My favorite in Los Angeles is the California Cactus Ranch in the Reseda neighborhood. It's only open Saturdays and Sundays, however, but it has a huge selection. They are mainly a wholesaler to other nurseries, I think.

San Francisco (if you really mean SF, as we are in NoCA) area: Flora Grubb, Cactus Jungle, The Dry Garden, Ruth Bancroft.

California Cactus Center in Pasadena. Check their website for hours and days open. I think they’re closed on Mondays. Tiny parking lot in front but you can manage it or park next-door in Starbucks. They will repot purchased items if you like. Beautiful mixed arrangements.

Cactus-mart in Fillmore.

Also, the Huntington Botanical Garden has sales in Spring and Fall that have excellent selections. The Cactus and Succulent Society of America has their show and sale at the Huntington every Fall as well. They also host the American Orchid Society show and sale where you can find a lot of good jungle succulents. So if you're ever out here then...

Thanks everybody. I'll be looking into these places. I forgot to mention, yes we are traveling up the coast.

Seaside Gardens in Carpenteria has a fabulous display garden and a large selection of plants for sale. It is right off the 101, easy on & off.

OC Succulents -- there's a branch on Crenshaw in Torrance.

The Huntington Desert Garden is a must-visit, not to shop but to enjoy.

California Cactus Center has great plants, but prices are high.

We bought a lot of our succulents at Moneta Nursery in Gardena, but they sell a lot more than just succulents.

For just looking, I would recommend the L.A. County Arboretum over the Huntington, mainly because of the cost of admission, and because it is larger. If you have the time and money, go to both. Both places occasionally have succulent sales. I bought quite a few epiphyllum at the Arboretum. If you go during a sale, get there early, as parking is more difficult when they have sales.

And don't forget - maybe as you drive up the coast, you will spend a night / day in or near a location that will be hosting a CACTUS AND SUCCULENT SOCIETY meeting. The odds of this are very high, in my but-cursory reading of this thread. There are at least seven, if not seventeen, C&S societies' area you'll be passing through - I have to believe you'll find the rainbow. They're great places to get plants and meet other enthusiasts. There's no reason to not go, because it's sometimes like a bunch of nurseries at one meeting (at least it was in San Diego - in Phoenix, they do things differently, though there are some small sales, just not to the degree of the SD club). Here's a link which will get you started:

http://www.cactus-mall.com/clubs.html#us

Lars, the arboretum has been terrible lately as they have been spending all their money refurbishing the house that brings in wedding party money and next up is the pond. The only good sale at the arboretum is the fern and exotic plant sale. The gardens are a mess right now and not worth it.

If you want a good garden the Huntington cactus and succulent garden is without equal.

We've had memberships for both for ages and the arboretum is just horribly disappointing right now.

Thanks for that info - I haven't been to the arboretum for a couple of years, and so it is sad to hear that it is not in the best condition now. I do like the Huntington gardens - I just do not like the price. I remember seeing more weddings at Descanso Gardens, and I seem to remember a wedding reception at the Huntington the last time I was there. There were a lot of very unruly loud children at the Huntington the last time I was there, and that was very annoying. That I will never forget.

The Australian Garden at the Arboretum is still better than the one at the Huntington, although the Huntington has been working on theirs lately and it is starting to improve. The Arboretum has the Madagascar Spiny Forest which is very worth seeing, and a lot of Aloes with gall mite, which are quite depressing. The Huntington's Desert Garden is considered to be one of the best in the world.

If you want the best loud and unruly children experience the Natural History Museum is hard to beat.

When in Long Beach, check out Mezcala Nursery. It's my favorite nursery when in the LA area, they have a huge selection of succulents and very competitive prices. You can check out their instagram to see what is new. If you are looking for inexpensive and common succulents to buy by the flat, go to the downtown LA flower market in the early morning (you'll have to pay a small entrance fee).

This isn't a recommendation, but when my hubby was growing up in Pasadena in the 60's, his mom would send him out with a bag on the day most of the gardeners showed up to pick through the plants that had been trimmed or tossed. They ended up with a beautiful succulent garden (even though they could have afforded to buy them!)!

Actually, mine are mostly from freecycle, nextdoor and flea markets, so I don't have IDs on most of them! Nancy