Started in 2021, Prickly Prospects Cactus Nursery is a conservation-focused nursery in Tucson, Arizona. It is currently a one-man operation, run by myself, Michiel Pillet.
Cacti are one of the most endangered groups of organisms on the planet, with 31% of nearly 1,500 species threatened. Few, if any, cacti are extinct so far, and I want to keep it that way. Conservation is a multidisciplinary process, involving stakeholders across society. While there is legislation in place to conserve cacti in the wild, enforcement is difficult. One conservation tool that helps with this is ex-situ conservation, meaning that species are cultivated by public or private organizations, as well as individuals. My goal is simple: ensure cactus species and populations live on, even if only in cultivation.
Why is this business needed? Maintaining and expanding a large collection of cacti costs time and money. By selling surplus plants, I can spend more resources working on my conservation goal. Importantly, when people purchase endangered species it makes it more likely those species will persist in cultivation in the long term. It also has the potential to increase interest in conservation and ecology.
I started growing cacti around 2004 in Belgium, at the age of 14, when a friend showed me his plant. My first favorite species was Leuchtenbergia principis. At 18, I moved to Montana for college – not a good place to grow many cacti. In 2016, I moved to Arizona to work on my PhD at The University of Arizona, researching how climate change will impact cacti. I quickly took up growing cacti again, and in 2018 I purchased 2.5 acres and built a 2,000 sq. ft. hoop house. Lots of room for future expansion! As of 2021 I grow over 5,000 adult plants and thousands of seedlings. In the next five years, I want to be growing at least 90% of cactus species.
By buying from Prickly Prospects, you’ll be supporting an organization focused on conservation and preservation. You’ll be getting plants guaranteed to be grown in cultivation, rather than taken from the wild. As many of my plants as possible are seed-grown, ensuring genetic diversity. My plants are pollinated in isolation, so no sneaky hybrids. I don’t sell plants whose identity is uncertain unless specifically stated, so rest easy – you’ll get what you pay for. Unlike most cactus nurseries, I do very little reselling. This means you’ll see species you can’t find anywhere else. Thanks for visiting!
