Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Bach's Cactus Nursery

I’ve been jumping all over the place when posting about our October Desert Southwest vacation, but it’s time to go back to the beginning. Our first "plant focused" stop was at Bach's Cactus Nursery on our way into Tucson. A friend who used to live there had told me about this place years ago, I was excited to visit. I should also mention at this point, having only been in Arizona for a little over two hours, I was giddy. Everywhere I looked was something amazing and gorgeous. I was in heaven. I took a million pictures here (264 to be exact, lucky for you I whittled them down to “only” 79…). We started our visit by walking through their huge display garden; did I mention I was in heaven? Oh so definitely in heaven. Even the uninhabited lot next door was exotic. We finally made our way into the greenhouses and sales area… Kalanchoe, or “Mother of Thousands” indeed! Propagation? One of my goals for this trip was to get a mature Agave victoriae-reginae with really wide white lines. For $225 this one is definitely not it, besides the lines are still pretty thin. These were only $35, but not quite what I wanted and since this was our first nursery I wasn’t willing to settle… …I wanted one more like these (which of course weren’t for sale). Melocactus Matanzanus Black spined Prickly Pear…I wanted it and wish now that I had spent the $25 to get it. Hesperaloe “Brake Lights”…oh ya! And finally we made it into their Cactus display house… Exhausted and a little overheated (it was in the upper 90’s, and we’d come from rainy 50's), but oh so happy, it was time to go check in to our hotel. I didn't even have the energy to pick over these sick little patients on their FREE table…

15 comments:

  1. Oh, why do I read blogs filled with great photos of fabulous plants that I'll never be able to grow? Why?

    The variety of cactus (and other pointy plants) always amazes me. I just wish every one of these photos had plant names listed -- I think one of them is the unknown cactus I've been growing for 15 years.

    Great post!

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  2. Sorry no names Alan! There were no tags in the display garden, unfortunately. I was so overwhelmed with it all at the time I didn't even notice until I went to do this post and realized I couldn't identify a lot of the plants.

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  3. that is truly amazing! I feel like I'm getting ready to board a plane right now!!! wow wow wow!

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  4. And you saw pistachios, too! Very nice photo tour of all things spiky - I know about narrowing down from 250 to 80 pics. Would be difficult at Bach's!

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  5. Wow!

    What a nursery!

    A veritable Spikie's heaven.

    Thanks for sharing them.

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  6. Uuuuhhh... I'm stunned at the spiky deliciousness! The agaves, the yuccas, the hesperaloe, that sea of adolescent barrel(?) cactuses in the greenhouse...it's the perfect day to get away from Portland's gray foggy air. Thanks for the warmup!

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  7. Whoa, my head is spinning! Did I die and go to paradise??? Fantastic images. I can see how you got overwhelmed.

    Gerhard
    :: Bamboo and More ::

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  8. What an immense collection! And I do like that pink Opuntia!
    $225 for the AVR seems pricy indeed, not surprised you let that go. Great shots!

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  9. Louis, naturally after spending the afternoon walking though this there was some talk of moving to Tucson!

    DD, why yes I guess I did...I wondered what those were!

    Adam D, of course!

    MulchMaid, you are oh so welcome...yesterday was particularly grey wasn't it?

    Gerhard, you need to plan a little trip to Tucson!

    Mark and Gaz, thank you...have you guys got any Opuntia? I can't remember seeing any on your blog.

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  10. Who could guess that heaven would be such a dangerous place? Looks like barrel cacti eventually form clumps? I have only seen them as stand-alones.

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  11. Oh my gosh. I'd go crazy if I went there. Next time we take the trailer over there I am going. What a wonderful place.

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  12. This is one of the many,many reasons. I moved from New Jersey to Tucson!

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  13. Beautiful trip you took us on. I wish I could find a true succulent nursery. I LOVE cactus but hate getting poked & barbed & stuck. Those are lethal weapons. LOL...Succulents are my favorites. Not as many weapons to get in the fingers. Enjoyed your trip thru Bach's

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  14. AnonymousMay 28, 2013

    Thank you for a trip down memory lane! I once worked for Dan & Diane Bach, truly a wonderful place to work!!!

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  15. Just got back from Bach and my mind is officially blown. I found your post by googling them. Your photographs are wonderful!

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