I just love this great nursery. It's as far from a big box nursery as you can get with huge in ground permaculture and a food forest type situation. There's a fruit tasting table and I remember the first time I came in and tasted some fruit I'd never even heard of before. If you're a foodie or if you enjoy rare or tropical fruit or even if you're a fan of botanical gardens, this place is amazing It's a mom and pop place (actually just a pop place cause I think the owner Steve who started it still runs it by himself). The sign said they have been here since the 80s. Anyway because it's a small nursery and open 7 days a week, it's a good idea to call if you're planning to make a long journey to visit just to make sure they haven't stepped out. It's usually fine but I see people on other reviews have come in from far away without calling and it's just a good idea to call if it's a mom and pop nursery and you have a long drive. My favorite fruit was white sapote, cherimoya, the bazillions of types of guavas they have, ice cream bean was delicious, and I never knew palms have delicious fruit (what????). I come about twice a year from San Diego and as San Diego nurseries go, this place is in a league of its own. I even just like walking around in there to relax cause it's almost like a fruit botanical garden. And some of the small stuff is very affordable Highly recommend if you have a few hours free to explore this place. It's a great nursery -- kinda like the Garden of Eden! read more

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My deceased mother was a big gardener and used to come here for chili plants, guava, lemon, orange and lime , avocado trees. Unfortunately, we lived in Encinitas so the climate didn't allow the avocado to thrive but she loved getting Asian/Hawaiian plants, and fruits from this nursery. The scene that will greet you is a dirt path and two-sided parking spaces. Try them, very wooded and dense, like you are in the forest, which I loved since I am from back East and we have huge trees and green wooded areas. The staff are very knowledgeable and the value is great. If your plant doesn't grow, call them, and they guide you or replace the plant. I love this place. If I had a house, I would be here for my roses and fruit plants. read more

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. read more

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Absolutely outstanding Steven was a pleasure to work with. as I understand it.l, He is the owner of this lovely establishment. I went to find a specific fig tree and he had it. It's been really hard to find, so glad I was able to find it so close to home. I had no idea that I could find exotic fruits right on my doorstep! I'm looking forward to being a regular customer at exotica fruits! read more

Exotica Rare Fruit Nursery - Panache Tiger fig - Nurseries & Gardening Near Me - Vista, California

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Truly the best place to go for plants that no one else has or getting the best advise ever!

Very disappointed. I called earlier inquiring if they had a specific plant they said yes they did have it in stock. Pretty easy to find, parking is in front of the nursery. Getting out of my vehicle I noticed the closed sign on the front gate and locked but in their business hours it shows open. I called back and someone answered I asked if they were going to be open, this was about 12:30ish. The man that answered my call said he would be there in about 20 minutes. I head back to the nursery I get there about 12:53. I waited until 1:20pm no one showed up, I call again to follow up and no one answered my call. It's a shame. I wasted my time and gas going back and forth with this business. There was another couple that had also showed thinking it was open, they left immediately. read more

Exotica Rare Fruit Nursery - Showing front gate locked - Nurseries & Gardening Near Me - Vista, California

My husband and I have been here a few times. Our visit this time around was in search of a plum tree or two. They had one Santa Rosa plum tree. They informed us they had more but they weren't ready to be placed in the ground, and that you would need to keep the plant in the wood planter for a year before placing in the ground. We opted out. We decided to roam around the grounds since it had been awhile. They definitely live up to their name. You will find some plants you may have never heard of, and some of the plants if your lucky you may find some plants with beautiful bloom. There are very friendly and helpful staff that will check to see if you need help. They are knowledgeable so don't be shy and approach them with your questions. They do have kitties on the grounds so if you have kitty allergies you may want to med up or avoid coming. This place is off a busy street (E.Vista Way) so be safe when entering and exiting. read more

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Bought a Bombay mango tree. Owner is very knowledgeable and helpful even months after purchasing he still advises on his mango baby. Definitely recommend for exotic varieties of fruits you wouldn't find normally. read more

I've been looking for the Curry leaf plant for better part of a year and finally my search ended here. Ended up buying a guava tree which I didn't know I wanted, as well . Amazing selection and the staff is super helpful. I definitely recommend this place. read more

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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!) read more

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. read more

Love this place, it's a permaculture paradise! They have a huge variety of exotic fruit trees. It is an exciting "jungle-like" nursery. Have fun exploring under mature canopies to see all of the fruit trees planted in the ground! If you don't know what you're looking for the owner is very kind and helpful. read more

An unusual place that has better days. Pretty overgrown, but some rare and unusual plants. Many exotic fruit trees and plants you won't find easily. The owners are very knowledgeable. In its hay day this would have been a five star plus. read more

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!!! read more

Felt like they were trying to overcharge us and came up with prices on the fly. We ended up leaving empty. They used to have staff and the place used to be clean and tidy but now you have to watch your step and duck under things hanging too low. Nothing has a set price, the owner was kinda rude and dismissive of us. During my conversation with the owner, he came up with 2 different price for the same sleeve of a cutting i had a question about. Maybe a bad day? Won't come back thats for sure, not the same anymore... read more

What a magical place! This nursery is one-of-a-kind and for sure free-spirited. Steve (and his cat helpers lol) is super knowledgeable and will help answer your questions. The plants are loosely labeled and you're encouraged to roam. We bought a mango tree and a dragon fruit tree, which are so far thriving. Make sure you have at least an hour here - there's a lot to see and it's best not rushed. Also, cash is easiest. read more

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! read more

The place is a wreck, nothing is organized and every time we go there they don't have what we're looking for. I don't know why I keep going back. Always hopeful I guess. read more

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 read more

looking forward to visiting this unique nursery I hoping to freeze dry some exotic fruits --I love the YouTube videos which feature your fruit! read more

Place is huge and carries a ton of different plants that rotates throughout the year. I just purchased a lychee, longan, and cherimoya tree. Price varies and depends on type and size of the plant. It's really difficult finding what you want so make sure to ask someone for help. They are really knowledgeable and will teach you how to care for your new purchases. read more

I just really need their website to work SO I can see what's there currently. That is all. read more

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. read more

My favorite place to get lost. Knowledgeable staff, gorgeous grounds full of life, sweet nursery cats, and the best nature vibes. "Is this a nursery or botanical garden?" Both. It's insane, a must-visit spot for plant-lovers. read more

Got a wax jambu seedling for $25 and a passionfruit 5 gallon for $30, such good prices! And the employees were really nice and knowledgeable on how to care for these! Highly recommend! read more

I came upon Steven Spangler's Exotica Rare Fruit Nursery over 20 years ago when I lived near Vista, CA, and was charmed by its uniqueness, jungle feeling in So CA, and diversity of plant life. Shortly after I moved away to No CA. Recently, sitting at home, nursing a broken ankle, I had the rare time to go through old papers. I found an article from 2002 about the facility and how Steven was working so hard to save it from becoming a storage facility. I looked on line and saw that it was still there! I just had to call Steven after all these years. He picked up the phone and we had a great little chat. He updated me on how he had been able to keep Exotica open, and how it was going. I congratulated him and told him how happy I was that this fantastic, one of a kind, special place was still happening. If you are anywhere nearby, take the time to enjoy visiting and seeing many many plants that you will probably not see anywhere else in the United States. read more

I've been looking for a fruit nursery to buy Dragon Fruit plant and of course Yelp was always there to recommend good hidden places. Props to the owner for naming the place "Exotica Rare Fruit Nursery." It's exactly the type of place I've been looking for. They do have most of the rare, hard to find, and truly exotic delicious fruits that I can think of growing up. I was always interested of planting Dragon Fruit and hopefully someday my future backyard wall will be covered with nothing but Dragon Fruit vines. Good start for me, I bought my very first stem here about a year ago and looks like my future backyard wall will finally come true 3 to 5 years from now. read more

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This is an impressive paradise of tropical plants and fruits. We were planning a trip to San Diego and knew one of the first places we wanted to visit was this nursery. There seemed to be a lot of loquat trees with ripe loquats, so we got to feast on the different varieties while exploring. It was such a treat! The true experience was discovering he Pakistan Mulberry for the first time! At first, we didn't know they were edible until we saw some women nibbling at the dark berries. We tried them too, and boy, were we in for a treat! The darker berries were really sweet, resembling a blackberry or raspberry (both in texture and taste). Our 3 year old was hesitant to taste them at first, but once she bit into one, she was hooked. We ended up picking off a bunch of ripe berries for her to munch on while we finished walking the grounds. If you're ever in Southern California, make a trip to this exotic nursery! read more

Exotica Rare Fruit Nursery - Pakistan Mulberries... so good!! - Nurseries & Gardening Near Me - Vista, California

This has to be the best exotic nursery I've ever been to! It's much larger than I expected with a wide variety of plants. My husband and I probably spent a good 2-3 hours exploring. The employees were very informative and not at all pushy or bothersome. They basically let us wander in peace but were there if we had questions. read more

Exotica Rare Fruit Nursery - Ice cream bean! So delicious we ended up buying a plant! - Nurseries & Gardening Near Me - Vista, California

A must visit place for anyone who enjoys to learn about fruit plants from different parts of the world.

So my homegirl wanted to check this place out so we did and it's about 15 degrees cooler here! They have tons of exotic fruit trees and a lot of them I've never even heard of. The employees are cool and probably a little too cool because the one guy seems real chill. I came at closing which I hate doing but I didn't try any fruit but next time I will. read more

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Amazing! I would love to own all these exotic fruit trees. Who would have known this was here without yelp! :)

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. read more

Called ahead to make sure they had the pomegranate tree I was looking for. Was told they had several. Got there and had to call Steve on his cell phone who then had to drive over (10min) to open up. I was there at 11:30am (2 1/2 hours after they were supposed to be open). They have a lot of pomegranate trees. All very unorganized. And when we finally found the one I was looking for he wouldn't sell it to me because it was his only one. I wasted $ on gas and two hours of driving there and back. read more

Love this nursery, they are always helpful, honest about everything, they even let me try some fruits that are on the trees as they explain about them. All the trees they have here are exotic but suitable to our climate, I have bought many trees here and all of them are growing so strong. read more

Exotica Rare Fruit Nursery - Nurseries & Gardening Near Me - Vista, California

Exotica is THE place for anything exotic that you are searching for. From Portuguese cork oak to the Madagascan Delonix regia to jaboticaba, Barbados cherry, and rare fig varieties, my landscape is dotted with cultivars that I've come across and wanted to collect, and Exotica has never failed to provide. I have yet to call looking for a random plant that they don't have or have the ability to get their hands on. Stepping onto their nursery is like stepping into another world. The staff is knowledgeable and open to what plants are possible to grow in our climate, but will guide you toward another choice if what you're looking for absolutely won't grow well in your area. Where other big box nurseries refuse to venture, Exotica provides and proves that it can be grown in our subtropical climate. read more

So excited by this place! We enjoyed wandering around this magical little forest, seeing things we've never heard of before. The staff were incredibly kind, encouraged us to taste test and showed us plants and trees they thought we might have an interest in based on other fruits we like and after learning our goals for our yard. We left completely satisfied, filled with more knowledge and knowing to come back in a couple months when the plants we chose will be back in stock as they are still in the greenhouse right now. We'll be front and center when they put them out for sale! read more

The most amazing fruit trees! The property is huge with tons of options for healthy exotic trees. Loved trying the mulberries and unique cherries they offer. read more

They have good collection of plants. Specially herbs and veggies, but my experience was a little different because of the people who were helping me out. It felt like they didn't have much idea on what I needed, in fact they just wanted to sell what they had. read more

We stumbled upon this place while on a quest for loquat trees and curry leaves. Well worth the hour drive. It's a quaint and exotic place! I loved it and could have spent an entire day there just eating all the yummy fruits. We ended up with more than we went there for and all the plants seem to be doing well so far. The staff were very friendly and knowledgeable and I'm planning to go back in spring to get a few more fruit tress. They are not the most organized so you have to walk through and see everything (which I loved!). They also threw in a free Moringa plant! read more