Several CCSS members are growers and vendors of cactus and succulent plants. Please visit these links, email, or call for more information.
Conophytum Cultivation in New England This is Matt Opel's website that has lots of info about Conophytums with topics covering growth cycle, soil, light, temperature, watering, fertilizer, disease and pests, sowing seeds, and other resources.
Drago Cactoid
Andover, CT - email "ken at spatulacity dot com" What started out as a business that intended to sell
cacti and succulents got slightly sidetracked when Ken fell in love with tuberous aroids. Specifically,
Matt Opel introduced Ken to Amorphophallus konjac, a very strange, fun and easy to grow plant.
Drago Cactoid started selling many species of Amorphophallus and their tuberous cousins Typhonium, Pinellia,
Pseudodracontium, Pycnospatha, etc. The aroids are both propagated on site at the Andover, CT nursery
and also imported from various Asian countries.
On top of that Ken has been growing and harvesting his own Datura
and Castor Bean seed, also for sale on the site. Drago Cactoid offers more species of Datura for
sale than any other U.S. source yet discovered.
Lauray of Salisbury
432 Undermountain Rd. (Rte. 41), Salisbury, CT 06068. (860) 435-2263. This delightful
greenhouse offers an outstanding selection of unusual indoor plants,
specializing in cacti and succulents, begonias, gesneriads,and orchids. Visitors are welcome by
appointment or by chance. Best to call ahead to avoid disappointment. Mail order
catalog $2.
For anyone interested in growing winter hardy cacti, we suggest buying "Growing Winter Hardy Cacti in Cold/Wet Climate Conditions" by John Spain. John Spain has grown winter hardy cacti since 1965 from Grosse Pointe, MI to Wayne, NJ to his current home in Middlebury, CT. He was a founder and the first president of the Connecticut Cactus and Succulent Society, as well as a member of the Cactus and Succulent Society of America. He was general chairman of the 7th Eastern Cactus and Succulent Society Conference held in 1990. In addition, John is the chairman of the Berkshire Chapter of the North American Rock Garden Society. A frequent lecturer and noted teacher, he writes, draws, and photographs for national gardening magazines and society publications. His book can be ordered from him directly by mailing $15 (includes shipping to USA & Canada) to: John Spain, 69 Bayberry Road, Middlebury, CT 06762
Carol Moore is a local artisan with a unique sense of creativity. Her
untraditional style of pottery compliments the strange and weird characteristics of
the plants we enjoy growing. Together the presentation is fantastic!
Carol has been creating "one of a kind" pottery planters for the
Connecticut Cactus & Succulent Society for several years along with her more
traditional pottery. These planters are of porous clay with oxide colorings instead of
glazes. There is a drainage hole and the pots are usually on feet for air
circulation. Special orders will be accepted. She can be contacted by email at: ctmoore4@optonline.net
Member Vendors outside Connecticut
Bob Smoley's Gardenworld
4038 Watters Lane, Gibsonia, PA 15044 (724)443-6770 Fax: (724)449-6219
email: bsmoley@pgh.net Even though he's about five hundred miles from
Connecticut, Bob has long been a member of CC&SS and is a regular vendor at our annual show
and sale. In fact, some folks come to the show just to see his remarkable plants and take
home a few rarities for their own collections.
You can get a preview by visiting his extensive web site.