driving from Miami to San Antonio, what to see? nurseries?

[vulcanrob]

I'm thinking of taking a drive from Miami, FL to San Antonio, TX in a few weeks and I wondered if anyone had any suggestions for good cactus viewing spots or nurseries to stop at along the way.

My guess is the cacti don't really get started until San Antonio, but maybe there are some neat Opuntias along the way, and maybe some good nurseries. I'd love to see E pentalophus in the wild, I've read it's near San Antonio. If we're not exhausted when we get to San Antonio we may be up for exploring nearby areas. Big Bend seems like the cactus mecca but seems a bit far for this quick trip.

I know I'm early for flowers, but I'm happy just to see the plants. I've driven this way before, but I want to do it again to see if getting out of Florida is as dreadful a drive as I remember...

[Harriet]

You're right about not seeing much in the way of cactus east of the Mississippi river. But if you go up the west coast of Florida you could stop at Selby gardens (off I-75 in Sarasota) to see all their wonderful orchids and bromileads, and then the Alfred McClay gardens outside Tallahassee should be pretty full of azaleas, dogwood and some other pretty kick a$$ spring growth. Maybe then Florida wouldn't seem so "dreadful".

[vulcanrob]

Hi Harriet,

I didn't mean to imply Florida was dreadful, just the monotonous interstate drive.

Selby is very nice, I actually interned there one summer back in the 80's. That was in my orchid days, now I'm a cactus snob and I'm itching to get to the west. Almost half the trip to San Antonio will be getting out of Florida, 650 of 1,360 miles.

Any good cactus nurseries in your area? There's a guy who comes down from Apopka or Plant city to sell at shows. He has nice stuff.

[Harriet]

It seems that regular nurseries are carrying C&S plants more frequently, but I haven't found one that specializes in them. But then, I don't get out much... Martenfisher mentioned a cactus nursery near Crystal River that looked promising. Maybe you can find his old post...

[John C]

If you are going to San Antonio I recommend you check out Paul's Desert. Great people and awesome plants! They also have a beautiful cactus garden out front. I would just give them a call or email to make sure they will be open when you are there.