-
March 2024 by Julie H.
The owner of this place has been posting for YEARS that the nursery is going to be "closing" very soon. You come out here to look for deals on plants, but you talk to him and he's like oh no we're not closing, no discounts available. What the heck is all that about? Not worth your time to come here anymore.
-
March 2024 by MICHAEL KHAYAT
Been coming to steve for years, poms, figs, guavas, dragon fruit, date palms, cactus…. All rare kinds. All fruit amazing. I love supporting his business. Wont dissapoint!
-
February 2024 by Patricia A.
Very delicious and fun place to visit! Came with a household of girls to taste a few exotic fruits, the table only had about four but it was fun
-
January 2024 by Cerena P.
Hmmm, pretty disappointed on this place. Easy to find, decent amount of parking. Walking in I wasn't greeted at all so I wasn't really sure how to proceed. I saw online that they offered tastings of the fruit, they unfortunately did not. Walking around was interesting, there was a lot to look at. The front is definitely where they keep the best looking plants, but if you walk further in everything was dead. I didn't see any trees with fruits on them either. A major downside was the amount of garbage that was all over this place. There was piles of trash and old furniture everywhere. There was also a greenhouse that has broken windows and filled with garbage as well. I loved seeing the kitties, there was 2 cats that I believe lived here and they were a sweet treat. They did have a large variety of plants which was great but I wish they up kept the place it would be stunning if they did.
-
December 2023 by K C.
What a cool nursery! There are tons of interesting exotic plants to choose from and the place is like a jungle. You would never find plants like these at a big box store or regular nursery, and the prices seemed very fair. My only gripe is that a lot of the plants are not labeled so I had no idea what they were. Maybe if you really know your exotic plants it's not a big deal but they have different cultivars of species and it wasn't clear which is which. Would definitely go back though I didn't have enough time to see the entire nursery.
-
December 2023 by Michelle Poliner
This place is the most magical, sweet little hidden gem in Vista. The owners were so kind, and they offered samples of many of the fruit trees they sell.
-
October 2023 by Brad W.
Relax into the laid back vibe and you will find Exotica a great place to buy hard to find plants at a great price. If you have trouble relaxing and just enjoying the experience, do yourself a favor and go to a big box store.
-
September 2023 by Das L.
First off, some important things to note:- Calling ahead may not work, because the nursery is situated in a ravine with no cell signal.- The owner is the only full time worker here, he sometimes has friends helping but not on a consistent basis. Be patient as he is often flitting about with the multitude of tasks around the place. More time for discovery without being unnecessarily distracted by salespeople.- Have alternate plans when trying to visit this nursery, sometimes the owner is away so the nursery may be closed the day you try to visit. This nursery alone is worth visiting, but better to have a backup plan than a sour mood.- Apply insect repellent before visiting. They don't use any pesticides, but the result is plants with less contamination than other organic growers. Plus pollinators don't get hurt through collateral damage, so y'know, it's more ethical.- The paper catalog is really more of a guide than a one-to-one representation of what's at the nursery. If you're looking for something specific, asking is the quickest way to know if it's available.Exotica resembles more of a jungle than your bog standard garden center, and it's certainly got the variety of one. It's a testament to the passion of the owner, given that he's been collecting around the world and still has many connections. It's not filled with delicately manicured specimens, but it lets the natural splendor of plants speak for themselves. There's also a tasting table for stuff in season, worth having a try if you're curious/daring enough.It might seem to be a poorly thought out space at first, but I encourage reframing your state of mind when entering. The owner Steve cares deeply about all the variety that plants can offer, and he makes many rare and overlooked varieties available that you'd be hard pressed to find elsewhere. It's true that sometimes he won't have a specific plant available to buy, but maybe there's a different hidden gem you weren't looking for nestled among the others.From what I can tell they're not in the business to look nice or make big bucks selling unicorns. The focus is squarely on the plants, and making them available to those who know what they want. No nursery sells perfect plants 100% of the time, and they grow with as few chemicals as possible, so sometimes it's gonna take dedication to make plants from here shine. Being short staffed in the way they are, answers may seem brusque, but don't take it personally. If you happen to catch Steve in a lull between tasks, he's a wellspring of knowledge on edible plants.
-
September 2023 by Cathy Barnett
The reviews and the pictures are what inspired me to go. I first checked to see if it was open on a Sunday and this past Sunday, 9/17/23 it was open. I was greeted , not by the wonderful man that helped me, I wandered into a interesting conversation on the care and varieties of plants that someone else was helping other customers about. Then a very friendly man greeted me and asked if I needed help. I specifically came out for a dwarf mango tree, and he had several varieties and gave me a quick education on them. He also had several varieties of guava trees. I bought 2 varieties of mango trees as well as 2 varieties of guava trees. Everyone was friendly and the environment was a very welcoming tropical jungle. I plan to go back again and take in more of the nursery. If you enjoy nature, if you want to see a collective array of plants, or if you have spare time and want a small adventure this is the place. If you haven't, or on the fence about going, go.
-
September 2023 by John H.
This place is a treasure. I went here for my birthday, as my choice birthday activity to pick whatever I wanted. It is an amazing place. Am very grateful to have found it. I have photos, and when I showed them to friends and they were completely impressed by the jungle. However I will shelter your newness and allow you to visit Exotica Rare Fruit nursery for yourselves!!!
-
September 2023 by Taylor K.
We go here for all of our rare fruit trees! You can spend all day here and truly get lost among their trees. The employees have so much wisdom. If you are looking for an exotic fruit tree or nursery plant, this is the place to go!
-
July 2023 by Grace S.
Boo on me fo forgetting to take some pictures here! I came here the day before Mother's Day, with my parents and my boyfriend. My mom loves growing fruits and vegetables, so I thought this would be a nice way to see if there was anything we could get here despite the fact that it was a quite a distance away. We talked to a couple workers here that were very friendly and a few other workers that didn't seem interested in talking to us. We were specifically looking for guava trees but they didn't have the ones we wanted in season. My mom was interested in plum trees and they didn't have these available either that were ready to be planted. They had all kinds of other fruits but also weren't ready to plant (such as water apples but they are incredibly difficult to grow) or weren't what my mom was looking for (cherimoyas, lychees, etc.) Since I didn't want to leave empty handed, I enquired about passion fruit trees which they had a handful and many had already flowered which meant they would fruit in just a few months. They were very patient with our questions. And it was only $30 for the vine (great price!). They are easy to grow in San Diego we were told. Having been a few months, we have about 6 fruits on the vine now and are hoping that there will be more flowering soon for more fruits. It has grown quickly and needs to be in a bigger pot soon! The nursery is off the main road (only one road per direction), and the entrance is not very large - it is very small and narrow so when you are nearing the location, slow down even if there are people behind you. Important reminder: You will need someone that has a truck or get creative with your vehicle if you have a sedan or hatchback if you plan on getting even a medium sized plant here. All in all if you are in interested in growing exotic fruit it is worth coming here (and the right vehicle!)
-
July 2023 by Rach A
Visited this place looking for some specific fruit trees. Left with an amazing sized lemon guava, ice cream bean (air layered!), and a couple of seedling starter plants. The prices were really good but the best part was the service. The gentleman in charge was very helpful, knowledgeable, and friendly. Not pushy, took his time answering my questions. Gave us samples of some fruit currently in season to try.
-
July 2023 by Cristina Bethea
The place is completely wild and overgrown in the best way possible. They’ve got all kinds of amazing things growing. Every time I visit I end up taking something new home.
-
July 2023 by Scott T.
if you're a fan of the grab-and-go box store nurseries, save yourself a trip. you can't (nor should you) be in much of a hurry here. you gotta be comfortable showing yourself around the labyrinth of exotic plants and trees, poking about ramshackle greenhouses and wandering down narrow, overgrown paths that dead-end in that proverbial sea of green. it helps if you believe the journey is half the experience though it might still be a good idea to leave a trail of gingerbread crumbs. EXOTICA's a Noah's Ark of rare and interesting plants unavailable in other nurseries. it's a gift to have a resource like this in our neighborhood. my first visit, I picked up a Kaffir Lime yearling (about eight inches tall). a decade later, it's ten feet tall and a ready supply of leaves for Panang curries and spicy bowls of Tom Yum Gai. but, then again, like my meanderings around the nursery, I don't always have to be in a hurry.
