A Visit To Orange County Succulents

Disclaimer:  I have no financial interest in this company. I do not know, and am not related to, any one who owns this company or works at this company.  They are not paying me for this blog post, or giving me anything, and this is strictly my own opinion based on my own experience.  Just so you know.
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A neighbor alerted me to the existence of a new plant seller in the area. Orange County Succulents. Here's their web site.  Yee haw!  Let's go plant shopping!
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The location is your classic Southern California plant seller location:  under high-power lines.  Property that is not good for anything else (except maybe community gardens?)  
It was good to see they were selling more than the standard Agave americana.  I saw vilmoriniana, bovicornuta, guiengola, guiengola 'Creme Brulee', and others.
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Quite a few tree Aloes available--barbarae and thraskii,  mostly.  The two gallon (I think) marlothii in the photo above were $24.  No sign of gall mite, and stock looked fresh and well-grown.  Palms, and specimen Euphorbias, too.
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Lots of containers for sale, too.  These I have not seen before:  made from pieces of rusty steel, nearly a meter (3'+) across.  
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 Plus the more common ceramic:
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 The smaller plants were a good deal, being well grown and with prices equal to or less than Big Box store prices.  
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The famous WWII-era blimp hanger barely visible in the background:
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A healthy Chamaerops for $31.
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Echeveria subridgida:
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Aeonium:
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They had some slightly-out-of-the-ordinary Aeoniums, 'Cyclops', for example:
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A good selection of currently popular Euphorbias:
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Agave horrida:
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Can't remember this one, offhand.  Not every single last plant was labelled, but most of them were, and they seemed correct. 
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An Aloe striata that has been in the sun a lot, giving it a beautiful bronze color:
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Super bubbly-warty Echeveria hybrid:
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Agave...guadalajarana, is it?  The Agave famous for having more "a"s it its name than any other.
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A four-branched Aloe plicatilis was $79.
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Moving inside the hoop buildings, there were a large array of orchids (mostly Phaelenopsis) and house plants.  The widest variety of Dracaenas I've ever seen in once place.  The company wholesales as well as retails, so must be a good source for interior designers.  Lots of interior pots and baskets as well as indoor plants.  


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They had  4" succulents for $2.40 (retail) and 2"-3" succulents for $1.20 (retail).  These are reasonable prices and match or beat big-box prices.  
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Verdict: my impression is:  good prices (if not jaw-dropping bargains), good (if not miraculous) selection, and well grown plants.  
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 I bought a Medusa Euphorbia, E. caput-medusae(?), which I've been looking for at a decent price for quite a while.  $2.40 for the 4", a decent price--I've seen the same thing for $6-$8 elsewhere.   It will go into the ground out front, where it can become large and scary.  As a test, I asked a salesperson if they could get an Agave titanota for me.  I've been on the lookout for this species for a couple of years, and have yet to happen upon it anywhere.  The salesperson said she would check and call me next week.  We'll see what happens. 
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Comments

  1. What a fun place. I don't think that's A. guadalajarana tho. I saw one labeled at Calif Cactus Ctr recently that looked like my late lamented AG. Kind of a slim-leaved agave. Much better prices than CCC!

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    1. No? Consider the San Marcos website A. guadalajarana photo. Leaf width will vary. CCC prices are like Neiman Marcus--how do they get away with it?

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  2. This reminds me how I used to feel before Ikea came to Portland... I'd go mad buying stuff at the Seattle store on an annual visit, just because I knew I couldn't return soon! If you happen to find yourself near Morro Bay, visit Sage Eco Nursery in Los Osos; I got a small but perfect Agave titanota there last September.

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    1. That's the way I feel about Rancho Soledad. It's quite a trip, and I go crazy. Thanks for the tip, MM.

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  3. Looks like a pretty fantastic resource! I love seeing the colorful succulents laid out in rows like crops. How were the container prices? I find containers to be highly over-priced until the end of the season when they are drastically marked down.

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    1. It makes for fun photographs. Container prices--didn't even look. Here there are not really any "end of season" mark downs because our growing season doesn't end! One of the drawbacks of the climate (admittedly there are not many).

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    2. I'd give quite a lot to have that particular climatic "drawback"!

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  4. Wow! gorgeous pictures of gorgeous plants. Wish they were hardy here. Only so many things I can winter over, LOL

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  5. Wow! gorgeous pictures of gorgeous plants. Wish they were hardy here

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