An excellent nursery that carries lots of interesting, uncommon plants is Plant Ranch located at 14108 Beach Blvd. When I was there last week (buying camellias) they had lots of succulents. If there is something specific you want, you could call them beforehand (904) 223-4546. They are my favorite nursery in Jacksonville. See link below for their website. http://www.plantranchnursery.com/products.htm

Rockaway Garden Center located at 510 Shetter Avenue in Jacksonville Beach, (904) 853-6572 âÂÂis only a few miles from Plant Ranch. Here is their website: http://www.rockawaygardencenterfl.com/

There are also quite a few Ace Hardware stores here that carry great plants. They all have good stuff and are all on my go-to list, but the best one, in my opinion, is Hagan Ace Hardware located at 12501 San Jose Blvd, (904) 268-9597. The Hall's Ace Hardware located at 11524 San Jose Boulevard, (904) 262-1965 is only a few miles away and also very good.

There is also Pat's Nursery, located on US 17 Between Orange Park and Greencove Springs. It is a large nursery but since it is pretty far from me, I don't get there very often.

Have fun!

Carol

Here is a link that might be useful: Plant Ranch

Here's the link for Pat's Nursery (below).

Carol

Here is a link that might be useful: Pat's Nursery

Thanks for the suggestions! I'm going to try and swing by Rockawau over the next couple days. I'll update with pics if it results in any new acquisitions :)

I use Proctor Ace on University. He usually has a good selection and friendly advice. Paula{{gwi:464087}}

Yes, Paula, I agree! I like all of the Ace Nurseries in Jacksonville and frequent them regularly. I even keep a list of them in my car!

Ace End of JTB at beach next to Target (Marsh Landing)
Ace Atlantic Blvd - across from Lowes
Ace Atlantic Blvd - Jax Beach
Ace University Blvd (by Luigis and I-95)
Ace San Jose - just south of I-295
Ace San Jose - Julington Creek
Ace 5827 Arlington Road
Ace South A1A - south of Corona - 870 A1A, just past Palm Valley Road (Hwy 210)

Carol

ChemGardener, how did it go?

Hi ,

Thank you for the info about Ace hardware in Jax area. In a few weeks , we will be moving to St Augustine to retire . I lived here in Northern California for the last 30 yrs and i'm wandering if i start a succulents garden there , will it thrive? I'm trying to get rid of some of my personal stuff around the house , but my succulents plants are the ones that are very hard to let go . A lot of my friend are just waiting for me to decide it i am going to sell or give away some! Frankly speaking , if its not gonna be a hassle i would love to take it all with me! I have some serious potted succulents that my neighbors are eyeing for it ! But the thing is they want to buy it on a discount price. Last month i had a garage sale but didn't make much money but i had a lot of people who came around to browse . A couple of them reserved 2 big Pots of Jade and Aeonium.. . I dint tell her how much i would ask for it. She'll probably drop her shoulders if i tell her i want $50 for each. If i take them with me , some moving companies don't want to move plants because of the state border check and some agricultural issues. D you think i will have a hard time getting it in in some stateline border check

I know what it is like to have favorite plants that you just can't get rid of. Big jade plants here in Florida can go for $150. If those people think a $50 plant is expensive, a few of my favorite plants that someone will have to pry out of my cold dead hands are worth $2500-$3000 each.

You have inspectors there that can give you good advice, but if you have someone come out and give you a phyto, you should be able to bring your succulents in without a problem. Citrus and that kind of thing would be a problem, but not succulents. The biggest thing they are worried about from California are the brown snails.

The succulents you mentioned should be fine here, but the jade plant isn't cold hardy without protection for the area you are moving to. You may have things that do fine in your Mediterranean climate where they don't do as all in our tropical climate. The aoeniums looked so nice when I went to Santa Barbara, but they didn't do well when I brought some here.

I have quite a collection of succulents... I 've been propagating some already , in fact i brought some cutting of different eccheverias , i let the callous dried out fora few days and before i left i planted it in a terra cotta pot , and my sister in law who' s been checking our house in St Augustine said its doing good and growing fast . She never have to water it bec iplaced it in a part shady part open spot so it get a lil bit of rain n a lil moisture but a lot of sunshine! I really hope i could grow them even in a small green house !

Thank you so much for the tip about the brown snails ... I really have to check Some of the plants that i'm going to take with me before we transport them , just to be on the safe side !

I get mine from Home Depot, Walmart & Ebay. I've found some good deals on Ebay like 10 different cuttings for $10

The problem with many cacti and succulents in FL is that they rot due to the rainy season and humidity. I think if you put them on a small hill with amended cactus type soil and put some small gravel around them and also constructed a pergola with a clear polycarbonate greenhouse type roof and open sides it would help a lot with too much rain at certain times of the year.

California winter is almost the same as Jax and St augustine weather and some succs and cacti love that weather unless the temp is unpermittable , i cover them with towels or old comforter and place them west exposure . Humidity is not a big problem , maybe over exposure to rain will be the culprit . And some cacti and succs can stay indoor during the coldest part of the season! Looking forward to live in Florida and i enjoy gardening!

I was born in southern Calif and it is NOTHING like FL, LA, or anywhere on the gulf coast. Just saying...The LA coast (Louisiana) is similar to Jax in weather and what will grow well here. The soil is different but can be amended. In Calif they get more rain in the winter, in FL they get more rain in the summer. Jax is colder than Los Angeles and most of S Cal in the winter. Northern Cal can be much colder than here, obviously, depends on where and how far north and away from the coast.

There are a few tropical cactus that can do well here. I have a night blooming jusbertii harrissia that likes the humidity and can take down to about 22F if I cover it. Many Optunia do okay. Mine fruit regularly. I have several epiphyllums in hanging baskets under an porch eve so they get slanted sun and are protected from harshest afternoon sun and too much rain or dew. You can grow dragon fruit but if you don't protect them you will lose them in the winter. Fire ants love to eat the stems. They need more than a blanket in the winter. We can get down into the teens here. Century plants are all over the place here with no protection. I have a huge blue agave that does ok. I cover it in the winter and it gets a little protection from an oak tree. It is too big to move.

I have a greenhouse that I put up in the winter (two 10 x20 ft metal framed carports that have 12 mil plastic and a propane heater) to keep my tender/tropical stuff in. I keep it kinda dry in there to prevent mold.

Not only do we get a rainy season here but heavy dew fall at times. The dew sitting on cactus when the sun comes out isn't too great for it on a regular basis. You will have to pick varieties that will do well here and can handle a lot of water.