Ricardo’s Nursery

Bought all of my water-​wise plants here for Long Beach’s great Lawn to Garden program. They had the best prices on all of the plants I was looking for – I compared the prices of five of the seven nurseries on the city’s list for the following: Palo Verde, sages, russelia, lavender, rosemary, elfin thyme, yarrow, Little John, several types of sedum, aeonium, aloe, russelia, asclepias, milkweed. The staff’s knowledge was excellent – I was given great alternative recommendations for plants that they didn’t have or couldn’t get, and was even talked out of a plant I wanted to get because it is difficult to keep alive. I was told it would be a waste of my money. They could have sold me a plant that would likely need to be replaced, so they’re passing up some easy money as far as I see it. I was shown pictures on the computer of what they didn’t have in stock, they ordered from their suppliers, then, to my delight, delivered beautiful specimens of everything the next day. I could care less about their lowbrow office. I care about healthy plants, knowledgeable employees, friendly people, fast and efficient service, and Ricardo’s hits the bull’s eye on all points. Plus they have a super friendly guard-​kitty. It would be nice if they had more succulents, but they did order the ones I wanted that they didn’t have on the premises, and described the approximate size of the specimens so I knew what to expect. Love this family business!

PROS :
friendly, efficient service
very knowledgeable staff (Nadia and Ricardo area great!)
reasonable prices
large selection of plants/​flowers/​trees
has delivery!
price matches
CONS :
small parking lot
OVERALL :
We recently converted our front lawn to a drought tolerant garden via LB’s ‘Lawn to Garden’ program. Ricardo’s was highly recommended by a coworker of mine as well as LB’s website. All the reviews are true, Ricardo and Nadia will go out of his way to help you out and make the whole process (selecting, ordering and delivery) smooth.
We felt we were treated fairly, were quoted great prices and Ricardo himself was able to deliver our plants. Additionally, the plants we received from the nursery looked very healthy!
We will definitely be back for more plants once we figure out what to do with the backyard. ;)

great customer service! lots of variety, a feast for the eyes! ricardo is really helpful and knowledgeable. he took the time to walk me thru the trimming process of mexican grass tree.

Hands down the best customer service I have received from any establishment in years. I was greeted as I exited my truck and was given a ride on a golf cart to select the items that I was looking for. The staff provided great suggestions based on pictures I provided. I will only purchase my plants from this place going forward.

I have purchased plants from Ricardo’s in the past, and been very satisfied with the advice that I have gotten from Nadia. If you are a diligent shopper, and you know your plants you can get some bargains here and some unusual plants since Ricardo’s is also a grower.
A word of warning however. Ricardo’s makes it a practice to transplant shrubs and other plants into larger containers as soon as possible. This makes sense from the nursery perspective because plants are priced to a degree on the size of the container. You can usually tell when this has been done if you pick up the container and it seems excessively heavy relative to the size. This is because ¾ of the container is filled with soil while only ¼ has the plant and root ball. The excess soil retains water while the plant and rootball drain more easily and hence weigh less. Once you have taken the plant out of the container, half the root ball will collapse because it contains only loose, wet soil and the remaining rootball is insufficient to sustain the plant. It will die quickly because of the lack of a developed root system.
Plants grown by Monrovia nursery are not sold that way. When you buy a Monrovia plant, you pay a premium price, but since the rootball fills the container the mortality rate is very low because there is adequate root structure to sustain the plant once it is in the ground.
I should also inform you that Ricardo’s recycles the containers. Just because it says Monrovia, doesn’t mean it came from that nursery. I feel this is a misrepresentation, and I know Monrovia nursery would be very unhappy about this practice. Their plants have had adequate growth and have not been transplanted prematurely. Also, Monrovia plants are labeled very clearly as to the name of the plant and its growing characteristics and needs.
Another tip, look for the Asian guy late in the day on the weekend. Somehow he comes up with lower prices.

After locating Ricardo’s Nursery via the many 5 star Unilocal reviews, my husband and I walked in late on a Sunday afternoon with one thing in mind… hearty, flowering vines for a side wall that is very visible and currently very ugly. We were immediately greeted by the design specialist, Patrick, who looked at our pictures, asked us some key questions and immediately showed us our best options. Now, this wall has been bare since we moved in almost 2 years ago and we have tried unsuccessfully in the past to find the right plants to cover it, yet, in less than 10 minutes, with Patrick’s help, we found the perfect vines!
While Patrick rang me up… Ricardo helped my husband choose and load five perfect specimens into our SUV. I cannot express how happy we are with our first experience at Ricardo’s and I strongly encourage anyone who needs design advice and really well cared for plants to visit this wonderful nursery!

True 5 stars. Reviews are true. Went there today and was met by exceptionally helpful and friendly staff. I was looking for a few different trees and found everything I needed at competitive pricing. I will go back.

Ricardo is a lil guy with a ton of knowledge! Large variety of plants. though it is a bit on the average on prices the knowledge and ideas he will give you is worth the visit.

Probably the best shopping experience at any nursery or gardening place I’ve had. I showed up 20 minutes before closing to a smiling and helpful girl called Nadia. I came in not knowing what I wanted other than a couple pictures for inspiration that I pulled off the Internet. But when I showed her pictures of my landscape project (my front yard), she quickly had tons of advice and creative suggestions and continued to demonstrate her wide knowledge on different drought tolerant plants. They had a huge selection and what they didnt have, Nadia either offered to order it in that week or had great alternative suggestions. The prices did not impress me at first but they were happy to give me 10% off the whole purchase at the end of my visit!
Super satisfied.

I’m waaaay overdue on this review. Ricardo is wonderful, as is his office staff. His prices and selection are amazing, and he delivers to OC. My husband and I have purchased many plants from him, and we’re definitely going to continue to do so. Period! Don’t waste your money or your time at fussier locales, unless just you’re out looking for design inspiration. You won’t find a fancy garden here, just vast quantities of strong, healthy plants and friendly, knowledgable people. (And yes, he does water-​wise landscaping, too.)
Don’t walk, run to Ricardo’s. 5 stars. :-D

I was doing the Long Beach Lawn2Garden program and luckily I found Ricardo’s. Ricardo and his staff (especially Nico) were very very helpful not only in picking the right types of plants but also the exact right plants. If I wanted a purple sage, Nico would say «here’s one but let me go get one in the back that looks better» Nico would also tell us about the seasons the plants would bloom in and how best to care for them. Really fantastic

GREAT NURSERY & HELPFUL STAFF
PROS:
–Staff is very knowledgable of the plants, how big they get, watering and sun needs
–Ricardo himself will walk with you and help you pick plants out
–If you get a quote from another place he will price match
–Get 15% off if you are doing Lawn-​2-​Garden program
–If you bring a friend and they want to buy plants he will give them 15% off even they are NOT doing the Lawn-​2-​Garden program
–Customer service is great
–I was able to return some plants that weren’t looking too great with no hassle. He understood I wanted plants a little more established that looked nice for instant beauty.
–Large selection & Great quality plants. See one you don’t like he will find you a better looking one.
CONS:
–It’s so huge you’ll get tired walking through it!
–No Drought tolerant yellow flowering plants the 2x I went to look.
–I wish they had a large variety of succulents

I’m 70 years old and have been putting together with our building Manager a cactus and grass garden, beachfront in downtown LB. We had been working with HD, Lowes and then we met Ricardo.
You have never had a retail experience until you have dealt with this man. The most knowledgeable man I have ever met in retail. He must have a million plants in his «little» store, hell I could hang out there all day.
You will have a better day if you go to see this place, not the Taj Mahal but the best business deal you can make with a super man.
Jack Williams
Long Beach

Super knowledgeable staff, very friendly and easily accessible. They sold me all the plants I needed for my Long Beach Lawn to Garden program remodel and I came in under budget (and it looks great)!

The FACTS… I called them and asked about a certain varietal of plant. The lady I spoke with said she would call me back. And guess what happened after that… Taaaadaaaa…she called me back… Can you believe it! For that alone I would come back here. Then she went on to tell me that they had the plants I was looking for but they were a little small (because I told her I would like to have them a bit bigger). Next, she called around found bigger plants, said they would be in the next day, gave me a call back and today I went and picked up my plants (at a very low to moderate price). AMAZING RIGHT! well done Ricardo’s, well done!

These guys are a hidden gem. Ricardo is passionate about his business and puts a lot of effort into propagating, sourcing and stocking a diversity of California native and drought tolerant plants. There is a small staff but they give you personal attention and lots of advice.
Unlike HD or other big box stores they will work with you on prices and varieties. We got all of our decorative grasses for our lawn to garden project here and stayed within budget. This place is no frills and it looks closed most of the time. The office is an old trailer but if you don’t need the Armstrong’s storefront you will get a great deal on quality plants.
We will definitely come back and send all of our friends here.

This is the absolute best nursery in LA County!!!
They not only have a fantastic selection of plants, their prices are unbeatable. What is even most shocking, is that these are also high quality plants. I have compared prices at other retailers, and Ricardo’s is without a doubt the best nursery in town.
If you visit the nursery, be sure to introduce yourself to Ricardo. He will give you some great advise on plants, and you’ll receive some great customer service.

This nursery has quite a variety of plants to choose from and you can bargain down a bit. Their prices are not as low as I had hoped compared to Home Depot and Lowes.
It’s good to also know these points before going:
1) Many plants do not have prices on them. I prefer to see the price so I can decide if it’s even worth me considering.
2) Numerous plants are not marked with the name. In fact, I found many that I picked up which were in recycled containers that had the wrong plant name on it. How do I know? Because I looked up several on my smartphone and each time a different image would come up then what I was looking at before me.
3) Be sure to watch your step. There was dog poop laying all around the place! I stopped counting after stepping over 10 poops — no exaggeration! I witnessed the dog pooped down an aisle about 10 feet away from me. The black dog and cat on the premises are friendly, but both were very dirty like they are NEVER washed.
Bottom line: This place has the potential to be a great nursery. Ricardo needs to hire someone to organize the plants better, post prices consistently, label each plant & clean up the place.
Will I go back? I have to think about it.

My visit to Richardo’s today was very successful. I am glad that I got to work with Richardo personally. I can tell that Richard love’s his business and that he loves his plants as well. He is very knowledgeable compared to a novice like me.
I loved it that I could give Richardo my needs such as drought tolerant, snail tolerant and has an unusual color or flower. Richardo gave me several suggestions for drought resistant plants and several were California natives. I came in today with a couple standard plants that I thought I could use. Richardo suggested so many different plants I never have seen at Home Depot or Lowes. Richards was a little further to drive to. However, the prices and variety were well worth it. I believe that I recieved excellent customer service today.
Richardo started as a wholesale business and now he is building his retail business. Interesting bio on his web site. You can give him your order ahead of time if you know what you are looking for and he will have it ready for you. If he does not have it he will order it for you. A couple was there at the same time as I was and they needed another 5 ft palm tree. He said he would pick one up for them but would first send them a photo of the plant so they could approve first. Wow, that makes it personal.

I am truly impressed with Ricardo and the nursery. My husband and I have had an organic garden for almost 5 years now and we have been to many nurseries in LA County and Orange County. Ricardo is very knowledgeable, personable and has great prices. If you are looking for something specific and he does not have it on location, he can get it for you. You cannot say that for H&H, Home Depot or Lowes. Although Armstrong will source something for you but their prices are outrageous sometimes.
This nursery has a great selection of native California plants, succulents, fruit trees, flowers and shrubs. I highly recommend this nursery because of the great customer service alone. I will definitely be coming back.