Bay area wholesale nursery prices

Hi, I was wondering if there are any nurseries in the Bay Area that sell wholesale to the public. Thanks!

not wholesale but very good prices and selection...
Calaveras Nurseries - 1000 Calaveras Rd , Sunol, CA - (925) 862-2327

They're about the closest to wholesale pricing that I can think of around here. The other good place to go for cheap plants is the Long's Drug in Rockridge (Oakland). They are not wholesale but their prices are great (and the selection of plants is awesome too!)

Hey, thanks guys. This is very helpful. I will keep checking to see if there are any more suggestions.

Angela

Home Depot is often at wholesale plant prices. Often times they are below the cost of what I can purchase at my vast array of wholesalers.

This is probably not going to gain me any points on my 'Be My Friend' card but it is my opinion as someone who makes their living in the landscape trade that the general public should not be allowed to shop at wholesale nurseries.

There are several reasons for this position , but primarily it is due to the quality of service that will suffer and eventually the over all prices will have to go up due to the type of help a retail customer requires.

If you have been into a professionally run wholesale nursery, you know what a stream lined well oiled machine that it is.
Us professionals can fax in our orders, cruise the 'blocks' , schlep the plants into the back of the trailer or the sold/ hold/ shipping block , sign out our inventory and be back out on the job site in a matter of an hour or less.

There are no sales people out doors to answer any questions, there are no helpful hands to assist in the schlepping of plants, there is little in the way of signage and there certainly are not any prices on any of the inventory.

If the general public was allowed to shop in a wholesale nursery the entire operation set up would have to be reconfigured .... sort of like a retail nursery. ... and that defeats part of the purpose of having a wholesale nursery.

Then there is the business end to consider.
We ( pro landscapers ) have invested a considerable amount of time and a ton of money in order to be granted our business licenses.
We have in many cases had to post bonds for our license, have to pay workmans comp and liability insurances as well as a myriad of other business taxes in order to get that opportunity to shop wholesale/ resale.

I need a new computer , some new software and some new living room furniture.
Anyone know where I can buy it for wholesale ?

I'm not a landscape pro but I still agree with you. Much as I wish I had access to their plants and prices, I think if they all tried to run retail businesses too prices on plants overall would go up and that wouldn't be good for anyone. Not to mention that a lot of landscape pros would probably go out of business because of the extra financial pressure, and then we'd all be left on our own to plan our yards. Scary thought! Although my main reason to have an interest in going to a wholesale nursery would be plant selection, not the prices...they often grow stuff that I can't always find at my local nurseries. Because of that my favorite wholesalers are the ones like Monrovia and San Marcos Growers who post the plants they grow (and sometimes their current availability) on their websites, that way I can browse from the comfort of my couch and have my favorite retail nurseries special order stuff for me!

Thanks for your input. I was asking this question after a conversation with a friend in San Francisco who was wishing for something similar to P.O.W. nursery in my area. POW sells w.t.t.p. He does go to Home Depot and independent nurseries but that gets boring and can be expensive considering the small-scale nature of what he does. I doubt he would meet most minimums required by a typical wholesale nursery. Plus, he likes to see before he buys and a lot of his clients enjoy going shopping for plants with him.

I know when I go to POW I am on my own because most cans are not labeled and there isn't a large sales staff. This is perfect for someone like me who has a hort. degree but isn't in the landscaping business. I know what I like and I know a good deal. I also do occasional shopping/planting jobs for friends and associates... not enough to warrant a wholesale license but enough to have me looking beyond HD and local retail nurseries for interesting plants and competitive pricing.

http://www.pownursery.com/

Anyway, I was just curious. Thanks for your candid responses.

Looking at the link you posted, I'd have to say Calaveras Nursery is probably the closest thing to that, although they don't call themselves wholesale I think the prices are similar. I can't say for sure without going to yours, but you should tell your friend to check out Calaveras and see if it's what he's looking for. Does he have a license or whatever it is that's required to go to the wholesale places but just doesn't usually buy in enough quantities? Annie's Annuals in Richmond has both wholesale and retail, I think he could probably go there and pick out as much or as little as he wanted and pay the wholesale price as long as he has the right license/etc (unfortunately, if you don't have that, then you pay the retail price which is higher...you have access to the same plants as the pros but not the same prices)

Thanks angelap789!! I feel a road trip is inevitable now. LOL. Looks like a great nursery and I will love the prices!

Kell, if you go during corn harvest time, be sure to swing by Davis Ranch on your way home. It's just a few minutes from P.O.W. Nursery and their Sloughhouse Sweet Corn is delicious.
http://www.sloughhousesweetcorn.com/

LOL Angela, I LOVE fresh corn!!

I already have 2 other Davers ready to go with me. LOL. Anywhere else around there we must see? Any other great nurseries?
We may go in the next month just as lookie loos then in spring as serious needy people. LOL

THANKS

I'm one of those other Davers Kell's talking about. Thanks, Angela. The nursery and the produce stand sound great. Are there any fabulous hibiscus or begonia nurseries in Sacramento? We'll have to drive past Sacramento to get to Wilton, I think.

Hi Kell and Zuzu,

You sound like nursery hoppers... my kind of people. ;-)

If you have time, try to stop in at the following:

Bushnell Gardens Nursery in Granite Bay (be sure to go all the way back and up the hill to the demo beds and daylily area)
Capital Nursery on Sunrise Boulevard (just a very well run full-service garden center)
The Golden Gecko Nursery in El Dorado County (The owner, Trey, has a great website and blog)
and P.O.W., of course

and if you're into native plant species and native cultivars, Cornflower Farms isn't too far from POW: http://cornflowerfarms.com/
They're wholesale, but have open days and will sell retail if you contact them ahead of time.

You will find links on the following page I put together for local gardeners: http://www.sacramentogardening.com/nurseries.html

It's getting a bit late in the season for finding a wide selection of blooming plants, but you may still find some fun stuff and you'll get a feel for what's in store come spring, summer and early fall. Late Fall and Winter are great times to visit local farms for Clementines and such. Lots of good directories on the web for crops and ripening times and locations... If you combine that with nursery visits, you'll have a blast. If you really are coming, let me know if you need suggestions re: places to eat.

Nothing comes to mind in the way of a begonia or hibiscus nursery, though. It gets cold enough here in the winter for the more tender varieties to be marginal. We have a lot of active garden clubs and plant societies, so feel free to ask them. I know there's a begonia society. I'm sure they have all the dirt on where to find cool begonias. http://www.sacramentogardening.com/gardenclubs.html

Oh, and by the way... Davis Ranch carries on through winter because they also sell Xmas trees and winter crops. The corn is just extra special because they grow it right there. They process it right behind the cash register. It is a thing to see. I'm not sure which other crops they grow and which ones they bring in.

Happy trails!

Angela

Wow Anglea. I really appreciate all your time and effort in posting all of this. We will let you know how we fared!

THANK YOU!

Thanks so much, Angela. The Sacramento Gardening page makes the area sound particularly inviting. Thanks for the offer of information about places to eat, but we generally eat on the fly, usually just grabbing something at a produce stand, so it won't cut into our nursery-hopping time. This sounds like great fun.

I have to thank Angela for her great Sacto nursery list......it was a great day and I am so psyched at what I found.

5 weeks of a rental truck, 2-3 100mile roundtrips each week.....we are finally moved for the most part. At the old house the garage is a disaster, there is an odd round table and chaise lounge in the home office, and all my in ground plants and pond puppies are still living at the old house. All my potted plants are here at the new place, looks like a nursery going out of business on all the patios.

But, I digress. Hello to all you nursery hoppers, you know who you are!! I think I beat you to this gem of a nursery. POW was a liitle out of the way after dropping the truck in Concord, took 4 to 99 to POW. And it is a WOW of a nursery if you are looking for trees or shrubs. I didn't spend much time looking at the "littles", but plan a trip back without DH, so I can spend some quality time looking at the smaller offerings.

We stepped out of the car and I spied a long line of Italian Cypress clear across the property....never made it through the front gate, just made a beeline for the line of 15 gallon plants. Quality and size were just awesome. Our guide around the nursery was Hardy and what a gem he was. Gave us the discount, free delivery for the size of the order and he will hand pick all the plants I chose. Their delivery truck holds 50 15gallon pots, so that's what I bought!

35 Italian Cypress, 4 Loquats, 7 Aptos Blue Redwoods, and 4 Cryptomeria. Delivery is set for next Wednesday, which will be as exciting as Christmas for me! These will be the beginning of the bones of my new garden, perhaps not the same as finding that rare Coleus or Begonia or new succulent, but a whole different kind of high......some soon to be big trees!

Again, thanks Angela! I might never have found POW without your list.

(Waving to Kell and Sue and Zuzu and Marilyn and all you other Northern CA nursery hounds!)

Edited to add: Did I forget to mention that the price for the order was about 50% of retail for your average HD or other big box store plants? And the quality of the POW plants was what plants are supposed to look like, not some dry and neglected pathetic excuses for well grown specimens.

This message was edited Nov 21, 2006 5:30 PM

Hi, Happenstance! Glad to hear you're almost home! LOL Great deal on the POW plants - Angela's the bomb! Can't wait to see pictures of the trees all planted!

Kell & Co. - let me know when you're going to Sacto - I'd like to tag along if I can.

Marilyn

Hey... wow... I do try. ;-)

Glad you got a good haul, Happenstance. I probably forgot to mention that POW specializes in trees, shrubs and perennials. They also have a smattering of annuals, water plants and groundcover flats. I mainly go for the perennials these days since nearly all of my trees are in, but I have gotten some incredible deals on 5-gallon, 15-gallon and boxed trees for friends and family. Birches, London plane trees, tupelos, crape myrtles, saucer magnolias, etc.

Oh and remember, there's a printable 10% off coupon on the website (at this writing anyway).

When I'm looking for plants locally, I always hit POW first, then HD on Folsom Blvd., then Capital (Sunrise), Bushnell's and Windmill. Occasionally, I'll go elsewhere, when I'm bored or am on a hunt for an elusive cultivar. The Golden Gecko is another "don't miss", but they're in El Dorado county.

If I were filthy, stinking rich, I'd try to avoid HD entirely... but I'm not. Cool plants at a bargain is my goal. Not all of their stuff is crap, as some nursery owners would like you to believe.

In the bay area, I love Berkeley Hort. and Annie's. I haven't been to The Dry Garden but hear it's great.

I've had some great nursery experiences in the Mendocino area too, and believe it or not, nearly all the plants I've bought have done great here in the Valley. I tend to go for the drought-tolerant stuff.

I try to blog my nursery outings and gardening adventures if you're interested. For instance, in the July (or is it August) archives, I blogged about some Mendocino/Fort Bragg nurseries... with PICTURES! Whee!

I'd love some recommendations for Napa/Sonoma nurseries. That's completely uncharted territory for me but I found a used copy of The Guide to Sonoma County Nurseries and am intrigued. I have been to California Carnivores (loved it).

my blog: http://sacgardening.blogspot.com
(is it ok to mention personal links on DG? i think you get in trouble for doing that on GardenWeb)

Angela