Fall plant sale at UC Santa Cruz Arboretum

The plant sale at Regional Parks Botanic Garden in Tilden Park on October 6 was all about California natives (see this post). In contrast, the UC Santa Cruz (UCSC) Arboretum sale on October 13 combined California natives (offered by the Santa Cruz chapter of the California Native Plant Society) with plants propagated from the Arboretum collection, mostly Australian and South African natives.

California Native Plant Society area at the UCSC Arboretum fall sale

I had never been to a UCSC sale before, but considering the plant list was full of weird and wonderful varieties, I expected quite a crowd. And I was right. By the time the gate opened to members at 10:00, there was a long line of people waiting to get in. I had arrived 25 minutes early and I was in a great spot.

The closer we got to 10:00, the more the anticipation (and impatience) was building. Arboretum director Martin Quigley explained the rules—carts or boxes to be dropped off in the holding area; none allowed in the plant area because of the narrow aisles and the large number of people—and then it was off to the races. It was a scene not unlike the start of the Oklahoma Land Rush of 1889, minus the horses and guns. People were actually running!

Fortunately, the plants were in alphabetical order—such a simple yet brilliant idea!—and I had prioritized my plant list so I knew exactly where to go first (B as in Banksia spinulosa 'Stumpy Gold', silly name notwithstanding).

The plants were simply set out on the ground

Within 30 minutes, I had most of what I wanted, but even that early on, many plants were already sold out. My friend Brian had asked me to look for two plants—Darwinia leiostyla (I still don't know what that one looks like) and Telopea 'Fireball'—but there weren't any left.

It didn't take long until there seemed to be more plants in the holding area than in the sale area! Considering the first two hours of the sale were reserved for Arboretum members, I couldn't help but wonder what was left at noon when the public was allowed in. Certainly none of the rarer plants.

Plant holding area, parking off behind it

"Rare plants" is obviously a subjective designation. What's rare to one person may be common to another. The UCSC sale was full of plants I'd never heard of, let alone seen, before. Not just species or cultivars, but entire genera: Aloysia, Aulax, Bouvardia, Calycanthus, Calytrix, Ceratopetalum, Chrysolepis. That's just from page 1 of the 4-page plant list! Crowea, Dampiera, Darwinia, Eremaea, Eutaxia, Hovea, Hypocalymma, Hyptis, Lechenaultia. The list went on. I felt like a kid in a novelty candy store. Pultenaea villosa 'Butterscotch': Can I have a taste? Or maybe a sample of Philotheca myoporoides 'Stardust'?

In spite of the temptations, I was disciplined and stuck to my plant list quite closely. I did give in to the siren song of a truly strange acacia I'd never seen before, Acacia glaucoptera. You'll see a photo of it below, together with all my other acquisitions.

My plant haul

From left to right: Grevillea aquifolium, Aulax cancellata, Grevillea synapheae 'Picasso'

Clockwise starting at 7 o'clock: Grevillea × gaudichaudii, Arctostaphylos pajaroensis 'Brett's Beauty', Isopogon anemonifolius, Lechenaultia formosa (red flowers)

Lechenaultia formosa—hard to resist those cheerful flowers and the rosemary-like foliage

Front: Banksia spinulosa 'Stumpy Gold' (a dwarf from), back: Hypocalymma cordifolium 'Golden Veil'

Hypocalymma cordifolium 'Golden Veil' with tiny variegated leaves and reddish stems. Hopefully I'll have more luck with it than the similar-looking hebes I've tried 

Flat wattle (Acacia glaucoptera), looking more like some sort of Christmas cactus (Schlumberga sp.) than an acacia! The triangular gray-green leaves cover the stems entirely. It only grows to 3-4 ft. in height and twice that in width, but takes very well to pruning—in fact, it requires it for best shape.

See the reddish dots on the stems? Those are flower buds. This is a great image of the flowers.

Here is a list of my plant haul from the UCSC Arboretum fall sale (the plant names are hyperlinked so you can see what each plant looks like):

Plant	Origin	HxW (in)	Hardy	Sun/Shade	Where it will go
Acacia glaucoptera	Australia	3x6	20-25	Sun	Front yard, along the sidewalk, far end in front of an Aloe ‘Moonglow’
Arctostaphylos pajaroensis 'Brett's Beauty'	California	6x6	10	Sun/bright shade	TBD
Aulax cancellata	Australia	4x4	25	Sun/partial shade	TBD
Banksia spinulosa 'Stumpy Gold'	Australia	1x3	25	Sun/partial shade	Front yard, along sidewalk, under ‘Desert Emerald’ palo verde (already planted)
Grevillea × gaudichaudii	Australia	0.5x18	15-20	Sun/partial shade	Front yard, along sidewalk, in front of large Aloe ferox (already planted)
Grevillea aquifolium	Australia	1x3	25	Sun/partial shade	Front yard, along sidewalk, under ‘Desert Emerald’ palo verde (already planted)
Grevillea synapheae 'Picasso'	Australia	3x6	20	Light shade	Front yard, along sidewalk, under ‘Desert Emerald’ palo verde (already planted)
Hypocalymma cordifolium 'Golden Veil'	Australia	3x3	25	Sun/light shade	TBD
Isopogon anemonifolius	Australia	3x4	25	Partial/deep shade	Backyard, aloe corner
Lechenaultia formosa	Australia	1x1	25	Sun/light shade	Front yard, along sidewalk, in front of Cassia phyllodinea and Aloe elgonica

As I said earlier, I was done shopping within 30 minutes—a new efficiency record. After I'd paid and loaded my plants in the car, I grabbed the camera and explored the Australian Gardens in the Arboretum. Even though this isn't prime bloom season in the Australian Gardens, I did find some treasures, like the swamp bottlebrush (Beaufortia sparsa) below. Look for a dedicated post soon!

Swamp bottlebrush (Beaufortia sparsa)

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