Also serving the communities of De Luz, Rainbow, Camp Pendleton, Pala and Pauma
There are a myriad of reasons why cacti and succulents have taken the limelight when it comes to home gardens and landscape design in Southern California. One reason is these water-storing plants are incredibly resilient. Present on six continents, they can grow in some of the most inhospitable places on Earth, including water-scarce climates like ours.
For the amateur growers, they are easy to cultivate and require minimal maintenance. They are fire-resistant and grow year-round. Ranging in size from ground cover to trees, there are about 2,000 varieties of cactus and about 20,000 varieties of succulents across 60 families. While cactus plants are appealing for their beautiful blooms and protective nature, succulents may take the cake for their wide array of colors, unique textures and funky shapes.
Anyone who knows Fallbrook, knows the area is an agricultural oasis brimming with nurseries of all kinds. Recent reports showed the top crops for the area include ornamental trees and shrubs, indoor flowering plants, bedding plants and avocados.
Anyone who is interested in growing a garden or redesigning their yard for a more drought-tolerant landscape, look no further than Fallbrook.
The Madd Potter at 136 Ranger Road specializes in succulents, palms and plumeria, with a large display of ceramic pottery and water features.
“We grow our own succulents,” Michelle Price, manager at Madd Potter, said. “They are super easy and drought-tolerant.”
The succulents are started from cuttings and grown in greenhouses on the nursery grounds. They range in all varieties and sizes, colors and textures.
Smaller succulents start from as low as $1.99 up to $6.99, with some larger-sized succulents in 5-gallon pots priced from $18.99 to $21.99.
Madd Potter also carries plants for the more experienced gardener, such as protea, which produce large, striking cone-like flowers that can be easily dried for flower arrangements. Price said the protea come from a grower in Rainbow.
“Everything we bring in is locally grown from Fallbrook, Rainbow or Valley Center,” Price said.
For more information, visit http://www.maddpotter.com.
If someone is looking to spice up their yard with spiky, rare and unusual cactus plants, check out Silverthorn Ranch at 1826 S. Alturas St. in Fallbrook.
The wholesale nursery is one of the area’s largest growers of African plants. Specializing in cactus and other drought-tolerant species, they have African saguaros, agaves, aloes, vactus, dasylirion, palms, succulents and yucca rostrata Blue Velvet. Guests are welcome to visit the grounds by appointment only and some can take advantage of grower-direct wholesale prices.
“We’ve been around a long time,” Wayne Loomis, whose grandfather opened the business in 1976 when he started planting barrel cactus on his property, said.
Loomis now runs the business with his father and they export their cacti all over the world.
“If people want to redo their landscape, I can walk around with them, and they can pick out whatever they like,” Loomis said.
With eight growing grounds on 45 acres in Fallbrook, Silverthorn is one of few nurseries that propagates all its own cactus from seeds. They also save on expenses, by using reclaimed water to grow them.
Loomis said cacti are more than drought-tolerant, they require basically no maintenance.
“There’s nothing to trim, and they leave no debris,” Loomis said.
People can also consider using cacti as a fence to protect their homes against intruders or coyotes. It provides added security with the benefit of some flower blooms.
To make an appointment with Loomis, call (760) 535-9824 or for more information visit http://www.silverthornranch.com.
Looking to add extra foliage or flowers to the garden or landscape? Think about visiting Roseland Nursery, 4802 Fifth St., across the street from The Rainbow Oaks restaurant. Open seven days a week, Rosland specializes in general ornamentals and specimens.
Florencio Rodriquez, nursery manager at Roseland, said many flowering plants are just about ready to bloom this spring, if they haven’t already.
Consider planting any of these flowering perennials in the garden: roses, ground orchids, Indian hawthorn, red tip photinia, hydrangeas, kangaroo paw, Little John dwarf bottlebrush, lavender, calla lilies and gardenias. For scented flowers, try the white-flowering jasmine vine or purple “Cooke’s special” wisteria.
“We try to have a little bit of everything,” Rodriquez said.
Aside from perennials, the nursery also supplies trees, live oaks, palms, shrubs, some annuals and pottery. For more information about Roseland Nursery, call (760) 728-9909 or email [email protected].
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