I know this only applies to a limited number of people (and it probably sounds a bit like an ad), but our local nursery in Cupertino, CA. is having a 60% off sale on all 1 gallon or larger cacti and succulents. It's only today, so it ends at 6:00 P.M.

I didn't buy anything (no room) and mainly stopped by out of curiosity. This was about 10:00 A.M. so who knows what's left (there weren't many people there, though). At the time, they had a couple Aloe polyphylla (an unusual pot shape, so I'm not sure of the size--2 gallons?), originally $50, today $20. Unfortunately their smaller A. polyphyllas (they also only have a couple)are in 6 inch pots, which don't count as 1 gallon. They are $15. They had the "squid Agave" (Agave bracteosa)I think $40 regular, so $16 today. And they had one Aloe plicatilis--a large fan that was just starting to branch--$35 normally, so $14 today. (it's possible I didn't remember all of these exactly...). They don't have an enormous selection, but if you're in the area you might want to check it out. If you are familiar with the nursery, you know that they have high quality plants but their prices can be a bit steep. 60% off more than evens things out though!

Today's sale is part of their 2 month celebration of their 60th anniversary--different specials everyday--check out their webpage. The first and last days were/will be 60% off any one item at the nursery. Anything. It's hard to believe that they're not going broke by doing this.

Some of the other sales days that haven't passed:

9/13: 60% off 5 gallon Camelia of your choice

9/14: 60% off 1 or 2 gallon Bearss lime or Meyer lemon

9/20: 60% off Ceramic pot of your choice

10/12: 60% off terra cotta pot of your choice

10/15: 60% off 1-piece statuary or fountain

10/18: 60% off 1 preorder fruit tree

10/24: 60% off 1 prelit Christmas tree

10/26: 60% off 1 preorder rose

And of course:

10/28: 60% off any 1 item (no restrictions as far as I know).

If you do the math, 60 years ago was 1948, when many Japanese-Americans were starting their lives again after the war and the camps. Many or most of the nurseries in the area were owned by Japanese-Americans until Silicon Valley got going and property values shot up. This is one of the few (perhaps the only) remaining ones in the area, and even if it costs an extra buck or two it's nice to give them business over the usual mega hardware stores.

As I say, I'm sure this does sound like an ad, but if you live in the South Bay you should really look into this.

Here is a link that might be useful: Yamagami's Nursery sale calendar