Visit to B&B Cactus Farm, Tucson, AZ (part 1)

B&B Cactus Farm on the east side of Tucson, AZ is the most impressive succulent nursery I’ve ever visited. I don’t know if it’s the largest of its kind in the Tucson area but I can’t imagine any nursery offering more variety for a succulent lover than B&B.

I took so many photos at B&B during our recent Southwest trip that I’ve decided to split this post into two parts. This part covers the outside sales areas and the greenhouses. Part 2 covers the demonstration garden and the fantastic pottery and garden décor they also sell.

When I arrived at 2:30pm, the sky was already quite dark. It was only a matter of time until before it would rain—like it appears to do on a daily basis during the summer monsoon season. I decided to cover the outdoor areas first, starting with the stunning potted specimens outside of the greenhouses.

I hope these photos will give you an idea of the huge variety of plants at the nursery.

Golden barrel cactus (Echinocactus grusonii) galore…

…in all sizes and prices

Octotillo (Fouquieria splendens)

Spiky yucca (not sure about ID) between cacti

Totem pole cactus (Lophocereus schotti var. monstrosus ‘Mieckleyanus’)

Mexican fence post (Pachycereus marginatus)

Saguaro (Carnegiea gigantea)

Assorted chollas and prickly pears

Assorted barrel cactus

Barrel and columnar cactus

Cactus and agaves

Agave marmorata

Agave ‘Blue Glow’

Mature specimen of Agave ‘Blue Glow’

Agave ocahui

Agave parryi var. neomexicana

Agave parryi var. neomexicana

Agave parryi var. neomexicana ‘Sunspot’

Rear: Agave ovatifolia
Front: Agave parryi var. truncata

Assorted agaves

Agave ovatifolia

Agave montana ‘Baccarat’

Agave multifilifera

Left: Agave multifilifera
Right: Assorted agaves

Yucca rostrata

Yucca decipiens

Yucca decipiens

Soil they use for potted plants

The closeout rack—my favorite spot in any store!

As I was finishing up my rounds outside, lightning began to streak across the sky and the first heavy rain drops began to fall. In a matter of minutes all the customers that had been browsing outside were gone. Tucson residents seem to take their weather seriously!

I ducked into the greenhouses where I could easily have spent another couple of hours. However, the nursery closed at 4:30pm so I didn’t have that much time left.

Unidentified yucca and agave

Unidentified agave

Left: Agave ‘Blue Glow’
Right: Agave parryi var. truncata

The first greenhouse I walked into had euphorbias, aloes and other South African succulents

Large Beaucarnea recurvata in a 24” box

Left: Agave parryi var. truncata
Right: Ponytail palm (Beaucarnea recurvata)

As you can see, their prices are very reasonable

A great selection of smaller cactus

Whatever cactus genus you liked best, I’m sure you would have found it

Cactus neatly lined up on either side of the aisle

Different Astrophytum species

More Astrophytum

More specimen-sized cacti

More specimen-sized cacti

Parodia magnifica

So many cacti, so little time to look at them all!

By the time I was done walking through the greenhouses, the rain had stopped (it hadn’t amounted to much after all). I paid for my purchases and then checked out the demonstration gardens and the garden décor set up outside. To see photos of those areas, please read part 2 of this post.