Tree of Life Nursery

San Juan Capistrano, United States

4.4

Closed now

20 reviews

Accepts Credit Cards

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Telephone:
+1 949-728-0685
Website:
www.californianativeplants.com
Address:
33201 Ortega Hwy, San Juan Capistrano, CA, 92675
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Bussiness info

Accepts Credit Cards
Yes
Parking
Private Lot
Bike Parking
Yes
Wheelchair Accessible
Yes

Today

Today 9:00 am – 4:00 pm
Closed now
Local time (San Juan Capistrano) 8:03 PM Tuesday, June 3, 2025

Business hours

Monday 9:00 am – 4:00 pm
Tuesday 9:00 am – 4:00 pm
Wednesday 9:00 am – 4:00 pm
Thursday 9:00 am – 4:00 pm
Friday 9:00 am – 4:00 pm
Saturday 9:00 am – 4:00 pm
Sunday –

Description

Specialties

We grow California native plants for landscape and restoration projects throughout California. Our wholesale business provides native plants direct to landscape companies, construction companies, and designers through direct sales and contract grow agreements. Our retail store is called Casa ‘La Paz.’ It is open to the public for customers to shop and select California native plants that are drought-​resistant and water-​wise for the home garden. Casa ‘La Paz’ also houses a carefully curated selection of books, gifts and art pertaining to all things «California.» Hours listed here are Retail Hours.

History

Established in 1976.

Tree of Life Native Nursery began propagating California native plants with the notion that the developed hillsides and open spaces in the state were in desperate need of returning to their natural, beautiful forms. Today, the nursery supplies a high quality line of over 500 species and varieties for landscaping and ecological restoration at the wholesale level. Located on 40 acres of the historic Rancho Mission Viejo in San Juan Capistrano, Tree of Life Nursery, the largest native plant supplier in the state, provides a means by which California’s precious flora can return to the land.

Meet the Business Owner

Mike E.

Business Owner

Mike is founder and president of Tree of Life Nursery in San Juan Capistrano. Mike has received numerous recognitions and awards throughout his career most recently, in 2013, the International Plant Propagator’s Society (IPPS) awarded Mike the International Award of Honor recognizing his exceptional and distinguished service to the society and to our membership of plant professionals.

Mike was born and raised in southern California and demonstrated an early love for the outdoors. He worked with several nurseries both retail and wholesale, before establishing Tree of Life Nursery in 1976. With his experience in native plant production, design, landscaping, and ecological restoration, Mike advocates a present-​day California that deserves to look like the true «California.»

Vicinity

Near this location:
300
ft
Caspers Wilderness Park
33401 Ortega Hwy
630
ft
Rock It at Caspers Wilderness Park 5K/12K
Caspers Wilderness Park 33401 Ortega Highway
1
mi
Navas Painting
35330 Ortega Hwy
1.2
mi
Bestone Interlock Construction
31511 Ortega Hwy
1.5
mi
Cr & R-San Juan
31641 Ortega Hwy
2
mi
Sitting Pretty Pet Spa

20 reviews of Tree of Life Nursery

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Place rating: 3
Costa Mesa, CA
They have a lot of native plants for sale, they’re labeled with helpful information, and it’s easy to walk around and browse the selection (though how the plants are organized is not intuitive). They also have a lot of natives planted on their grounds, so you can see what the plants look like when mature.
However, their customer service is mixed. On our first visit we had two people help us; one was awesome, the other was so so.
Before our second visit, we e-​mailed them to see if they had any low-​volume sprinklers that could attach to a hose. They replied that they did, and that the sprinklers were $ 15 each. We drove out there a week later, only to find that the sprinklers were priced at $ 20 each. When we brought up the e-​mail, we were told that the price had been raised to $ 20 months ago, and the person writing the e-​mail must have gotten it wrong. We were charged $ 20.
Oh, and don’t forget having to wander around for five minutes looking for someone to check us out. One guy played the «I’m too busy scurrying around to see you» game, and one woman was sitting in an office in the back of the building working at a computer (who we eventually had to interrupt to get checked out as there were no other staff around).
If you can make the trip and can only hit one native plant nursery, I’d recommend Theodore Payne over Tree of Life. Theodore Payne has at least as diverse a selection of plants, an online inventory of what’s currently in stock, more consistently helpful customer service, and even sells seeds of many of the natives they stock (not just mostly wildflower seed mixes like Tree of Life).
Place rating: 5
Fullerton, CA
Looking for real native plants? The selection here is outstanding and well priced. Examples of planted specimens dot the perimeter and surrounding paths. The people working here are very knowledgable and very nice. They also have a really great book store. A hidden gem. Worth the drive.
Place rating: 5
Costa Mesa, CA
This nursery is truly a treat, you can see most all of the plants that they sell are growing at this nursery on their premises and you can see what it looks like. I live in Newport Beach Ca. I have to say that this place is a 5 star. Make the trip it is well worth it, and they even sell NATIVE CALIFORNIA MILKWEED. The local nurseries in Newport Beach do NOT sell california native milkweed. The Tree OF Life Nursery is an outstanding place to visit. It is a beautiful setting and well worth it!
Place rating: 5
Westminster, CA
we removed our lawn, my husband wants native plants, we went here because they had a «talk» on native plants and Also went here for a $ 30 consult that was THE bomb!
I tried calling home depot all week, but they never did call me back and they probably couldn’t have set me up as well as this lady did… susan…she’s also a contractor… very knowledgeable.
Place rating: 5
Orange, CA
Went to the nursery on Saturday March 21st and there were Swallows & their mud nests at the nursery! Many of the natives were blooming and it was great to see that. Bought another 8 plants — Everything I’ve bought here has survived, many have flourished and bloomed. One manzanita succumbed & I am pretty positive I overwatered it.
Love having the most unique plants in the neighborhood and the fact that my water bill reflects my efforts.
Place rating: 4
Arcadia, CA
Fun little place to stop by and pick up a plant or two. The shop is fun to look at. There was a live band that I was enjoying while my friend’s husband was picking up a few plants for their backyard.
Place rating: 5
Trabuco Canyon, CA
Great place to get native plants. If you are not into natives but want to make your yard drought tolerant you need to check this place out, it can change misconceptions you may have about what natives are about.
I was surprised at how reasonable prices are especially in comparison to typical and big box nurseries. One example: milkweed. They offer two varieties that I have purchased for $ 10 and $ 12 at other local nurseries. Their price was $ 8 and they had recently raised it! If you like sages, check out the whirly blue sage. Smells deliriously delicious.
Additionally it’s a pretty place to stroll around. Be advised, unlike some other local nurseries, your dog is not welcome. Not because they dislike dogs, but because they have their own and understandably prefer to prevent any canine conflicts.
Place rating: 5
Corona, CA
Most nurseries sell plants that you really should not be growing in Southern California. The type that leave you with a big water bill because they are from areas where it rains 50 inches a year.
This nursery is not one of those. An amazing selection of native plants and some fairly well done examples of how to make pretty native plant gardens.
The only downside is that as far as I could tell they do not sell seeds. There are some native plants, particularly annuals such as miners lettuce, which really should be grown from seed because they do not live long.
Place rating: 5
San Diego, CA
This amazing native plant nursery certainly has the largest selection in southern California. I recently purchased some beautiful plants there and found the staff to be friendly and knowledgable. They really know their stuff!
Fall is the best time to plant native plants, because they’re dormant and ready to spring to life with the winter rains. But I was here in early March, towards the end of the planting season. That pretty much means I’ll have to do additional watering to get everything established. I only bought a couple of plants, but I enjoyed the place immensely. It is in an extremely beautiful location in southern Orange County.
If you become bored looking at all the native plants they’re selling, check out Casa «La Paz», which is their bookstore and gift shop lots of interesting things here to browse.
I believe they’re only open on Saturdays or perhaps Sundays, so check the website or call before you show up.
Place rating: 3
Pomona, CA
I haven’t visited the nursery, but I did get to speak to somebody over the phone. I was in search for a plant and the woman on the other line was helpful and kind of nice. But I felt like I got an underhanded bad service. She giggled unnecessarily as If I said something inappropriate… several times. She would pause as if I wasn’t making sense; giggle some more and then answered. She answered my first question with «and who’s this» as if this was a formal business matter where one needs to introduce themselves and state their company name (she never once used my name by the way). After that I feel like I don’t want to go visit because I don’t want to run into more crummy service.
Place rating: 5
Tustin, CA
I have shopped here many times buying plants for my garden and love it. They have so many different varieties of CA native plants that there is always something for everybody. I also think that the quality of their product is above average. Not to mention their price tags are much easier to digest than some of the other nurseries I have shopped at. The staff is also very nice and helpful.
I have also attended many of their lectures and learned a lot about CA native plants which helped me in the transformation of my garden. They also have designer in residence programs for those that need some extra care.
Like Robert H said it is off the beaten path but the drive is nice and worth it.
Place rating: 5
Fullerton, CA
If you are committed to the idea of changing the type of plantings you have in your garden to ones that are appropriate for a CA climate then this is a great place. Yes, the plants are a little more expensive than the HD or Lowes offerings and you cannot bring back a bag of dead plants but you have to be ready, have read up on how to prepare and plant and THEN you are getting a plant for life, that is far less expensive in the long run and in keeping with the climate, than the plants that are promoted so heavily at the HD and Lowes. Mind you, at times HD and Lowes have plants that are suitable for a Mediterranean, South African and New Zeland climates and I am not opposed to putting those in my garden but those who were disappointed by this nursery hadn’t gone through the mental change to a different type of gardening. You should go window shopping there often before buying a whole lot of plants and expecting miracles. They also offer series of workshops that are free.
Place rating: 3
Laguna Niguel, CA
I’ve been here 4 times now and my rating is a combination of my experiences. We moved here from out of state and I was glad to learn there was a native plant nursery available.
I’ll start with the good: they have a terrific selection of native plants and we had an excellent experience in one of their $ 25 for 1 hour consultation with a local landscape design firm. I will return only because of the plant selection.
On the down side is their customer service. In my trips there, twice there was no one around at all… a phone number was left on the door. This is awkward and makes it really hard to get simple questions answered. On another occasion there was a woman working who was not at all interested being helpful. She acted as if I was bothering her and her answers bordered on rude.
My overall impression is that they really don’t care about customer service. Perhaps the majority of their business is wholesale and indeed they don’t?
Place rating: 5
NORTH HOLLYWOOD, CA
Mike Evans and his family at Tree of Life Nursery do a great job growing and supplying native California plants for restoration projects as well as for home use.
Place rating: 5
San Francisco, CA
Wonderful native plant nursery full of true believers who will help you find that perfect plant for your hummingbird/​dry shady spot/​place where nothing else will grow.
Place rating: 1
Copperopolis, CA
I was really hopeful about this place and granted it does have a variety of choices. However I visited and bought several plants — only to have them die within days. I contacted the business and they essentially told me, oh well — too bad. I could of understood if the plants died maybe after a month, but three days? Not very good customer service and they were not willing to stand by their product — buyer beware!
Place rating: 5
Redondo Beach, CA
My friends took me to Tree of Life the other day to pick up some plants for a restoration project. WOW! This place is overwhelming, in a good way. You could look around for an hour, if you wanted. Besides the actual wilderness of beach bluffs, being out on hikes, etc, I have never seen so many native plants in one place! This is fantastic! The nursery propagates and sells California native plants that you or I could buy for landscaping! The plants are awesome because they are very drought tolerant, which means using less water. What a great place! I am going to bring my mom here to buy plants to redo her front yard.
They even suggest plants for you that attract butterflies and humming birds, which can be exciting. The employees are friendly and knowledgeable. This place is definitely worth the drive for the experience. They definitely are on the cutting edge of environmentally friendly and water smart landscaping in Southern California. I would choose to buy plants here over Home Depot, OSH, Armstong, Lowes, etc.
Place rating: 5
Orange County, CA
Stopped by here when I was in town. we spent some time looking at everything and enjoyed it. I will be back.
Place rating: 4
Orange, CA
If you don’t «get it» this place is going to seem like a nursery with really ugly plants and really high prices … just be prepared. Like most eco-​forward products you will pay a premium and you’re product will seem sub-​par, but don’t be discouraged! Having CA native plants in your yard is highly sustainable and you’re pretty much guaranteed to not be able to kill these plants! Great for 9 to 5 workin’ folks who don’t have a lot of time to spend in the yard.
Luv the concept, wish the prices were lower.
Place rating: 4
Los Angeles, CA
This place is so far off the beaten path, but getting there is part of the fun. If you are interested in California natives and drought tolerant plants, then take a drive down the Ortega Highway.
Tree of Life is the polar opposite of Mystic Gardens which also is on Ortega Highway. While Mystic Garden offers tropical, lush, water thirsty plants in a lavish setting while Tree of Life offers the hardy drought tolerant plants in a semi arid landscaping setting.
2007 is turning out to be one of our driest years in California, and with the recent cold snap we experienced, many of the types of plants that places like Mystic Gardens sells basically shriveled up and died in my garden.
So this year I set out to plant more hardier plants. But just because I want hardy, doesn’t mean I want ugly plants. Tree of Life offers a wide variety of plants at modest prices. You are bound to find at least one plant species you will like.
You can spot the nursery after driving 7 miles east on the Ortega Highway. Just be careful since you have to make a left and this highway is notorious for accidents. The nursery building is a very charming adobe hut.
The staff are very knowledgeable and passionate about the types of plants they carry. Parking is easy, but it is a dirt and gravel lot.