Succulents and More™

I don't do a lot of plant shopping at big-box garden centers although occasionally they're good for a surprise. More often than not, though, their selection is less than exciting, and sometimes their plants are not exactly healthy ( see this recent post ). Last weekend I discovered that it doesn't have to be that way. For years I've been hearing rumors of the Home Depot in San Rafael, CA  having a fantastic nursery. More than that, some Bay Area gardeners talk about it in almost reverent terms.  In an old post from 2010 , landscape designer Michelle Derviss raved: I thank my lucky stars every time I shop at my local San Rafael Marin County CA Home Depot nursery. The nursery is on par with some of the best nurseries in United States. The guy who runs it, Charlie Rossi, is a seasoned horticultural veteran of the nursery industry. Your eyes would be blown out of their sockets if you walked into ‘his nursery’. Simply amazing.  More praised can be found in the comments...

I don't want to get into the habit of ragging on the big-box garden centers all the time because I do buy plants there every now and then (especially from the clearance rack at Lowe's). But I get so mad when I see this: These are otherwise fine cow-horn agaves ( Agave bovicornuta ) spotted at the Woodland, CA Home Depot this morning.  I'm not quite sure what caused this damage although my money is on agave mites. But that's neither here nor there. These plants should simply not be offered for sale.  What makes me even more angry is that the fix is so easy: Just pull the infected plants! 

I have a conflicted relationship with the big box home improvement chains (Home Depot, Lowe’s, Orchard Supply Hardware, etc.). On the one hand, I appreciate the one-stop shopping and huge range of products they offer, on the other hand I lament how they have all but eliminated the small, independent hardware stores that used to be a fixture in every town across America. I do shop at the Lowe’s and Home Depots in the Sacramento area when our local Ace Hardware store doesn’t have what I need. However, it’s often an uneasy experience because I can’t quite shake the feeling that I’m doing something I shouldn’t be doing. It’s even worse when it comes to their garden centers. I know I shouldn’t even be looking, but of course I do. And occasionally I even buy something. There, I’ve said it. The big box home improvement chains are rarely on the cutting edge of trends. They lag behind at first, then play catch-up. That has been true for their response to the drought here in California. Three...