Monday, January 20, 2020

Portland Nursery Houseplant Sale

It's a tradition that I look forward to every January, the Portland Nursery Houseplant sale. I've been going for years and it's been fun to watch the event become more and more popular as houseplants continue to garner more and more interest.

Above is Tacca chantrieri, below is Tacca integrifolia—different colors of the bat plant, or bat flower. They could be yours for $79.99 minus 30%.

I started my shopping at the Division Street location of Portland Nursery. I had no specific desires, but since it's the location with the largest inventory (over 2,000 houseplants for the sale, according to their website) it seemed like good bet. Funny thing though, the entire neighborhood was without power. It took me about 15 minutes to travel the last mile of my journey because of the cars backed up at the traffic signals. I was concerned they'd be closed when I arrived, but instead employees were letting people in and shopping continued since the greenhouse-style roof let in lots of natural light.

The bromeliad selection was rather uninspiring.

Althought I did enjoy checking out how these "gardens on a pole" were put together.

Selaginella uncinata, blue spikemoss.

Schlumbergera gaertneri, in the center. "Schlumbergera gaertneri, formerly Hatiora gaertneri, is a species of epiphytic cactus which belongs to the tribe Rhipsalideae within the subfamily Cactoideae of the Cactaceae"... whew! (source).

Lots of sansevieria, but not the dark leaf S. kirkii var. pulchra I was hoping to find (I guess I lied, I did have a desire).

Sansevieria 'Mason's Congo' on the right, $149.99 (minus 30%, of course).

Mangave 'Tooth Fairy', in the front.

Euphorbia lactea 'White Ghost', I was shocked at the $74.99 price tag. I'm sure I'll be back before the sale is over on the 29th, it will be interesting to see what sells.

Myrtillocactus geometrizans, crested form. Yours for $274.99 (and 30% off, of course).

There were a lot of full carts like this parked throughout the nursery.

And a lot of people scooping up terracotta, I just managed to snap this picture in between the rushes.

Mainly because I stood their forever trying to narrow down my purchases between these three jungle cactus (all will be revealed at the end of this post).

This one was labeled Cryptocereus anthonyanus. Who the heck is Anthony and why is this plant named after his, oh, never mind.

Rhipsalis houlletiana

There were tons and tons of stag-horn ferns, both mounted and unmounted.

And look at all the nepenthes!

They also had a few Nepenthes 'Miranda'...

...with her big dramatic pitchers.

Now I've moved on and I'm at the Stark Street location. This is the first time I've seen Actiniopteris australis in person. I thought I would love it, but I do not.

Wowsa! That's a nice tillandsia...(NOID)...

The bromeliad selection was more exciting at this location.

Sadly there still weren't any of the sansevieria I was hunting for.

Did I mention pots are also 30% off during the sale? Since I already have 5,000 (only a slight exaggeration) I didn't buy any.

So, here's my haul, and yes, there's a theme. First up, on the far left, a humongous tillandisa. Of course it wasn't labeled with a specific name, but it's HUGE and all sorts of awesome. Then in the back we have what I believe to be a Epiphyllum / Selenicereus chrysocardium, aka fern-leaf cactus. This plant was labeled as Epiphyllum anguliger, but that's just not right. Next is Rhipsalis houlletiana.  I adore rhipsalis and had to add this one to my collection. Finally, a Disocactus macranthus, aka orchid cactus. This guy has golden yellow blooms. Since the sale runs through the end of the month (almost, the 29th) I'll no doubt end up back there at some point. Who knows what they might restock with...

Weather Diary, Jan 19: Hi 52, Low 42/ Precip 0

All material © 2009-2020 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.

20 comments:

  1. The last sansevieria is unusual; too bad there wasn't a name to go with it. Even with the discount, Myrtillocactus geometricians is way expensive at $274.99. Although, considering how long it took to get to that size, maybe its considered a steal.

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    1. I bet you're right and that price is simply a reflection of the plant's age.

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  2. So much to love, (but very expensive, even with discounts)! I'm currently kind of hankering after a Calathea orbifolia. Maybe I'll see one at the NWFGS. I could have sworn you already had an eyelash fern. Nice haul, although I was betting on Anthony's you-know-what.

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    1. I think I did everyone a disservice by focusing on the prices of the expensive specimens. There were plenty of "normally" priced plants too.

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  3. Who knew Sansaverias commanded such big prices. Always surprising as they expand exuberantly. I do love the Nepanthes. They only show up here occasionally. Wasn't surprised you came home with the huge Tillandsia. Great looking plant.

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    1. Well only the big exotic ones, and judging by how there's only one or two leaves I don't think they're quite as exuberant. Ya, that tillandsia still amazes me.

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  4. Thanks for the reminder to go! Nice haul :)

    I had the exact same response to the Actiniopteris when I saw it :-)

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  5. That was an impressive inventory, even given the eye-popping price tags. I've been looking at the Tacca in Logee's catalogs for years but have never been able to get around their cost; however, at half the price of those you found maybe an investment in a 4-inch pot isn't all that unreasonable after all...

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    1. These tacca were huge, if a 4"pot was have the price then I'd say the ones at Portland Nursery were the real deal. But yes, you should invest.

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  6. Wow, are houseplants getting pricier, or do you just have expensive taste? ;) I'm in the latter category, every time I am attracted to something, it ends up being one of the most expensive in the store or catalog. What can I say?

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    1. I just have expensive taste! All the usual players (in the game of houseplant) were there with normal prices. I picked out the fancy ones.

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  7. Yikes, those prices! Or maybe I'm just cheap ... Love Anthony but, yes, why not Anthonii, etc? Still, chuckle of the day, your comment. Great take home choices. I do wish we had just half the resources that you guys do; must be so much fun! I did find something mildly interesting while walking through one of the big box stores. They were drowning one lonely Curly Locks Orchid Cactus Epiphyllum monstrosa, crowded in with a bunch of ferns in standing water. So I rescued him, poor guy. Looking forward to your repeat trip(s)!

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    1. I did chose the extreme cases to feature, maybe I shouldn't have shared their prices. There was a lot more to chose from at both locations. Good for you (and lucky for the plant) that you rescued it. Too cool of a plant to be at the big box.

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  8. So what caused your disappointment with the Actiniopteris ? I've never seen it in person either but it looks very appealing to me. In a random fact. I went to elementary school with a young man named Micheal Anus. He had a briefcase in 7th grade, so not only did he have an unfortunate name, he had a bit of nerdiness going on. This was a Catholic school so that was probably to his benefit. I would have changed my name as soon as I was old enough to do so ! Who wants that on their business card ?? At least Stoner has a cool hippie-esque aura.

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    1. I think I was put off the actiniopteris by the fact it looked plastic.

      Poor Michael Anus.

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  9. I've seen the dark Sansevieria at Valley Nursery in Poulsbo before (super helpful information, I'm sure). I thought you had a fern-leaf jungle cactus in the past. Rob Proctor had some huge ones on the fling, absolutely stunning and much better than Anthony's [blank] in my opinion.

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    1. Well at least I know if I happen to be in the neighborhood of Valley I should stop! And yes, I could swear I had a fern-leaf jungle cactus before too. I cannot for the life of me remember what happened to it.

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  10. Sanseveria apparently is now Dracaena...

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