Cold-hardy cactus leads to international business

KAYSVILLE — Following the directions to this week's featured garden — an east turn on Mutton Hollow Road and then a north turn on Ewe Turn Street — might leave you a bit confused as to the final destination.

No, it's not a sheep camp, but one of Utah's most unusual nurseries.

Intermountain Cactus — operated by Robert A. Johnson and his wife, Judy — specializes in cold-hardy cactus. If you think these fascinating plants won't do well north of the Arizona/Utah state line, you are mistaken. The Johnson landscape shows that many of them tolerate northern Utah's winter conditions.

Johnson's story is as fascinating as the plants he grows. "I always loved to garden, and even as a little child I had to have my own garden," he said.

Johnson got hooked on cactus while living in the Granger area. In July of 1968, his neighbor, Derwin Lewis, noticed some cactus near Grantsville and took Johnson out to look at them.

"We drove out to Grantsville and turned south and went out south of town toward South Willow Canyon," Johnson said. His neighbor stopped at "a very deserted spot and then got out and started to look around. We found some clusters of prickly pears and took some." (Collecting plants on public lands is now illegal without a permit, so make certain you acquire your plants from legal sources and not illegal collectors.)

"I knew nothing about cactus," Johnson continued. "Derwin had found one with a salmon-colored blossom that was quite rare. I have looked for years out there since and have never found another salmon one. Mine had a bright pink blossom, and when it bloomed in my yard the following year, I was hooked," Johnson said.

Several events over the next eight years led him into the cactus business, including an article in a Saturday Deseret News that had pictures of cactus in bloom down by Hanksville.

"Again, I did not know anything about the plants," Johnson said. "I had to take a trip to Central Utah a little later, so I thought I would drive out to see those cacti in bloom. I did not realize that by the time I got down there weeks later, the blooms would all be gone."

Then, while driving near Loa, he had to take a detour on a dirt road. "I stopped my car and walked out, by accident, into an area where there were cactus growing everywhere. I found four different varieties and started collecting."

Meanwhile, Johnson moved his family from Granger to Kaysville, giving him the room to grow and indulge his cactus-growing passion. Johnson then answered a classified add in Horticulture magazine for winter-hardy cactus.

"I sent the guy $17 and in July he finally sent me half the order. I thought, 'He is in Kansas and he does not have enough stock to fill my order.' It was then that I really thought about selling cactus."

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