美国 加利福尼亚仙人掌中心California Cactus Center – 以稀有标本与精品种质见长

美国 加利福尼亚仙人掌中心 California Cactus Center logo

美国 加利福尼亚仙人掌中心 (California Cactus Center) 是一家创立于 1976 年的家庭经营多肉植物专营苗圃,主园区位于南加州帕萨迪纳市 (Pasadena) Rosemead Boulevard,紧邻洛杉矶县植物园 (Los Angeles County Arboretum) 与亨廷顿图书馆 (The Huntington) 两座世界级园艺机构。除零售门店外,中心还在加州 Indio 与 Chino 设有生产基地,长期为地方政府、企业和大学景观项目供应仙人掌与多肉植物,曾承接 Google 园区景观与加州大学河滨分校 (UC Riverside) 大型景观的多肉植物订单。苗圃 2024 年起周末限定开放 (周五、周六、周日 10:00 – 15:00),以稀有标本与精品种质见长,在南加州多肉植物爱好者圈中享有”寻宝式”苗圃的口碑。

历史沿革

加利福尼亚仙人掌中心由泰国移民 Zhalermwudh Thongthiraj 博士与夫人 Maleenee Thongthiraj 于 1976 年在帕萨迪纳创立,最初源于博士本人多年收藏仙人掌与多肉植物的爱好。创始人夫妇育有六个女儿,苗圃经营至今仍由家族第二代共同维护,呈现出典型的”小地块、高密度、家庭协作”南加州老派苗圃风貌。中心 1980 年代起逐步扩展业务范围,从最初的零售苗圃发展为兼具批发与景观供应能力的综合园艺机构,1990 年代末在 Indio 设立沙漠气候分圃以适应不同物种的生长需求,2010 年代又增设 Chino 苗圃承担规模化繁殖与批发任务。这一发展路径与南加州整体的耐旱景观潮流相吻合,使中心成为帕萨迪纳地区少数能将稀有种质保护、家庭零售和大型景观订单兼顾的本土苗圃之一。

核心业务

中心业务以稀有仙人掌与多肉植物的种苗销售、批发供应和景观配植为核心。零售门店常年提供从 3 英寸小盆到 24 英寸箱装的大型标本,涵盖龙舌兰属 (Agave)、芦荟属 (Aloe)、丝兰属 (Yucca)、大戟属 (Euphorbia) 等主流多肉类群,以及 Echinocactus、Ferocactus、Astrophytum、Copiapoa、Melocactus 等经典球形仙人掌。门店实行独特的字母定价法:以 A、B、C 等字母代替具体价格,对应价格表悬挂于苗圃各处,标价区间从 14.95 美元到 4 位数不等;这一设计源于苗圃每周需调整数千盆植物价格的实际需求,也是其面向资深收藏者与景观客户双重客群的经营策略之一。批发与景观部门则专注于城市绿化、校园景观和商业园区项目,长期承接地方政府与高校的耐旱景观订单。

特色亮点

中心的最大特色在于”小地块高密度”的产品布局与稀有标本储备。约 1,2 万平方英尺的零售门店内,陈列着从常见景天科到百年树龄的大型柱状仙人掌等各级别植物,密度极高。其收藏中包含嫁接缀化 (crest) 与斑锦变异 (variegata) 类的精品大戟科、稀有 Pachypodium、Dorstenia gigas、Ariocarpus 岩牡丹属系列,以及 Deuterocohnia brevifolia 等群生老桩。中心承担一定程度的种质保护与繁育工作,少数通过保育项目繁育的子代会进入零售流通。门店营造出独特的”探店式”购物氛围,与 Huntington、Los Angeles County Arboretum 形成的园艺文化走廊相互呼应,使帕萨迪纳成为南加州多肉植物爱好者周末行程的核心节点。中心在 YouTube 设有官方频道分享植物知识,Facebook 主页与南加州多家仙人掌与多肉植物协会保持长期联系。

实地信息

苗圃地址位于美国加州帕萨迪纳市 South Rosemead Boulevard,紧邻洛杉矶县植物园与亨廷顿图书馆,距离帕萨迪纳会议中心 (Pasadena Convention Center) 约 5.3 英里。营业时间为周五、周六、周日 10:00 – 15:00,周一至周四闭店。中心与南加州多家仙人掌与多肉植物专业协会合作,参与 Inter-City Cactus and Succulent Show 等区域性专业展会;亦与亨廷顿图书馆、洛杉矶县植物园形成帕萨迪纳”耐旱景观三件套”参观动线。建议前往前查阅 Facebook 主页或致电确认最新营业与库存信息。


California Cactus Center is a family-run specialty nursery founded in 1976, dedicated to cacti and succulents. The main retail site sits on Rosemead Boulevard in Pasadena, Southern California, within walking distance of two world-class horticultural institutions: the Los Angeles County Arboretum and The Huntington. In addition to its retail nursery, the business operates production facilities in Indio and Chino, supplying municipalities, businesses and university landscaping projects across Southern California. Past institutional clients have included a new Google campus and the University of California, Riverside. The nursery shifted to a limited weekend schedule (Friday, Saturday and Sunday, 10:00 – 15:00) in 2024 and is widely regarded by Southern California succulent collectors as a treasure-hunt destination for rare specimens and curated show plants.

History

California Cactus Center was established in 1976 by Thai immigrants Dr. Zhalermwudh Thongthiraj and his wife Maleenee Thongthiraj, originally growing out of the founder’s personal collection of cacti and succulents. The couple raised six daughters, and the nursery remains a family operation now run by the second generation, exemplifying the small-footprint, high-density, family-run nursery model common across older Southern California garden centers. From a purely retail beginning in the late 1970s, the business gradually expanded into wholesale supply and landscape contracting during the 1980s and 1990s, opening an Indio production site to accommodate desert-climate species and a Chino facility in the 2010s for larger-scale propagation. This trajectory paralleled the rise of drought-tolerant landscaping in Southern California and positioned the nursery as one of the few local operators able to combine rare-specimen retail with institutional landscape supply.

Core Business

The center’s core activities are retail and wholesale supply of rare cacti and succulents, together with landscape procurement for institutional projects. The retail nursery stocks plants ranging from 3-inch starter pots up to 24-inch boxed specimens, covering mainstream succulent genera such as Agave, Aloe, Yucca and Euphorbia, alongside classic globular cacti in the genera Echinocactus, Ferocactus, Astrophytum, Copiapoa and Melocactus. The nursery uses a letter-based pricing scheme: plants are tagged A, B, C and so on, with a posted key translating letters into dollar amounts (typically starting near 14.95 USD and reaching four figures for the rarest specimens). This letter system reflects both the need to reprice thousands of plants weekly and the dual clientele of dedicated hobbyists and professional landscape buyers. The wholesale and landscape division focuses on municipal, campus and commercial drought-tolerant projects across the region.

Highlights

The nursery’s defining traits are its high-density, small-footprint layout and its deep reserve of rare specimens. Within a roughly twelve-thousand-square-foot lot, customers encounter a tightly packed mix of common sedums, large columnar cacti and century-old show plants. The collection includes crested and variegated cultivars of Euphorbia lactea, rare Pachypodium species, mature Dorstenia gigas specimens, a curated Ariocarpus selection, and decades-old Deuterocohnia brevifolia polsters. A small portion of the inventory is dedicated to conservation breeding, with select offspring made available for retail sale. The store delivers an exploratory, treasure-hunt shopping experience that complements The Huntington and the Los Angeles County Arboretum, anchoring Pasadena as a focal point for Southern California succulent enthusiasts on weekends. The nursery maintains an active YouTube channel and Facebook page and works closely with regional cactus and succulent societies, including participation in events such as the Inter-City Cactus and Succulent Show.

Plan Your Trip

The nursery sits on South Rosemead Boulevard in Pasadena, California, near the Los Angeles County Arboretum and The Huntington, roughly 5.3 miles from the Pasadena Convention Center. Hours are Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 10:00 to 15:00; the nursery is closed Monday through Thursday. The business works closely with regional cactus and succulent societies and participates in events such as the Inter-City Cactus and Succulent Show, forming part of a Pasadena drought-tolerant landscape triangle with The Huntington and the Los Angeles County Arboretum. Visitors are encouraged to check the Facebook page or call ahead to confirm current hours and inventory before traveling.

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