Succulents and More™

The first nursery I visited on my recent San Diego trip was OASIS Water Efficient Gardens in Escondido. Originally an independently owned nursery specializing in succulents, OASIS is now part of Altman Plants, one of the largest wholesale grower of ornamental plants in the U.S. Virtually every big box garden center carries Altman’s succulents, typically in 2- and 3-inch pots near the entrance—I’m sure you’ve seen the displays and you may even have bought a few of their plants yourselves. Altman is also responsible for monstrosities like spray-painted succulents and cacti with glued-on flowers , but that’s neither here nor there. OASIS sells a large variety of Altman succulents at prices that are about 25% lower than at the big box stores. The retail area is bare bones: Small plants are on tables inside a shade house, and larger plants (1 gallon and up) sit on the ground outside. You’re free to wander around without anybody breathing down your neck; the employees I saw were friendly ...

I just got back from a quick trip to San Diego. Well, it seemed quick to me, but it was actually five days, including two full days of driving. 1426 miles in total. Since I was by myself, I packed as much as I could into every day. I came home with 700 photos, I don’t even know how many plants, and one rock. I’m exhausted, but that’s how it usually is. I wouldn’t want it any other way. Private aloe garden, Los Angeles My first stop was at a Facebook friend’s house in Los Angeles. He has an epic aloe collection featuring species I hadn’t even heard of before. Unfortunately, our plans for a personal tour didn’t materialize because he had urgent out-of-town business to attend to, but he invited me to poke around by myself. I’ll have a separate post eventually, but I’ll need his help identifying the aloes I photographed. There’s no way I would even venture a guess, considering the rarity of many of his plants. Aloe cramscaping at its best Aloidendron pillansii surrounded by many equally r...