessive amounts of rain either. As a result, we shouldn’t have had much, if any, damage in the garden. And yet look at this: Agave potatorum ‘Cherry Swizzle’ rotting in the center As you can see below, there are plenty more examples of rotting agaves. I had barely brought home this variegated Agave attenuata when it started to fall apart: Variegated Agave attenuata Mangave ‘Bloodspot’ × Agave parrasana : Mangave ‘Bloodspot’ × Agave parrasana This Agave impressa was one of my favorites. This really hurts: Agave impressa And it is a complete loss. There is no coming back from this: Agave impressa This variegated Agave victoriae-reginae is a goner: Variegated Agave vic...

On Saturday, I had an open garden for members of the Sacramento Cactus and Succulent Society (SCSS) and my volunteer group at the UC Davis Arboretum Teaching Nursery . The weather couldn’t have been better — afternoon temperatures in the mid-70s — and in spite of the unpleasant wind, a good time was had by all. At least that’s what I hope. And if people didn’t like the plants, they had my friend Michele’s insanely delicious brownies to fall back on. (Thank you, Michele, for all your help.) The timing was perfect, too. Many aloes were at peak bloom — just what I had hoped for. I took a bunch of photos since the garden looked so tidy, so lean back and enjoy. The far end of the sidewalk bed has never looked better. You can see the aloes from a block away! Moroccan daisy ( Rhodanthemum hosmariense ), native to — you guessed it — Morocco. I’m always amazed by the sheer flower power of this otherwise unassuming perennial. Two aloes dominate this corner: Aloe vaombe × spectabilis (right), an...