Cactus Blog

We delivered some new pots to one of our regular customers and while there I took photos of some of their cactus pots we set up for them a few years ago.

I see the plants have grown in nicely. Maybe a bit TOO nicely, if you know what I mean.

No, you don’t know what I mean? Oh. I mean it’s overgrown – that it’s time to start pulling a few plants out and propagating some of them and replanting them with more space to grow again over the next few years.

And this is a stunning specimen Opuntia saxitilis in the almost-sunset light. It was a mere baby when it was planted. Now look how big its grown.

Echinocereus pectinatus v. rubispinus

We took another plant off the windowsill to the nursery to take lots of cuttings and had to replace it. I chose this little cactus.

This window overlooks the backyard that yesterday I cropped out of the seedling picture I posted. You also can’t see the backyard mess here either. I’m tricky that way.

The photo was too backlit to be useful so I used an Instagram for Android filter or two to make it more mysterious.

I see the succulent planters are growing nicely at the mall in Emeryville. And what do we have here?

Why it’s an Agave beginning the bloom cycle. Too bad, very sad. Probably Agave vilmoriana, or hybrid thereof.

Also in bloom in back are all the great looking Euphorbia characias.

And the photo does raise the question, why pay more for 4g. The answer of course is selection. So there.

I think I took this picture on Solano Ave. It looks like a hair salon. I see Aeonium and Sedum. I can’t really tell what’s going on with that pot. Odd thing.

The moon sure looked bigger this morning behind the Yuccas than this photo shows.

I wonder why we see the moon as bigger in person than it clearly is in reality as depicted in this very photo right here?

Nice urban Yuccas, too.

Pardee Street
Aeonium arboreum in a nice metal planter. The vignette blur effect was achieved with my cell phone photo editing software, a free add-on from photoshop so you know it’s good.

Too bad the great early spring is over and some winter weather has come back, though we do need the rain, but fortunately I took this photo last week when the weather we still nice. Nice run-on sentence!

Channing Way, Berkeley
Aloe arborescens.

Mr. Subjunctive won the contest, naming the blue-stemmed cactus, but we can’t send him any award-winning plants yet since he lives in Iowa where the temperatures are still getting below 20F.

Here, enjoy a picture of warmer California where the Aeoniums live outside all year long and the whippets run free (on leash).

And just to be clear about it, we’re getting up into at least the mid-60s today, but I wouldn’t be surprised if we broke 70, not that I’m showing off or anything. Maybe a little.

8th Street

8th Street

8th Street
Echinopsis pachanoi and Aloe arborescens and Pumpkin Head.

8th Street
Aloe striata in bloom. Looks nice against the rock. Granite!

Agave attenuata, aka the Foxtail Agave.

San Pablo Ave.

I hope you like the “vignette blur” feature I’m now using to make the local Berkeley succulent photos look more interesting. I mean, this wheelbarrow is already very interesting, for sure, you know, and all, but maybe a little more interesting with the weird blur effect that makes it look like a toy?

Curtis Street

A galvanized tub along the sidewalk with Aeoniums. Very green.

Hello guys-
I was just at your store last week visiting from San Diego. I wish I lived closer so I could buy more than the pink garden gloves I got! My sister lives in Berkeley and she takes me to your nursery every time I come up. We love to roam around and find out the names of some things in our garden which are unnamed.

I’d like to know if you could please identify this aloe for me. Seen here, it is about 3 years old and was given to my sister by her succulent guru who has a fantastic garden, but doesn’t always remember the names of her plants!

Thanks very much,
Pat

Pat,

You have an Aloe striata v. karasbergensis. We love this aloe but it is a lot slower growing than the Coral Aloe species it comes from.

Peter

The Echeveria “Flying Cloud” has interesting compound racemes for an inflorescence.

That’s a nice color for a Delospermsa.

Crassula ovata.

Common, yes, but pretty too.

Some thick and colorful Aloe plicatilis buds.

Its a maniacal amount of hummingbird flowers.

We’ve been tracking the situation for months now.