Attention Plant Collectors, You Could Own a Piece of Lotusland

Southern California is about to host the ultimate plant party! On October 5, from 1 to 4 p.m., one of the 10 best botanical gardens in the world will be auctioning off nearly 200 lots of rare and prized specimens. Ganna Walska Lotusland, home to over 3,000 plants with a delightful and glamorous history, and founded by the horticultural passion of the extraordinary Polish Opera singer Ganna Walska, just might be one of our favorite and most whimsical gardens of the West. And now, plant enthusiasts are able to bring a piece of this garden into their own collection. 

Bid on numerous rare and specimen plants and vie for the chance to take home exceptional botanical treasures. The auction will feature impressive contributions propagated in Lotusland’s nursery as well as donations from botanic gardens, universities, private collectors, landscape designers, and Southern California’s most esteemed nurseries. It’s an absolute must-attend event for anyone passionate about plants, with proceeds supporting the preservation and care of Lotusland’s extraordinary plant collections.

With a live auction that will be held with a reserve price of a couple hundred dollars, as well as a silent auction with bidding starting at just $20, even those not local to Santa Barbara can get in on the action with items that will be available to preview online.

Sunset’s Plant Picks

Welwitschia mirabilis: A plant so unique that it is the only species within its plant family. This gymnosperm is found in arid Namibia and Angola and only grows two strap-like leaves during its very long lifetime. Rare in cultivation, this is an amazing opportunity to own a young specimen of this plant. Donated by UCSB Greenhouses.

Photo courtesy of Ganna Walska Lotusland

Mexipedium xerophyticum ‘Oaxaca’:  This species of orchid is believed to be extinct in the wild due to a wildfire that devastated its habitat. However, it has been successfully propagated through a network of botanical gardens across the United States. Mexipedium xerophyticum was endemic to Oaxaca, Mexico, where it typically grows as a lithophyte in warm climates. Due to its slow growth, this species is rarely available and seldom seen in cultivation. While pollination and propagation efforts have been made in the lab, progress has been slow. Only two clones were originally collected from its natural habitat and imported into the United States, with the Missouri Botanical Gardens being the first to successfully cultivate it. Donated by Huntington Botanical Gardens.

Boswellia sacra: A very ornamental and handsome tree from which frankincense resin is harvested. It forms a small deciduous tree with papery bark and a gnarled appearance. Native to Oman, Yemen, and Somalia. Donated by Yes Yes Nursery.

Photo courtesy of Ganna Walska Lotusland

Aloe lukeana: This Aloe was first described by Tom Cole of Cold Spring Aloe in 2015 and named in honor of his late brother, Luke Cole. This species is found in northeastern Uganda and displays striking red to orange flowers that are held upright before becoming pendant. On offer is a propagation of a plant in the Aloe garden at Lotusland.

Aloe rupestris (Bottlebrush Aloe): Typically with a single trunk 10-15′ tall; it’s a summer grower. The dramatically branched inflorescence is densely packed with yellow buds that open with a dazzling show of bright orange stamens. Hummingbirds, birds, and bees will love it. This is a propagation of a plant in Lotusland’s collection that is originally from famed South African botanist and horticulturist Cynthia Giddy.

Calibanus hookeri:  A Lotusland hybrid presumably of Calibanus hookeri and Beaucarnea recurvata discovered by Charlie Glass, Garden Director under Madame Ganna Walska. Calibanus hookeri was rediscovered in the wild in Mexico by Charlie Glass and Bob Foster, and when seed was collected and grown from a garden specimen at Lotusland, it turned into something wonderfully different from the true species. This specimen offered is an F2 progeny of this original cross.

Photo courtesy of Ganna Walska Lotusland

Begonia ‘Lotusland’: A large specimen of Lotusland’s namesake begonia. Selected and introduced by Rudy Ziesenhenne at his Santa Barbara nursery in honor of Madame Ganna Walska and her famed garden.

Encephalartos horridus × woodii: This incredibly unique hybrid cycad was created right here at Lotusland using the pollen of the one and only Encephalartos woodii crossed with a female plant of the ultra-blue, ultra-spiny Encephalartos horridus. Already showing characteristics of both parents with dark green, glossy leaves and spiny, lobed leaflets, this vigorous plant will be a showstopper in any garden.

Euphorbia ingens: A seedling from the iconic plants in the Lotusland landscape that were originally planted in 1942 when Madame Ganna Walska transformed the landscape in front of the main house soon after purchasing the property. This seedling may become the “weeping” form.

Photo courtesy of Ganna Walska Lotusland

Live auction bromeliad group: An instant bromeliad garden of select plants from Madame Ganna Walska’s renowned bromeliad collection. Known for pushing horticultural boundaries, Ganna Walska worked with nurseryman Fritz Kubish to develop a planting of tropical, epiphytic bromeliads. At the time it was thought that these tender plants wouldn’t survive outside, but they proliferated so well that a second garden was created to accommodate all of the divisions.

Opuntia galapageia: On the Galápagos Islands, giant tortoises and iguanas rely on cacti as a primary food source. Some Galápagos cacti, including this Opuntia galapageia, have grown to tree-like proportions to avoid over-predation. Tortoises must wait for fruits and pads to fall. Yet, in some parts of the Galápagos, tortoises have evolved special shell shapes that allow them to stretch up higher for food. This rooted pad is from the Dunlap cactus collection, taken from a plant originally provided by David Walkington of Cal State Fullerton.

Photo courtesy of Ganna Walska Lotusland

Salvia discolor: Rare in cultivation, this unusual Peruvian salvia is popular with hummingbirds and is a drought-tolerant choice for the garden. Wiry white stems hold gray-green aromatic leaves with contrasting fuzzy white undersides. S. discolor flowers have deep purple petals appearing black against silver calyces and contain a sweet nectar at the base of the floral tube.