As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, I recently had the chance to visit U.C. Davis's Botanical Conservatory. I wandered on my own for a while, then went looking for plants for sale. Soon, I met Ernesto and Marlene, two of the terrific staff members at the Conservatory. Ernesto took me through two greenhouses I hadn't been into, and we dorked out hard. Ernesto is a wealth of information about all kinds of succulents, particularly ariocarpuses (about which he knew pretty much everything), haworthia, and various cacti.
Of course, I ended up taking some plants home with me, including a tiny ariocarpus kotschoubeyanus and a tephrocactus geometricus! Major excitement in GS-land, let me tell ya.
The only kind of plants the Conservatory didn't have a ton of were crassulas. As you know, I love crassulas. I began having fantasies of bringing my own wee c. deceptor, c. maughanii, and c. barklyi cuttings to these greenhouses and propagating them like mad. For now, I had to settle with taking a bunch of pictures, some of which I'll share with you here:
Of course, I ended up taking some plants home with me, including a tiny ariocarpus kotschoubeyanus and a tephrocactus geometricus! Major excitement in GS-land, let me tell ya.
The only kind of plants the Conservatory didn't have a ton of were crassulas. As you know, I love crassulas. I began having fantasies of bringing my own wee c. deceptor, c. maughanii, and c. barklyi cuttings to these greenhouses and propagating them like mad. For now, I had to settle with taking a bunch of pictures, some of which I'll share with you here:
By quite a long shot, this was the largest Echinocereus rigidissimus var. rubrispinus I've ever seen!
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uebelmannia pectinifera var. multicostata
Haworthia emelyae
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This variegated haworthia truncata is off the hook! Looks like it could use a little water to plump it up, though...
Gasteria sp.
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Can anyone help me ID this?
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Huge tillandsia clump
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Sedum mocinianum
They had some big astrophytums! I put my hand next to it to give you a sense of the scale.
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A white-sloanea crassa. I have no idea what that means, other than that it's some kind of asclepiad.
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Euphorbia symmetrica
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Ariocarpus sp.
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Pelecyphora aselliformis
Ferocactus sp.
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Ariocarpus retusus
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Mammilaria sp., crested
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This was labeled echinocereus pulchellus var. amoenus.
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It was blazing hot in the greenhouses, and humid to boot. I'm sure I cut a humorous figure in a striped wool suit, computer bag, and pearls (I was there for work and stopped by the Conservatory afterward). But Ernesto and Marlene acted like I belonged there.
All in all, definitely worth visiting. I hope I'll get to come back soon!
All in all, definitely worth visiting. I hope I'll get to come back soon!
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