Rare Plants and Succulents Nursery

Rare Plants and Succulents Nursery is open via appointment only, generally on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday. To visit contact owner Margaret Cumurovic via phone or Facebook.

Rare Plants and Succulents Nursery, located in the semi-rural suburb of Rossmore, stocks some 300 varieties of cacti, succulents and agave over half an acre of sprawling open air space. Not only are these potential new housemates visually arresting – plants don’t come much more low maintenance than cacti.

Owner Margaret Cumurovic has a knack for unearthing spectacular finds, and when she’s not meeting succulent enthusiasts at the nursery, you’ll find her on the road sourcing plants from all over Sydney, sometimes driving up to three hours away. That patience applies to growing, as well – some of her cacti are up to 50 years old, compared to the three-year-old specimens usually found at nurseries.

Prices start at a reasonable $5, with plenty for $15 and $20. But rarer plants can set you back hundreds of dollars; she’s got small trichocereus (also known as San Pedro cactus) for $100; mammillaria elongata (or brain cactus, named for its uncanny likeness) for $60; and a cereus peruvianus spiralis, a tall green cactus that looks like it’s been twisted, for $600. And many more spiky, thorny, wildly colourful, stumpy and scary looking fellows, too.