Loveland man finds beauty in cactus cultivation

GREENHOUSE GROWER

Ahulx Dalrymple talks about his love of growing cacti Thursday in his greenhouse in the backyard of his Loveland home. He is the owner of COCAC, meaning Colorado Cactus. He grows a number of hybrid cacti plants that he sells both online and at farmers markets. PHOTOS BY JENNY SPARKS — LOVELAND REPORTER-HERALD

Ahulx Dalrymple shows the seeds inside a piece of cactus fruit from one of his plants Thursday, in his greenhouse in the backyard of his Loveland home.

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By Austin Fleskes

afleskes@prairiemountainmedia.com

While Ahulx Dalrymple may not live in the arid southwest where cacti tend to grow, that has not stopped him from bringing the spiny beauties to Colorado, growing and selling hybrids of the plant out of greenhouses in west Loveland and Lyons.

Dalrymple started COCAC — standing for Colorado cactus — nearly 10 years ago from an interest he gained from his employer. While they were working for Rocky Mountain Fresh, his boss brought in a cactus and told Dalrymple about how he grew it from a seed years ago. This, he said, was incredible to him.

“That started me on this whole adventure to find out how to do this,” he said.

Dalrymple then joined a number of Facebook groups, doing his own research and even getting a number of seeds from people that he met online. From there, he said, it “went nuts.”

“I just sowed a bunch of seeds and started going with it and never quit,” he said.

While he started growing out of his closet in 2014, Dalrymple gradually expanded into a greenhouse in 2016 and then moved around to a number of different locations in Northern Colorado where he grew different hybrids of cacti.

Now, Dalrymple said, he is moving his cactus growths from a Lyons greenhouse back to his greenhouse in west Loveland, which already stands full of cacti ranging from a few inches to several feet tall, some smooth to the touch and others covered in spines.

Dalrymple said the cacti are grown similarly to other plants, with one key difference, you do not bury the seeds. While he has worked with the plant for as long as he has, he is not immune to getting pricked and poked, he said.

“I’ve pulled spines from almost every part of my body,” he said, showing off permanent poked-in holes in his fingers and even a new injury from a cactus falling against him earlier this week. He added, though, that his dexterity, awareness and patience have elevated from working with cacti.

And while he also runs a tomato growing company — Shiny Tiny Big Bold Tomato Co. — he said he finds great beauty and amazement in the different hybrids of cacti he grows, particularly when they flower.

“They’re prettier than any rose or hibiscus I have ever seen,” he said, later adding “the big drive for me was I (wanted) to grow these from seeds, make my own hybrids and see all the different genetic variations that come out.”

More information on COCAC can be found on its website, cocac.net, or on its Facebook page.