It began as a hobby and passion and grew into one of the biggest privately owned Cacti and Succulent nurseries in the world today. Obesa nursery, situated in Graaf Reniet has established itself on 10 hectares of land. The Karoo climate being similar in nature to their native origins is perfect for their propagation. We currently house about 7 000 species of plants, and raise about 350000 plants each year. Our stock plants exceed 2 million.
Our services
Bulk sales to South African public
We supply a wide range of cacti and succulents at great value in product and price. Please do take not that minimum orders of R 1500 apply.
International orders
We supply orders around the globe. please get in touch to find out more about shipments and container costs.
Landscaping and professional advice
Having decades of experience behind him, Anton can advise and design your garden according to your needs and dreams. Water wise and low maintenance is the key so that you are surrounded with beautiful plants that don't cost you and arm and leg to upkeep.
We are open to the public for retail trade, as well as to other nurseries and distributors. As for the postal system, our minimum order is R1500 excluding shipping and packing costs. We also provide a delivery service for larger orders with current delivery fees of R4.00 per km in South Africa. Large exports orders are by means of shipping containers, and smaller orders via airmail.
Our opening hours are Monday to Thursday – 7am – 5pm, and on Fridays from 7am to 3pm. We are not open on weekends or public holidays. It is best to make an appointment via email or phone, seeing as our workload spikes from time to time.
more about us
Meet Anton
Owner, Anton Bouwer, began Obesa Wholesalers in 1999. Obesa is situated in the Eastern Cape in the historical town of Graaff-Reinet. Today, we offer a wide variety of species for the international and local market. Many of the plants we offer are medium and large, ranging from 3 years of age, to 20 years of age. Our plants are “hard grown”, and thus not force fed, which creates strong specimens. Additionally to this, the Karoo climate provides the perfect growing environment for cacti and other succulents.
Currently we stock around 5500 species, on the 7 hectare estate. Some of these rare and protected species are available to view, but kept as a collection, and thus not for sale. I would say that 80% of what we keep is for sale, and the rest for conservation and propagation purposes. The range includes caudiciforms & bulbs; miniature and adult cacti (both columnar and globular); Aloes and associates from Africa and Madagascar; various hardy trees (succulent and otherwise); various small and large succulents from all over the globe, such as Apocynaceae; Asclepiadaceae; Mesembryanthemaceae (Vygies); Yuccas; Dasylerions; Beaucarneas, Agaves and some Medicinal plants.
changing climate
As the global climate continues to change, and water becoming a scarce resource, these zerophytic plants continues to become ever more popular both here and abroad. Mostly, the species we offer are water wise and easy to keep. They simply take care of themselves, provided the growing mediums are well drained and the quantity of light exposure is correct. As with most plants, some requires more sunlight and others less. They are thus maintenance free relying only on natural rainfall. Contrary to general consensus, they are highly adaptable to higher rainfall areas as well. Most of them are not frost sensitive.
