Pretty nice plants, but the prices are the real show stopper!

You should keep the Cussonia: too cool to give away! I really like the Dudleya too.

joscience,

It may not look like much right now, but the Echium is an amazing plant. In the Dave's garden link I gave above, Palmbob has 11 photos, if that gives you any idea. However I do have a primary hybrid of this plant, 'Mr Happy', which is supposed to be even bigger (15 feet) and also puts off side rosettes, so it's a perennial, not monocarpic.

Here's a funny video about the 15 foot 'Mr. Happy' and how he got his name (second video):

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/features/multimedia/070603annies/index.html

I finally took the time to follow your link about the Echium. Very, very impressive, now I know why you got it! I've seen lots of Echium candicans around SoCal (inlcuding my parent's yard) but never knew the botanical name and therefore never made the connection. I prefer the bright red of your E. wildpretii over the dull blue of the common E. candicans. When I get home from work, I'll check out that vid.

Perhaps I should have added that the video might not be suitable for some work environments. It's pretty tame, but you never know.

Oh man, that is pretty hilarious. I mean, I could have guessed at the intent of "Mr Happy" myself, but to hear the story from Annie (that is her, right?) makes it much richer.

I got to get over there again. When they're open next time, was near there Monday last week and drove by but they were closed. My favorites there are the CA natives, lot's of things I've never seen for sale in plant form just seed.

joscience,

That's Annie--she must be hilarious in person. By the way, have you ever been to the Huntington when the Puyas are in bloom? (I mentioned wanting to be able to buy a couple species: P. alpestris and P. venusta). My jaw dropped the first time I saw those.

A great Palmbob article on Puyas with lots of Huntington pictures: http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/1318/

Caudex, when I was there a couple months ago it had been 2 1/2 hours when I realized I forgot to check out the California natives, which are around the corner from the bulk of the nursery. I had ten minutes left before they closed. I've never really had enough time left to give that section a thorough look. On Saturday I was there 3 1/2 hours and didn't get to see everything I wanted to. I think the Dudleya is the first California native I bought.

Last spring I got a few Desert candles (Caulanthus inflatus) hoping I got produce some seed, which didn't work. Awesome looking plant! I'll try again next year.

Here is a link that might be useful: Desert Candles

The Puyas at the Huntington always impressed me. The huge mound is very dominating. I was lucky enough to visit once while they were in full bloom. There is no way to accurately capture the color, but you can at least get an idea from my photo below. I really like how each blossom corkscrews shut.

Cool plant Caudex. The photo in the link you provided is just beautiful!

After I saw a puya in bloom at UC Berkeley Botanical Garden, well, I had to have one.
I bought an Annie's one in a 4 inch pot at a local nursery a few years ago.
Grows pretty slow, but handles the Bay Area range of temps well.
Mine is planted in the "wildflower" patch of land between the front lawn and the street. Won't the neighbors be surprised if it ever blooms! The flower color is out of this world.

Mark, your plants are really nice, and the prices can't be beat..Why do you want to rid them?
The Cussonia is beautiful..you should keep that one..when it gets larger, it's going to be a show-stopper. Toni

hopefulauthor,

I was really just doing my shopping for Christmas and birthdays. With those, and some other non-succulents (13 total plants) my wagon was completely full. I still got away for less than $50. I probably will keep the Cussonia. I bought one last time I was there--C. transvaalensis (also originally intended as a gift) and couldn't part with it. That one--during a 25% off sale--cost me less than $4. These are old pictures. More than half of the foliage has turned red, so it actually looks better:

Cussonia transvaalensis from above:

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Cussonia transvaalensis from the side:

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You can probably see that the pot is bulging and the soil is also being pushed up on the top. I took a peek--the part you see above ground is only a fraction of the caudex. Hopefully I can get a picture when I repot it.

Annie's has a couple amazing pictures of this species on their site:

http://anniesannuals.com/plants/plant_display.asp?prodid=3067&account=none

When I picked up this plant I passed on a different one--that may have been a big mistake. It's the only one I saw that branched into two trunks at the base. I didn't pick it because I was planning on giving it as a gift and the snowflake appearance of the leaves wasn't as clear due to the proximity of the trunks. Oh, well.

Here's another plant I regret not buying at my most recent trip. It seems strange that they would have discounted it that much(to $7.25 pre-sale) but that's what I remember.

http://www.anniesannuals.com/plants/plant_display.asp?prodid=3110&account=none

I have kept several other plants from Annie's. I've been three times now, the first was in mid July. Here are three plants that started out in 4 inch pots in mid July and their prices back then. Two I've posted elsewhere, so sorry for the repeat.

Solanum pyracanthum $3.40 (now in a 5 gallon pot). Not a succulent, but thorns on the stems, tops and bottoms of leaves, even surrounding the flowers and fruits. Being from Madagascar also earns it extra points.

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Coccinia quinqueloba $3.40 (now in a 12 inch outer diameter hangling pot).

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The caudex exposed (again 12 inch outer diameter pot)

Now also on Bihrmann's site

http://www.bihrmann.com/CAUDICIFORMS/SUBS/coc-qui-sub.asp

Like the other Solanum, this guy is not a succulent but is still very cool: Solanum quitoense (Naranjilla or Lulo). This was a couple months ago, the plant is a lot bigger and has branched. The fruit is supposed to be among the tastiest in the world. The leaves on my plant are 18 inches long and it's in bloom. Again $3.40

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And finally, a succulent (I think) from my fall trip: Oxalis herrerae $3.19 (25% off). This is the only time it wasn't full of flowers.

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Grand total of all of my Annie's plants pictured on this thread--under $42. So far, every plant I've bought there (a total of close to $100) has been a winner.

Finally, this is nowhere near a succulent, but interesting enough that I thought I would mention it. Also from my Annie's trip, a fractal Lupine:

So what normally would be a flower stalk has instead of flowers a couple dozen little plantlets. Does anyone know what causes this? Any plant developmental biologists out there--is it something like a homeotic mutation? It reminds me of an analogous picture I saw of a pineapple (very cool):

http://www.geocities.com/wenjin92014/botany/pineapple.htm

Certain succulents reproduce by putting off plantlets from their flowering spikes (Agave attenuata comes to mind)--obviously it's not quite the same but it also reminds me of that.

Can this trait be propagated?

This will likely get lost at the bottom of this long thread. If anyone thinks it's worth reposting as a separate thread let me know. It has nothing to do with succulents, but I suspect more people here would find it interesting than would on say, the "Cottage Gardens" forum.

I just answered my own question--it's called floral reversion. Here's a nice review paper (which I haven't yet read):

http://jxb.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/56/420/2587

Perhaps people know of other examples?

Nice set of pics, Mark. TFS.

I have been shopping at Annie's for the last few years, and I often recommend her to other plant collectors and gardeners. She grows many things others don't grow or know about, and the 4" size is very reasonably priced. I try not to go there too often, because I end up filling at least one wagon! The problem, especially in the summer, is planting them before they get hit by the heat.

At the end of the season, there were some nicely grown cussonia spicata, so I brought one home--it's been doing very well. I have a cussonia paniculata which tends to lose the foliage in winter, but comes back from the nice caudex on it.

The dudleyas are a treat--they take a lot of abuse and still look good, hot or cold. More so for Centaurea gymnocarpa. And not to forget Ascelpias cancellata, which seems to thrive and grow even during hot, dry weather--great, tough plant.

The plant tables near the chicken coop has some nice limited run seedlings--always a favorite spot to look through. Cheapest place I've seen for the O. gigantea.

I recently got Albuca maxima and it's a fine plant--quite a nice size for an albuca. That is one worth collecting. I love the form of Athanasia pinnata, and it's pretty drought tolerant.

Love her plants!

Now I'm enticed to go back but still have some aeoniums to plant...

Picked up a cussonia paniculata from her 3yrs ago, caudex was about 3/4 diameter. Put it in the raised bed 2yrs ago, hasn't gotten very tall maybe 10" but it has put on some nice girth and branched from the base(2-3"). Still has it's foliage even with the 30F temps of the last few days. Will post a photo later.

I just wanted to add a photo--my Cussonia tranvaalensis with its reddish leaves. I've also exposed the caudex so that you can see the underground part--it's the bulk of it. Pictures of the same plant just after I bought it are several posts before this one.

By the way, the Solanum quitoesne (Naranjilla--non succulent that I pictured above, was seriously damaged by yesterday's frost (probably only about 30 F). Perhaps about half the leaves--and essentially all the big ones--are brown and limp. However, last I cheked the flowers and buds are OK. I'm cautiously optimistic and should know in a few days. I do have a spare plant in a 5 gallon pot if this one does die. I just checked--although the 7 largest leaves have turned to mush, I do think the plant will make it.

Naranjilla makes a great juice!! I have had it that way many times when in South America. I also saw small fields of these plants cultivated in the understory of the tropical forest.

I grew it in pots in New Jersey here and I got it to fruit successfully. I don't, however, have any growing right now.