Meet Richard Porter of Cactus Arizona in Tempe

Today we’d like to introduce you to Richard Porter.

Richard, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I started collecting a few Trichocereus cactus back in 2013 with the intent of having some easy to grow “sacred” plants around the house. I really wanted to have a few native style plants that I could enjoy growing without too much work. Once I obtained 4 Trichocereus cactus, I began to examine their subtle differences. As I began looking online at other collectors’ plants, I was able to discern even more subtle details that I just had to have. Over the course of about 6 months, I went from 4 cactus to nearly 400 ranging in size. I joined many different Trichocereus collector groups online and began trading cuttings from my plants for cuttings from other collectors’ plants. Eventually, it dawned on me that I, too, could sell cuttings of my plants on eBay just like other collectors were doing.

That’s when I began Cactus Arizona. It quickly grew and I began to have a small following of collectors looking for the latest popular Trichocereus variety. I had always wanted to run a business since I was a little kid and I have always enjoyed growing plants so things just fell right in place for me.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Some of the bigger issues I’ve faced have been the bermuda grass and rats in the area. The grass invaded my cactus pots very quickly and got out of hand fast. This eventually led to issues of high humidity around the base of my cactus which resulted in stem rot. I had about 15 valuable cactus fall over and a few died. Then, due to the grass coverage some rats began burrowing in my cactus pots and chewing up the bottom portions of the cactus which also led to stem rot. It was quite frustrating. I decided that it was time to revamp the nursery and so I began the long and arduous process of repotting everything in order to rid the nursery of the evil bermuda grass and rats. I’m about 60% done with everything, I want to do for the revamp process. It’s a race against the clock before summer hits!

Please tell us about Cactus Arizona.
My business, Cactus Arizona is a nursery that specializes in rare Trichocereus cactus for collectors. The goal of the nursery is to not only supply collectors with hard to find genetics for their favorite Trichocereus cactus at a reasonable price but also as a sort of preserve for Trichocereus cactus. What I am most proud of with Cactus Arizona is the level of customer service I strive to provide. I am not just a businessman but also a collector of these cactus so I understand what customers want and expect when buying these plants. I try very hard to communicate clearly with my customer base, as well as, making sure that they are happy with their purchase from Cactus Arizona. I love the idea that the cactus I sell today, have the possibility of being spread across the country and maybe even the world for years into the future. To have a hand in preserving these cactus and plants in general really makes me happy.

If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
Originally, I started growing in 5 gallon black fabric pots which served me well but I quickly realized, I should have used much larger pots. I’m going through it now and upgrading everything to very large pots and a better watering system.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://cactusarizona.com
• Email: cactusarizona@gmail.com
• Instagram: cactusarizonasales
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CactusArizona
• Other: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1572358676174403/?ref=br_rs

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