Last week I found myself driving right by Cornell Farm, of course I stopped to take a look around.
Back on December 5th he was looking bold and strong, of course that was before our sudden February winter. Because of the lack of spikes on the sides of the leaves I'm guessing this one is was an Agave weberi.
I first spotted all of these in ground agaves back in October (here). I do love it when a nursery does a little test planting that we all can learn from. Here's an Agave 'Sharksin' looking pretty darn good, all things considered.
I should know this one, there's something very familiar about it. Perhaps a small Agave ovatifolia? Or maybe it's Agave parrasana? I'd love to hear what you think.
Over on the display table, where everyone was left in place for the winter weather (I do believe).
Agave ferdinandi-regis, not so happy.
And Agave americana 'Aureomarginata' looking surprisingly solid except for that one arm.
I found it really educational to see how these different plants handled what weather came their way and appreciate they weren't quickly tossed to make way for fresh inventory. Hopefully those with damage will be marked down or sent home with employees to grow out of it.
Love this Sedum tetractinum 'Coral Reef' and almost bought a pot, until I remembered it gets smaller and smaller every year (for me at least). Besides, why plant a herbaceous groundcover?
These tender succulents tables are filling up for the season, and look like they've already found some buyers. Such bright happy colors!
A better looking Agave ferdinandi-regis.
Mmm, not so much for this one.
Nice tall one-gallon pineapple guava, Acca sellowiana.
And this M. Felix Jury, what a beauty! Backed by an equally beautiful Araucaria araucana (monkey puzzle tree).
Inside the shop there's always a fine selection of houseplants and tender succulents.
I'm with you, great when nurseries have properly planted areas that you can see how the plants grow and how they cope.
Even improperly planted areas are good!
Have you ever counted the number of nurseries/garden centers within 50 miles of your home? The number has got to be huge! That aside, it's great when you get to see how plants perform under real conditions. I wish more garden centers in my own area would show what they sell growing under our hot, dry summer conditions.
I think there may be less that you think. That's not to say there aren't a lot, but since you haven't been to them they might seem new in a post, when in fact I've written about them before.
Thanks for this look at what Cornell has to offer. I often forget to take a look there. I've only been a couple of times.
A lot of peeps I know think they're too expensive, and they are on some things...but it's a darn good nursery.
For the mystery agave, I'd say parrasana as well.
Oh no! It's definitely been a hard winter for California dry lovers.
Phormium 'Jester' is a real beauty alas, not zone appropriate for my garden.
It's Zone 8 (well, a warm Zone 8), what are you?
I agree with Kris P. You and Peter seem to have an amazing array of local-ish nurseries. We have a fair number but nothing like you guys.
The PNW grows and ships a tremendous amount of plant material all around the country, it's only right that we keep some of it for ourselves.
That Monkey Puzzle is a beauty!
I love that they did some agave testing It's always interesting to see what survives and what bites the dust.