Any day our friend and plant grower Rita Auer arrives with a new shipment of cacti and succulents is a good one in the greenhouse. We’ve had the pleasure of working with Rita for well over a decade, and her visits provide us the opportunity to talk cacti and succulents with someone who shares our passion for this fascinating group of plants. Maybe you’ve met her at our annual cactus show. If so, you know what we mean. We have a close connection with Rita, and we thought you’d enjoy a little behind-the-scenes look at the valuable partnership we enjoy with her.
Her Assortment is Full of Surprises
If you’re a cactus and succulent fan, browsing through one of Rita’s shipments might make you feel like a kid in a candy shop. Rita grows a mesmerizing array of different species in several pot sizes, but it’s often the trays of little 3” square pots that draw the most attention. The cacti and succulents in these pots are just wee babies – requiring you to slow down and look closely to appreciate their intricate forms and patterns. Scanning over them one-by-one is an almost meditative experience. And surprises can pop up anywhere. In addition to the more common echeverias and crassulas, once in a while you’ll spot a mini sansevieria or an infant hoya. Maybe you’ll see the world’s tiniest geranium or the unbelievable Haworthia ryderiana – a golf ball-sized cluster of fleshy leaves that somehow shoots up a slender flower stem reaching two feet in the air. And in almost every shipment, there will be a few species we’ve never seen before at all.
She Cares About the Details
Whether they’re 3”, 4”, or on up to 10” pots, Rita’s cacti and succulents are always expertly planted with a layer of decorative rock covering the soil surface as a finishing touch. And each plant is carefully labeled with a tag stating its correct botanical name. So many cacti and succulents look similar to each other – especially when they’re young – so this is a valuable detail for plant collectors. And Rita’s passion for her craft means her plants come to us perfect and healthy every time. Our trust in Rita and her collection makes life easy for our plant buyer Jasmine Osten. When she calls Rita, she only has to say “Bring anything you have,” and Jasmine knows whatever we get will be amazing.
She Knows Her Stuff
Rita has been growing small cuttings into a stunning variety of cacti and succulents for over 35 years. She’s intimately aware of each species’ specific culture needs – from light to water to fertilizer to soil. She even knows details about rare and unusual plants – information that’s sometimes hard to find. If there’s ever a question about what a particular species needs to be happy – from propagation to full-grown maturity – we know Rita will have the answer. The quick-draining Crump Greenhouse Cactus and Succulent potting mix she creates is a favorite of ours too.
Not every example in our wide selection of cacti and succulents comes from Rita – in our collection you’ll find amazing specimens of all sizes and types from different growers across the country. But, we enjoy a unique partnership with Rita, and it’s always fun when cacti and succulent collectors can get together to share that passion.
