Echeveria Bonanza at Oasis Amazing tips

The selection of large (dinner-plate-sized) echeverias at Oasis Water Efficient Gardens right now is astonishing. Great timing, too. Autumn is nearly upon us, and an important end-summer task is refreshing our echeveria gardens. My own occupies several large pots. Annually in late August, I pull off dry lower leaves, deadhead, and enhance the assortment---hence my trip to Oasis.

As you'll see in the Gallery below, echeverias at this north San Diego nursery are beyond beautiful.

Oasis is owned by Altman Plants, the largest wholesale grower of succulents. Oasis' selection typically includes patented Altman cultivars (indicated by PP numbers on their tags). Among them: rosy-red Echeveria 'Love's Fire' above, ripple-edged 'Crimson Tide', maroon-pink 'Fireglow', pastel pink 'Angel Kissed', and glossy 'Pink Diamond'.

Above are echeverias in smaller pots (3-1/2" and 2-1/2"). Both of the pink varieties in the foreground are patented by grower/hybridizer Altman Plants. 

There were cultivars I'd yet to see---and that's saying a lot---like pastel lavender 'Cream Puff', wavy blue 'Hawaii' and an intergeneric patented hybrid, Tacisedum 'Spring Glow' (x Graptopetalum and Sedum).

I also was delighted to find an old favorite: Echeveria imbricata. This symmetrical, offsetting "blue rose" from Mexico once was easy to find, but after succulents took off, it became so popular it nearly disappeared. Not surprisingly, the price soared.

Speaking of prices! I mean, c'mon: $20 for 2-gallon plants, $8 for one-gallon and 8-inch, $6 for 9cm (3-1/2 inches) and $3.25 for 2.5 inch!

Can't Get There? Tari's On It

But what if you live too far away to pounce? No problem.

I called succulent personal shopper Tari Colbry and asked if she could help...and she's happy to. In fact, Tari promised to do one of her "live sales" from Oasis. These are streamed via Instagram and are a lot of fun. Tari shows a plant, talks a bit about it, and tells viewers what she'll sell it for (plus shipping).

Tari's proud to offer a wide variety of superb plants priced competitively. She visits nurseries and growers, cherry-picks best specimens (mostly succulents, but she's branching out), then sells them during her scheduled sales. Her turnover is fast, so she doesn't post photos of what she has to offer on her website.

Follow Tari on IG so you'll know when this and future live-streaming sales will be. She's off to Ecuador, so it'll be when she gets back in a couple of weeks. Why she's there is a circuitous story that involves cool plants. I'll leave it to her to tell you about it. Just know Tari is one energetic gal who enjoys getting gorgeous plants to people who can't obtain them otherwise. She ships anywhere in the US. See her in action in my video.

Also when she gets back, Tari is moving her inventory from her home to a greenhouse in Vista, CA. It's over 2,000 square feet---more than double what she has now---with lots more space for packing and shipping.

As for Oasis' echeverias...

Below are those I saw mid-August. Do keep in mind availability and quantities change daily. Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with Oasis, and for all I know, they may be dismayed if this results in a stampede. Please don't pester them with phone calls. Contact Tari instead---she's up for it.

Do you see a succulent you simply have to have? Every echeveria I've brought home from Oasis has thrived, and some are huge Check out my own collection. As always, your comments are most welcome!

Gallery

Echeveria agavoides 'Red Edge' 8-inch

Echeveria 'Andromeda' 2 gal.

Echeveria 'Angel Kissed' 3.5 in.

Echeveria 'Belen' 1 gal.

Echeveria 'Big Red' 1 gal.

Echeveria 'Blue Sky' 1 gal.

Echeveria 'Cielo' 2 gal.

Echeveria 'Creampuff' 1 gal.

Echeveria 'Crimson Tide' 8-inch

Echeveria 'Elfstone' 1 gal.

Echeveria 'Encantada' 2 gal.

Echeveria 'Fireglow' 8-inch

Echeveria 'Green Abalone' 1 gal.

Echeveria 'Hawaii' 1 gal.

Echeveria 'Hortensia' 2 gal.

Echeveria imbricata 1 gal.

Echeveria 'Isabella' 2 gal.

Echeveria 'Jennifer' 2 gal.

Echeveria 'Love's Fire' 8-inch

Echeveria multicaulis 1 gal.

Echeveria 'Pink Diamond' 3.5 in.

Echeveria 'Sea Dragon' 8-inch

Echeveria 'Sofia' 1 gal.

Echeveria 'Swirl' 1 gal.

Echeveria 'Violacina' 2 gal.

Echeveria 'Viviana' 2 gal.

Graptoveria 'Opalina' 1 gal.

Pachyveria 'Starbucks' 1 gal.

Tacisedum 'Spring Glow' 3.5 inch

Taciveria 'Tasha' 3.5 inch

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Propagation: What Your Succulents Want You to Know Amazing tips

In my new video I show and explain how your succulents want to propagate, if you help them or not...and whether you like it or not! When propagation happens, you may be delighted or dismayed. Delighted, because you get free plants; dismayed because you get too many.

It all comes down to observation. Succulents are good at telling you what’s important to them. You'll soon discover how yours want to reproduce in your garden or pots. See examples from the video below.

Note: I use the terms "offsets," "plantlets" and "pups" interchangeably to refer to baby plants that grow from the parent via a sort of botanical umbilical cord. Depending on the type of succulent, this pipeline of nutrients might be above or below the soil.

When leaves pop off easily

Succulents with leaves that detach easily

You know that little snap when a plump leaf falls off? Leaves of sedums, graptopetalums, pachyphytums, and pachyverias tend to fall off if you merely brush against them. This is infuriating, but do consider the plants’ perspective: They’re simply trying to clone themselves...and you can help. Tuck the fallen leaf where it’ll produce its own little leaves and roots atop the soil beneath the mother plant.

When stems work best for propagation

Jade cutting with roots

Succulents with stems propagate readily from cuttings, and jade is one that drops stems for that very purpose. If this fallen jade stem could talk, it would say, “Plant me please.” Notice how drying out a bit has made it curl. It's all set to go, with roots that point downward and leaves that go upward. Both form from meristem (growth) tissue.

What cacti want you to know

Ceroid cactus with offsets

If you wonder why cacti tend to fall over or break apart easily, consider how doing so helps them propagate. Columnar species tend to be shallow-rooted and top-heavy. By falling over, they're able to launch a family.

What aerial roots are all about

Aeonium with aerial roots

Stems that are still on plants may send roots into thin air, like this aeonium. Aerial roots are almost always about propagation. This succulent is saying, "I'm SO ready to leave home!"

What pups are trying to tell you

Agave americana 'Marginata' and pups

Pups grow from underground roots that run parallel to the surface of the soil. These are white until they break through. When exposed to the sun, root tips form leaves that turn green and photosynthesize.

You may think pups look cool, like the Agave americana “Marginata’ above with feral plantlets poking out of gaps in a terrace. No! They’re baby alligators, cute until they get huge.

When baby plants form on leaves or flower stems

Haworthia fasciata offset

Haworthias are efficient at creating offsets from their roots, but every so often a plant will produce one or more plantlets on a flower spike. As the baby plant grows, it gets heavier. Gravity lowers it to the ground where it takes root---hence the long stem. Other succulents that do this include Crassula multicava and bryophyllums.

When tissue damage produces baby plants

Barrel cactus with offsets caused by tissue damage

Cacti, agaves, mangaves and other succulents may produce offsets as a result of tissue damage. Above, a gopher ate the root of this barrel cactus up into its core, which stimulated the plant’s meristem tissue. Damaging the meristem is a method professional growers and collectors use to propagate succulents. They may, for example, cut out the cores of agaves, then remove the little clones that result.

What yuccas want you to know

Yucca aloifolia started from cuttings

Because a yucca’s lower trunk is a water tank, it can get by on rainfall alone once established. Don’t plant a yucca near your home’s foundation, pipes or anything that an ever-expanding, bulbous base might encroach upon. I prune my yuccas to make them fuller and more shrublike. And if I want more yuccas, the cuttings root readily.

When succulents need your help

Echeveria in need of beheading

Leggy aeoniums and echeverias that have ever-smaller rosettes atop naked stems can use your help with propagation. Cut off the top along with enough stem to anchor the rosette, set it aside until roots form, then plant in good soil.

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The above is merely an overview of the 18-min video. Types of succulents in the video include sedums, agaves (large and small), echeverias, aeoniums, crassulas, graptoveria, graptosedum, cacti (paddle, columnar, spherical), kalanchoes (bryophyllums), sempervivums, aloes, euphorbia, haworthias, stapeliads and yuccas.

Have you had an interesting or potentially helpful experience propagating your succulents? Please share it in the Comments below! 

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