Local Nurseries
Great places to buy plants within ~30 miles of South Bay.
| Nursery | Notes |
|---|---|
| Laguna Hills Nursery (Tustin) | Knowledgeable staff and owner, Gary. Excellent potting soil. Extremely wide selection of avocado cultivars in spring. |
| Mimosa (East LA) | Impressive variety of sub/tropical species, including ornamentals like champaca. Temperate species also available. |
| Mimosa (Anaheim) | High prices but decent variety of sub/tropical fruit trees. Some temperate species are available. |
| EKT (Lakewood) | Focused on sub/tropical species. |
| Ricardo's (Long Beach) | Friendly owner. Get a 10% discount if you mention CRFG South Bay. |
| H & H (Lakewood) | Local fruit tree nursery. |
| Devil Mountain (Redondo) | Wholesale only, but some chapter members have accounts. Mostly ornamentals, but they can be used to attract pollinators. |
| Armstrong (Torrance) | Impressive selection of fruit trees (some sub/tropicals, but not many) with good cultural practices. Moderate to high prices. |
| Home Depot | Many locations nearby. Surprisingly good selection at times but inconsistent (Torrance has had mango, white sapote, cherimoya). Ask for the garden center buyer—he can place special orders. Prices are impossible to beat. |
Regional Nurseries
Stellar nurseries, but they're all at least an hour away from South Bay.
| Nursery | Notes |
|---|---|
| Paradise Nursery (Chatsworth) | Specializes in Persian favorites like azgil, gojeh sabz, shahtoot (M. nigra), and quince. |
| Otto & Sons Nursery (Fillmore) | A vendor for Armstrong Nursery. Carries commercial clonal-rootstock avocado trees from Brokaw. |
| Brokaw Nursery (Ventura) | Commercial clonal-rootstock avocado trees. Minimum order of 20 trees, but individual trees are sometimes resold on FB Marketplace. Otto & Sons carries basic cultivars like Hass on Toro Canyon. |
| Louie's Nursery #2 (Riverside) | High-quality, moderately expensive nursery with a large selection of fruit trees (temperate through tropical) as well as ornamentals. Extensive selection of mango cultivars. |
| Exotica Rare Fruit (Vista) | A destination for rare fruit enthusiasts. Great prices and service. |
| Papaya Tree (Granada Hills) | A home-based, appointment-only business with an impressive selection of sub/tropical species. |
| Ong Nursery (San Diego) | High-quality operation with good cultural and labeling practices. Very wide selection of tropical species, including marginal and/or hard-to-find ones. |
Private Sellers
You can find trees and scions on Craigslist, on Facebook Marketplace, on Facebook Groups, and through individuals on Tropical Fruit Forum (TFF) and Growing Fruit (GF). Caveat emptor for Craigslist and FB Marketplace purchases. You can try to gauge the reputation of a FB Group seller through their contributions and other members' opinions. Reputation is even easier to gauge on TFF. Ask other chapter members if you want to gut-check a seller before making a purchase.