I found Solana Direct Palms via Google when I was looking to find a local small business to purchase palms through for our backyard! Jim was awesome, quick to answer the phone, and was able to help Me decide on king Palms for my yard! He delivered the palms the very next day free of charge where other larger nurseries were backed up for a week for delivery! He gave me great instructions on how to plant, water, and what to expect when planting my brand new palms! They have survived their initial shock and are doing great! Jim was available via text to answer questions I had after my purchase as well! read more

See all

Best best best. But I think they shut down operations. Jim was always friendly and willing to make a deal.

Looking for giant birds I came across Jim's website and contacted him via email, Jim responded quickly and was very patient with all my questions. Jim was also honest and told me the birds will not thrive where I live, I refused to take no for an answer and described to him about where I will be growing them and cautioned me to make sure I cover them with frost cloth during the winter. A few days later I picked them up and they were gorgeous, Tall with big beautiful green leaves. The price was a lot cheaper than all of the other places I researched, other nurseries were selling them for $30+ for plants that were 2-3ft from bottom of pot. Jim's birds were 3-4ft from top of pot for the same price or less. A week later I still message him for expert tips/advice and he still responds. Great guy, gorgeous plants. You won't be disappointed. read more

I just cold Solana Select Palm Trees. Jim picked up the phone and answered my simple question in a very rude way. Such a shame! Such disappointment. He seemed nice from the website and the video interview. Well, I feel very bad for the trees he takes care of. Have a good mood Jim! Love your trees read more

Jim is the BEST!!! I went for a walk one day with my 2 boys and we stumbled on Solana Select Palms. As we walked onto the property Jim greeted us with his infectious smile and offered to take my boys and myself on a mini-tour. He graciously showed us around and when I told him I needed to get final approval from my wife first he said to come back anytime. I showed up 3 weeks later and first bought 1 King Palm. My wife loved it so much I went back again the next week and again the following week. 4 weeks later we've bought 4 King Palms and my wife wants more :) And my kids absolutely adore Jim. I think after the last visit my oldest said when are we going to see Uncle Jim again? :) I highly recommend Jim and Solana Select Palms. Thank you Jim! read more

Completely unresponsive. And by completely unresponsive, I mean does this place even exist? In need of some palm trees, I tried to call this place several time over multiple days. Not once did I get someone to answer the phone. There website also has no mention of any working hours... are they ever actually open? In a last ditch effort, I drove all the way to the business and not a single person was there. It was a ghost town. A complete waste of time. If this place is even open, avoid it. Do you really want to deal with a business that is 100% unresponsive? 0 stars. read more

Let me start by saying that this is my first "less than 5 star" rating on Yelp, or any website. Usually, if there is an issue, we make every effort to work with the business to fix it, or just not give a review. This time we also tried. We had just bought a house and started searching for a local nursery to purchase our plants, rather than going to a Home Depot, or Lowes. We decided on Solana Select Palm. Their selection was only a little better and not any cheaper, but we wanted to support the local small business. My wife and I went to the Nursery around Christmas time. We selected 5 plants/trees. Our most important and pricey piece was a Kentia palm. We were especially picky to select the perfect Kentia, because they grow much slower than other palms. Due to the scheduling conflicts during the holidays and an untimely main water leak in our front yard, we could not have the plants delivered for a couple of weeks. During this time, I remained in contact with Jim. Finally, we were able to have them delivered. We were very excited! When the Kentia palm was loaded off the truck, we noticed right away it had brown branches, appeared less healthy, smaller, and not quite as full as we had remembered. Jim assured us convincingly that it was the same palm that we had physically marked and selected. We were really puzzled, but thought he was probably right. We trusted him. A few days later, after we had already paid the landscaper to plant the trees, we realized we had taken a picture of the tree we had originally selected. It was very easy to tell that the Kentia palm Jim delivered was not the same as what we had selected. The next day, I texted Jim explaining the situation with the photo of the Kentia we had selected. Jim responded by apologizing and reassuring us that we would love the palm he delivered just as much, even though it was not as healthy and he literally had to cut several dead brown branches himself at time of delivery! To reiterate, what we had picked was bigger, healthier, and greener. Later, after a few polite exchanges, I explained to Jim that we were not satisfied by his apology and apparent lack of accountability and asked for a credit or compensation. He only repeated the apology, but nothing else. Instead, he used phrases such as "it was an honest mistake", "stuff happens", and "life is too short". He also made false claims by saying that we had also screwed up by not letting him know. I am not sure how we screwed up, when we clearly expressed our concern at time of delivery. I guess the only way we might have screwed up was to trust his convincing, but false claims that he was giving us the tree we had selected. Again, this is my first "one star" review on any website for anyone, which is sad for me as well. I don't like being that person. But, I felt an obligation to do so that other potential customers are aware to document what trees/plants they are purchasing if they are having them delivered. I just could not stay quiet when someone can first convincingly denied his mistake, later forced to admit to it with hard evidence, then told us we also shared the blame, and finally took no action whatsoever to remedy it. Even though he disagreed with my request for credit, he never even once offered his own idea to make up for it, which was very disappointing. This is just like going to a store and buying something. Then you come home and realize, they put the wrong merchandise in the bag, or deliver the wrong inferior/faulty product. Would you not to return it, or ask for credit? Jim, sadly, did not appear to think that applied to him. read more

Solana Select Palm Trees - Kentia Palm delivered - Local Services Near Me - Encinitas, California

See all

Jim provides an amazing service. I think prices seem good although to be honest, I didn't compare too much because I was looking for perfect trees at perfect height to block off some neighbours. My trees are PERFECT. I had a choice of going with big box or some other palm sellers I found but decided with Jim as he was responsive, understood exactly what we needed and had some great reviews on yelp. we are so glad we went with Jim as he delivered the most perfect trees! I am so impressed with his service. From the time I contacted Jim, until the trees were in the ground was only 5 days! We drove up to check out all the stuff he has and he has a good collection of beautiful kings, kentias queens in single double and triples. I highly recommend buying your trees from Solana Select!! You will not be disappointed! read more

We had a GREAT experience with Solana Select Palm Trees! I was in the market for some palm trees and bird of paradise, and after some research began communicating with Jim Riley at Solana Selects via email. He was quick to respond, helped me decide exactly what I wanted, and after emailing some pictures back and forth we agreed to a (very reasonable) price set a delivery date for yesterday. Exactly on time, Jim and his helper Jose pulled up in their giant truck with the 2 palms and 3 giant birds of paradise, and I couldn't be happier! They were both very pleasant to work with, the plants they brought were outstanding - beautiful and very healthy - and they dug the holes, planted the plants and everything went perfectly. I put a high premium on good customer service and also care a lot about the quality of the plants and they exceeded my every expectation! read more

If you are in the market for palm trees, call Jim at Solana Select Palm Trees. He's an amazing local grower and has the best prices in town! Fair, honest, trustworthy AND he has a one year "warrantee" on his trees AND Jim delivers at no charge! read more

Solana Select Palm Trees - Local Services Near Me - Encinitas, California

Since moving into our house a month ago, we have had numerous contractors working on various jobs in and around our 15-year-old home. NONE have been as professional, conscientious, timely, congenial, nor as helpful as Jim and his tree planter, Jose. Chris met with Jim at the Solana Select nursery and, seemingly overnight, Jim transformed our backyard from a dull, sparsely planted rose garden, to a tropical paradise. We now enjoy privacy and full, palm foliage outside our windows, instead of looking into our neighbor's house! We LOVE the combination of palms chosen by Jim to grow at different heights, providing a layered, multi-level wall of tropical foliage. Our front yard went from boring, grassy nothingness to specific types of palms, chosen by Jim and carefully placed as a centerpiece and lining the walkway leading to our entry. In addition, Jim trimmed an existing tree without being asked and without any expectation of payment. Wow!! We have never seen anyone go "above and beyond" like Jim does. We can't say enough about how pleased we are with Jim's outstanding service, knowledge pricing and helpfulness in helping us transform our landscaping. We can't wait to do more to our yard and will not go to anyone else (nor purchase trees from large home improvement stores ever again) for our landscaping needs. If we could give him more than 5 stars, we would do it!! Thank you, Jim, and we look forward to seeing you again soon! Chris and Melissa in Carlsbad read more

Need a palm tree? Or many palm trees? Do NOT look anywhere else! Jim Riley knows palms and had over 25,000 of various species of top quality to choose from. His prices are very reasonable as are his delivery fees (unlike Moon Nursery -- don't waste your time!) Jim was also very generous sharing his knowledge for the two king palms I bought but also the other palms in my yard. Another thing, Solana Select nursery is very convenient to get to -- less than a half mile from the I-5 freeway at the Leucadia exit. read more

Jim's a great bloke and super easy to work with. He helped me dig holes for the trees I bought even when I hadn't planned them ahead of time like I was supposed to. If you are are a reasonable person then Jim will go out of his way to work with you and will even recommend some design options so you don't have to pay a landscaper read more

Very glad I found them. They are just wonderful to work with. I purchased 10 palms from Solana Select Palm Trees and got them delivered within a few days. So easy and the palms look beautiful! Jim was super nice, knowledgeable, extremely accommodating, and just a pleasure to work with. Don't go anywhere else! read more

I called Jim when I was being overcharged for 16 16 to 18 foot palm trees for our townhome community in Huntington Beach, not only was he extremely helpful and cheerful but he also gave us a great price. After several calls and emails from me changing delivery dates and asking lots of questions, Jim was still as nice as ever. Not only did he pull together this large order in less than 10 days and right in the middle of the Christmas holidays, he was right on time on the day of delivery. Jim and his son dug the holes and planted those 16 beautiful palm trees in record time. Within hours our bare boring street was transformed into tropical beauty. From now on our HOA will be calling Jim and son first. read more

I have to say "thank you" to Jim at Solana Select Palm Trees with helping me find the perfect palm trees for my condominium building. Jim was extremely helpful throughout the whole process, even helping me pick the most ideal palm trees for the space we needed to fill. He is an extremely fair and nice guy who sells quality trees. I cannot recommend him and his business enough... a class act. read more

Jim Riley is the consumate business man. He and his son topher are the most knowledgable pair on everything there is to know about palms and plants in general. He walks you through the entire process of selecting, buying, planting and caring for your palms and even is there for you whenever you need his help. I would recommend Solana Select Palm Trees to anyone. You will be pleased with the experience. P.Myers, Vista read more

Jim has the most beautiful palms, he helped us select a nice 4 stalk king palm at a great price. Had many other palms he showed us. As we finish our landscaping we will most definitely be back for more. Thanks Jim! read more

Jim Riley at Solana Select Palm Trees went above and beyond to select and deliver a perfect palm for my wife's mother on Mothers Day.his customer service was not only refreshing but was the best that I have had the pleasure of dealing with in years.My wife and I could not have asked for more ,we highly recommend Solana Select Palm trees. read more

WOW!!! I Can not say enough good things about this father and son business. From start to finish I must have called him one thousand times. Me and my wife kept changing our minds as to what type and how many palm trees we wanted. He was very patient with us and very easy going (even with all our changes). I was able to go to one of his nursery to see and pick out which size palms I wanted. They were all gorgeous and very healthy looking. Not only did he deliver the palms but also planted them. His son Topher helped dig the holes to the correct depth. He really was concerned with the longevity of the palms and not just a sale. The owner, Jim guided me through every step. I am very happy with Jimbo and Topher and would recommend anyone looking for any type of palm tree to SKIP the depot/lowes and give Jim a call. They beat the big box store in every category- price, service, and knowledge. read more

My husband and I hired JLC Landscaping (Jose Gonzalez) a few weeks back, and went through a horrific experience. Jose Gonzalez really took advantage of us, and ripped us off! Then, we were blessed with Mr. Jim Riley from Solana Select. He literally transformed our front and back yards into the tropical oasis we dreamed of, well under our budget. His vision on palm and plant placement was spot on! his products were the best we've seen out of all the nurseries we've been to, and we have walked through a lot within the pass few weeks. The best part of the whole experience was, Mr. Riley was honest, kind, and compassionate. He definitely restored our belief in, "A man's word goes a long way". Jim, Brandon and I cannot thank you enough! We can't wait to see u again, and we will definitely come by the nursery and purchase more of your beautiful palms!!! God Bless You!!! read more

AMAZING!!!! The palms are top quality, the prices are great, and you can't beat the customer service. Jim and son were extremely helpful with the palm tree placement. We couldn't be happier with this business and our beautiful new landscape. read more

Fantastic Trees! We had been to several other nurseries before finding Jim at Solana Select Trees, he is the best!! He could not have been nicer when I called to find about some palms. I went out to look at his trees, which were all in excellent condition. He made some recommendations and gave us lots of info. Upon making up our minds, I called to let him know what I wanted, he was kind enough to tag trees he thought would work for us - all were great. Jim and his son made the delivery within a week and were a pleasure to work with. We bought 9 trees total and could not be happier - his pricing was also the best in town. His suggestion of the Kentia was perfect for our needs and the backyard looks awesome! I would highly recommend to anyone. read more

This is the greatest place to buy quality trees at a great price. Jim is so knowledgable and takes you around the property to show you the best trees for your space. I was in Home Depot when I called him after looking at the sad looking palms there....with a quick u-turn I and a 5 minute drive I was looking at the best quality trees for a great price. Jim has raised these trees from seeds and have been grown outdoors. No need to shop any further! Thank you Jim:) read more

Finally got around to writing our review for Solana Select Palm Trees. This is a fabulous place to buy palms, giant birds of paradise etc. Great prices & the owner, Jim Riley, a New Zealand transplant, is a pleasure to do business with! He asked if we had a good person to plant our trees & we really didn't know anyone, so he referred us to his worker, Jose & that worked out wonderfully. What a difference the tropicals made to our backyard, we are so pleased! read more

We live in Blossom Valley (east San Diego) on 2 acres. We ordered 3 24" queen palms from Solana Select. Jim was extremely professional, quick to return calls and very cooperative in adjusting to our particular situation. We had received a very high estimate from a landscaping company to order and plant the trees. With Jim's advice and instruction, we were able to get it done for less than half of what we were quoted (the trees themselves were half the price quoted). He not only delivered the trees, but after following his instructions on digging the holes, getting the sand and soil needed, he and his helper helped us move 3 HUGE trees to their new homes and helped us acutually plant them into the ground. They even cleaned up after themselves and only planned to charge us a minimal delivery fee and plant moving fee. We voluntarily increased the amount we paid them by about $150(which Jim initially refused) and STILL felt as though we got more than our money's worth! Would recommend them to anyone enthusiastically! Carol W read more

If you are in the market for plants or palms, look no further. Solana Select is by far the BEST in terms of quality, price and customer service. Jim hand selected our trees and sent us pictures so we could see them before deciding. The trees we received were absolutely gorgeous.....healthy, vibrant green and the exact height we wanted for our yard. Delivery was fast and easy......Jim is the nicest person I have ever had the pleasure of dealing with. He arrived with a smile on his face, helped us plant the palms, gave us a huge container of liquid fertilizer, and provided instructions for ensuring the longevity of our palms....I was so impressed!! He was also so sweet with my children (he let my son help press the button for the tree lift....which he thought was THE BEST THING EVER!!!) and kids are great judges of character. When we landscape our backyard, we will definitely be calling Jim at Solana Select....Thanks again Jim for our beautiful Foxtail Palms, they are the talk of the neighborhood!!! read more