Senecio jacobsenii is unusual. Such colors not seen since the 60s.

East Africa

Unusual pastel colored leaves in full sun. Low growing, good for hanging naskets or to trail over a mixed succulent pot. Will root along the ground as it trails.

• Hardy to 25F
• Sun
• Cactus Soil
• Low Water

Sedum rubrotinctum “Aurora” – Pink Stonecrop – is the hottest new variety. Very spectacular and colorful and popular.

Mexico

Green jelly-bean leaves turn bright red in sun. Great for rock gardens and hanging baskets. Pale yellow star-shaped flowers.

• Hardy to 25F
• Sun
• Cactus Soil
• Low to Moderate Water

The blue varieties of the popular succulents are popular with the kids these days. Blue agaves are also popular with the oldsters these days. But here we have blue Echeverias. For you!

Echeveria “Blue Cloud” – moderately blue, some pink.

Echeveria “Blue Bird” – So blue….

Echeveria “Giant Blue Curls” – not so blue…

We have 2 new Sundews at the nursery. The classic Forked Sundew and a new White Sundew. Nice!

Drosera binata – Forked Sundew

Native to Australia and New Zealand
Deciduous Carnivore (Evergreen if Grown Indoors)

Sun: Partial to Full Sun
Water: Daily, Distilled Water Best
Size: Draping, 12- 18″ leaves

Dew covered multi-forked leaves turning bright red in the sun. Sticky dew captures insects. It forms a large insect-catching bush. Best grown in 50/50 peat moss and sand. Also grows well in standing water. Hardy to 25F.

Drosera capensis “Alba” – White Sundew

Native to South Africa
Perennial Carnivore

Sun: Partial to Full Sun
Water: Bog
Size: Low-growing, 6″ across

White leaves are covered with sticky hairs, will move like tentacles to capture and digest insects. Thrives in hot and humid conditions, but can be grown outside.

Cephalopentandra ecirrhosa

East Africa

Caudex develops “pimples,” or fissures, as it ages. In the Cucurbitaceae family, forms wild-growing vines with large lobed green leaves and large yellow-green squash-blossom flowers.

• Hardy to 35F, Prefers to be warm in winter.
• Part Shade
• Cactus Soil
• Low Water

Bombax ellipticum (Pseudobombax ellipticum)

Mexico

Deciduous tree with succulent stems and large green/brown caudex, can form a tree over 10ft. tall. Large green leaves are smaller and red in full sun.

• Hardy to 25F if dry
• Full Sun to Part Sun
• Cactus Soil
• Low Water

And here’s another bloom picture. This is actually a different flower than the one above, though they were both open at the same time.

Billbergia “Hallelujah” – Queen’s Tears

Terrestrial bromeliad to 1 to 2 feet tall with very strongly variegated/spotted leaves. Glossy foliage, upright form, multicolored blooms. Grows quickly if not too wet.

• Hardy to 25F
• Part Shade
• Orchid/Jungle Soil
• Low Water

Billbergia elegans – a very elegant bromeliad with gorgeous flowers.

Brazil

Terrestrial bromeliad to 1 to 2 feet tall with subtle variegated pastel-colored leaves. Upright form. Multicolored blooms. Sharp edges with marginal teeth.

• Hardy to 35F
• Part Shade
• Orchid/Jungle Soil
• Low Water

Aloe ciliaris “Firewall” is a really good choice for planting as a firewall on the dry California hillsides that are subject to the fires, like right here in Berkeley and in the Oakland hills.

Vertical stems to 3 feet tall, spreads wide. Orange flowers in late winter. “This plant can be used effectively on slopes, and provides a great barrier against fires when planted in wide enough swaths because of the tremendous amount of moisture stored in its leaves.”

• Hardy to 22F
• Full Sun to Part Shade
• Cactus Soil
• Low Water

Aloe “Delta Lights” is the newest of the small collector Spotted Aloes that we are offering. They are hardy outside, but look like they want to be sitting on your windowsill at home anyway.

Strongly spotted variegated leaves are green in shade and white in full sun, can get a pinkish tinge on the edges. Rosettes to 10″, clumps to 3 feet across.

• Hardy to 25F
• Full Sun to Part Shade
• Cactus Soil
• Low Water

Agave parryi v. truncata is one of the classic parryis, even if not the one true classic. But it is the prettiest of the parryis when smaller. This has really nice form even right now. Just imagine when it gets 3 feet across – oh that’s nice!

• Hardy to 20F
• Full Sun to Part Sun
• Cactus Soil
• Low Water

Aeonium urbicum “Rubrum”

A profusion of red-edged green rosettes, deeper red in full sun. Low growing – 18″ to 24″ tall, but very full.

• Hardy to 28F
• Full Sun to Part Sun
• Cactus Soil
• Low Water

The rosiest of the yarrows is the Rose Yarrow. So it would seem it has been correctly named, after all! But the common name and the cultivar name don’t match? What’s up with that? It turns out that Cerise (244, 0, 161) is just another name for Rose (255, 0, 127) in the color-wheel of plants.

Achillea “Cerise Queen”

Hybrid
Herbaceous Perennial

Sun: Full Sun
Water: Low to Moderate
Size: Under 1ft. tall

Rose colored flowers. Drives the butterflies crazy. Remove spent flowers for a late fall rebloom. Cut flowers last a long time, look great dried. Hardy to below 0°F.

These Crown of Thorn spurges come in quite a range of colors. This one is Yellow.

Euphorbia milii “Dwarf Yellow”

We have a lot of new vigorous growth right now since we have had a very mild winter. It’s sunny and warm most days. There’s been no cloudy rainy days at all. It’s like an early spring! And the plants are going nutso for the sunshine. Maybe they’ll be caught in mid growth if winter ever does come and then that would be a bad thing for the plants. They could get damaged.

And just for the fun of it, a Salmon colored one too!

(I like the yellow one better. Less showy.)

All the brightly colored Christmas Cactus are out, and not a day too soon.

These are all hybrids from Brazilian species. Nobody knows anymore what the original species from the jungles were, but we like to think they are hybridized from Schlumbergera orsicchiana, which tend to be pendant and epiphytic.

All those green segments that look like leaves are really stem segments, and the cactus spines, as these are true cacti, come from the joints between the segments. The segmenting of the stems makes for easy cuttings.

Some would call these hybrids something along the lines of Schlumbergera orssichiana x truncata, but the truncata part of that was long ago gathered into Zygocactus, but then put back into Schlumbergera in 1967. So if you see these advertised as Zygocactus you should know that they are archaically sticking to the early 60s. Old people today.

Here are two very nice Parodias. Parodias are known for their yellow flowers, although not all Parodias have yellow flowers, but there is a yellow color known as Parodia Yellow so you can imagine that they are well-known for their yellow flowers.

Many people will argue over the shear number of Parodia species, even though many or most are really subspecies of only about 65 species.

Native to the South American Highlands. And Lowlands too.

First up is Parodia mueller-melchersii ssp gutierrezii, one of those cacti that have been wrongly categorized as separate species over the years, more recently known as Notocactus gutierrezii, a name that some cactus growers cling to out of tradition or anger or for the shear spectacle. Native to the Rio Grande do Sul in Brasil.

Next is the very attractive and slightly more common Parodia nigrispina, originally in the 19th century assumed to be part of the Echinocactus genus, but that’s ridiculous. These hail from the fine country of Paraguay, which I believe is in South America.

Kind of a very vibrant red against a sky blue backdrop, if you choose to photograph it that way, which I did because this particular Paws has very tall bloom stalks so it is hard to photograph it against the foliage way down below. Instead shooting up towards the sky works well.

Anigozanthos “Big Red”
Australia
Evergreen Shrub

Sun: Full Sun
Water:Moderate in Summer
Size: 4-6ft. tall

Vibrant fuzzy tall red flowers,blend well with red stems in Spring and again in Fall. Long lasting blooms are perfect for cut flowers. Hardy to 20F.

It’s the new Orchid colors, just in time for Thanksgiving. You will have to choose the right color for your T-Day table. If you pick wrong, your Aunt May will berate you.

Choose wisely.

And we’re off!!!!

These all were Phalaenopses, by the way.

It’s my best shot yet of a Brighamia insignis flower! And there are 2! Plus a bud as a bonus. A bonus bud? From Hawaii? Indeed.

Here’s what the whole plant looks like.

That Aloe is on fire! Aloe “Coral Fire” that is.

hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha

It’s cold out this morning

Do you like succulent photos like this Echeveria? Follow me on instagram! And you can have succulent photos all day long!

Like this new picture of a small mixed Sempervivum pot/terrarium with dragon.

It’s all on my instagram feed, and more!