Best mail order nursery for tropicals

[SCVpalmenthusiast]

Besides Moon Valley Nursery which is exceptionally expensive, are there any other nurseries that ship and have mature palms. Im looking for mature 5ft Pheonix roebellinis, red abyssinian banana, ice cream/blue java banana plant, possibly some plumerias. I haven’t been very successful, most places in So Cal either don’t ship larger palms, or they only work with contractors.

[Foggy Paul]

I think nurseries consider shipping "mature palms" to be prohibitively expensive and subject to damage. I recently ordered a 15g, 5 foot high Syagrus weddelliana from Phil at Jungle Music in Encinitas. The palm was $220 and shipping to SF was I think $110. But if you were willing to pay a premium I'm sure they could work something out.

[SCVpalmenthusiast]

Just now, Foggy Paul said:

I think nurseries consider shipping "mature palms" to be prohibitively expensive and subject to damage. I recently ordered a 15g, 5 foot high Syagrus weddelliana from Phil at Jungle Music in Encinitas. The palm was $220 and shipping to SF was I think $110. But if you were willing to pay a premium I'm sure they could work something out.

He said they don’t ship big palms. I was thinking more like box size, not gallon. 

[Silas_Sancona]

19 minutes ago, SCVpalmenthusiast said:

Besides Moon Valley Nursery which is exceptionally expensive, are there any other nurseries that ship and have mature palms. Im looking for mature 5ft Pheonix roebellinis, red abyssinian banana, ice cream/blue java banana plant, possibly some plumerias. I haven’t been very successful, most places in So Cal either don’t ship larger palms, or they only work with contractors.

Can't speak for palms ..though 5ft Pygmys shouldn't be hard to find out there.  Absolutely no need to get scammed by the moon.  As fast as they grow, even 3ft'ers should be easy to find, ..and reach 5+ft in a season. 



For Fruiting stuff, you have numerous options.. Can't remember them all atm but Exotica, in Vista,  is a great place to check out.  Don't ship as far as i'm aware,  so you'll have to make a trip there..  Worth a visit regardless.  

Would look at the Tropical Fruit Forum for other top shelf suggestions.. https://www.tropicalfruitforum.com/



Plumeria?  Jungle Jacks, Upland Nursery,  and Akinson Plumeria ( ..in El Cajon, ..when they have sale events, )  are the top spots to look into. 

Plumeria Society of S.Cal host several sales events across the region March thru the fall as well, so no lack of sources for them at all out there. 

[Rivera]

23 hours ago, SCVpalmenthusiast said:

I was thinking more like box size, not gallon. 

Sea Crest in SB? They're a wholesaler, but if you're talking about installing a landscape with trunking palms, they may be an option. 

[iDesign]

Not sure if it’s worth digging (and the drive down to Carlsbad), but I have a bunch of 5-6 ft mature Pygmy date groupings that will need to be replaced soon. PM if interested.

[Harry’s Palms]

That is what I like about most palm folks . Quite easy to transplant in my experience . @iDesign , that is a nice gesture. Harry

[Allen]

On 2/4/2026 at 11:36 AM, SCVpalmenthusiast said:

Besides Moon Valley Nursery which is exceptionally expensive, are there any other nurseries that ship and have mature palms. Im looking for mature 5ft Pheonix roebellinis, red abyssinian banana, ice cream/blue java banana plant, possibly some plumerias. I haven’t been very successful, most places in So Cal either don’t ship larger palms, or they only work with contractors.

Those should be pretty common at your local nurseries when late spring summer gets here?

[SCVpalmenthusiast]

On 2/7/2026 at 6:21 PM, iDesign said:

Not sure if it’s worth digging (and the drive down to Carlsbad), but I have a bunch of 5-6 ft mature Pygmy date groupings that will need to be replaced soon. PM if interested.

Dang it! I checked this late I literally came back from Coronado yesterday 🤦🏻‍♂️ 

[SCVpalmenthusiast]

On 2/5/2026 at 9:26 AM, Rivera said:

Sea Crest in SB? They're a wholesaler, but if you're talking about installing a landscape with trunking palms, they may be an option. 

I contacted them a few months ago and they responded that they are wholesale and only sell to the trade 😔 

[iDesign]

2 hours ago, SCVpalmenthusiast said:

Dang it! I checked this late I literally came back from Coronado yesterday 🤦🏻‍♂️ 

Just sent you a PM.

We're happy to give them to you at no cost if you can dig (they're very accessible). There are four sets of double-pygmy's (i.e., 8 palms in total) and you would be saving them from a sad and undeserved chainsaw-induced demise. 😢

Palms are original to the house, which we bought in 2007 (with palms already semi mature at that point).

Not a huge rush to get them... their execution date is currently set for "early March at the latest" - but we'd really love to see them go to a good home, and can hold them for you if you'd like them.

Hopefully this will be a win-win!
(or win-win-win-win-win-win-win-win-win-win if you count the palms' perspective)

[happypalms]

12 hours ago, iDesign said:

Just sent you a PM.

We're happy to give them to you at no cost if you can dig (they're very accessible). There are four sets of double-pygmy's (i.e., 8 palms in total) and you would be saving them from a sad and undeserved chainsaw-induced demise. 😢

Palms are original to the house, which we bought in 2007 (with palms already semi mature at that point).

Not a huge rush to get them... their execution date is currently set for "early March at the latest" - but we'd really love to see them go to a good home, and can hold them for you if you'd like them.

Hopefully this will be a win-win!
(or win-win-win-win-win-win-win-win-win-win if you count the palms' perspective)

Now that’s a very generous offer, as you say it’s a win win situation. They are actually rare to buy now robellenii. With all the mom and pop nursery’s out of business and the chain stores dont want spikey plants such as robellenii. Even most palm collector growers don’t grow them. The trick is when you prune the old leaves off you have to cut them back beyond the spines, so next time you prune them there’s no deadly dry spines to get you!