Small businesses are local businesses in your community run and managed by someone in your community. This person or group of people do everything themselves. A lot of work goes into running a small business and when you buy from a small business you are not supporting a big corporation or business, but the work of someone in your community. You get to see the person or people you are supporting as well as help their business grow. Within the city of Downey there are many small businesses and business owners to support.

Matt Vasquez, 18 year old college student and Downey High School Alumni, is the owner of  “Succulentpapii”. Succulentpapii is a small business that sells arranged succulents and plants. Matt is a self-taught gardener and started this business after noticing his mother’s sedum succulents beginning to rot in the winter. A quick search on YoutTube led him to the conclusion that the plants were being overwatered. This was the beginning of his passion for succulents and plants. “I would go to nurseries and slowly talk to the owners about how to get more into the hobby and to maximize growth on certain plants and just self taught everything else,” Vasquez said, “My backyard has slowly turned into a jungle with canopies and plants in every corner…”. 

Matt offers various sizes and arrangements for all levels of plant owners. In fact, the most popular arrangements are the smaller succulents planted in a small animal pot. I own two of these pots and the succulents have been very easy to take care of and require minimal maintenance. Matt also included detailed instructions and information on how to care for the succulent plants. Matt is very knowledgeable about succulent plants and is sure to give you great tips to take care of your plants. “Gardening is one of the easiest hobbies to get into and all it takes is learning from your mistakes and patience to watch things grow,” Vasquez shared, “I will be honest though, the moment you figure out how to take care of a plant you gain an obsession”. Matt recommends starting with a small succulent like the small animal pots then working your way up. His favorite arrangements are those with larger cacti. He enjoys rooting them himself and arranging the graph. He also enjoys collecting variegated agaves and cacti. Propagating the plants is one of his favorite parts about gardening. “Propagation is when you cut the stem off from your main plant and grow that cutting with its very own roots,” Vasquez explained.

As you can tell Matt knows a lot about the succulents he is selling and is the perfect person to buy succulents from. Whether you are a beginner gardener or an experienced one you are sure to find a plant for you with Succulentpapii.