San Marcos Growers does, indeed, carry some very special plants. They do sell direct to many retailers throughout California and into Texas. I'm including a link to their website that lists all these retailers. Any of these retailers can order anything that SMG has in inventory. Some of them may even consider shipping to you, should you be outside California and Texas. You do not say where you are located so I cannot guess as to the complexity of any shipping to you. Just so you know, SMG grows landscape plants, not "hobbyist" plants; that is, their smallest size is 1-gallon, with most of their material in 5-gallon and much larger. These are not easily shippable materials. The cost of shipping any item would probably equal the price of the item itself. If you have something specific in mind, I'm sure you'll be surprised to find out that many of the people who post on this forum know SMG plants well and many of these posters will have quite a few of the plants. You may want to post your "wish list" and see who can respond with an offer of seed or cuttings -- items more easily shipped. Joe Here is a link that might be useful: SMG Retail Locator

Ninecrow, remember that foetida has dozens of varieties that are distinct enough to be considered subspecies so what works for one might not work for another. Gossypiifolia ranges from deep into Mexico to South Texas (it will grow out-of-doors from roughly Austin southward, but in its native range it doesn't grow north of San Antonio) so is one of the more cold-hardy foetidas. Arizonica may be more cold hardy, but I believe it was reclassified recently and is no longer a foetida, but a closely allied species. Anyhoo, Hosage told me to not bother planting any seed until June. If planted fresh, it will readily sprout, but the seedlings really need heat to flourish and harden off. In cooler weather they're more susceptible to die off, root rot, etc. The key is "the hotter, the better." This may well hold true for other tropical varieties as well. He also said that unlike other passiflora like incarnata or caerulea, this one will happily grow in waterlogged, boggy conditions once it is established. He collected the seeds originally from wild plants growing on the damp coastal plains outside of Port Aransas, Texas some years back. That's very flat land with poor drainage and lots of salt carried by the wind from the coast. And when the land there isn't boggy wet, it's parched and drought-stricken. So it's a pretty durable plant. :-)

Hi Suzi, Unfortunately not all sellers get the same price on a plant like this. I think maybe most Deppeas have been sold by the same seller on Ebay, and his reputation is such that he can get top dollar. I've only sold a few things on Ebay, so if I were to sell them I doubt I would do as well. The one plant that I have sold that has gone for hundreds sometimes is Brugmansia vulcancicola, Strybing hybrid. I think one went for as high as $450 last year. The most I've gotten (for a small plant) is $50. This is a complicated situation, since the true species was just recently brought into cultivation in the U.S. So things may be different. Still, I can't imagine there are 20 people all willing to pay high prices for a Deppea. But maybe I'm wrong... Other than that one seller, who I *think* propagates his own plants, most Deppeas for auction are plants that people bought at a Strybing or perhaps UC Botanical Garden/Berkeley sales and are reselling for a profit. They sell them for $10-$15 at Strybing sales.

Beautiful day for our swap and I really did like the Buda park location, although I miss seeing the river in San Marcos. It was fun meeting some new swappers and I love all my new plants. I am sorry that John is moving to NM but I will take good care of his salvia karwinskii and hope I can share some of it next spring. Brarygirl, your cacti violacae is doing well at my house (traded 2 yrs. back) and I heard others talking about the same plant they had gotten from you. That's so neat---sort of like plant geneology. ha. Thank you, Charlotte, for organizing us again. Everyone, the food was great, especially Carla's sausage and rice. Marjie PS: If your meant me, Diana. The big plant was a brugmansia Desiree.