About Moon Valley Nurseries

Moon Valley Nurseries is a family-owned and operated company that was founded in 1995 in the ‘Moon Valley’ neighborhood of Phoenix, Arizona. While we may have started in 1995, the Moon Valley story starts way sooner. Moon Valley Nurseries owner, Les Blake, is a third-generation tree farmer who learned everything from his grandfather. 

Blake took that knowledge and experience and opened a tree nursery like no other nursery out there at the time. Moon Valley Nurseries is now the largest specimen tree nursery in North America with farming, retail, and landscape divisions across the Southwest.

In 2010, Moon Valley Nurseries opened its first operation in California. In the last decade, we have opened 13 retail nurseries with more to come!

Moon Valley Nurseries California Farms

We also have many farms spread across Southern California from Fillmore to Escondido that help us grow the best trees for the different California regions.

With over 7000 acres of growing land and hundreds of thousands of trees growing in various sizes, Moon Valley Nurseries is ready to fulfill, deliver, and plant all orders.

Palm Paradise in Escondido

With over 40 acres of land in Escondido, Palm Paradise offers a mass selection of palms that you will not find anywhere else. You can find massive specimens and many varieties of custom-grown exotic palms.

Featured Trees and Plants for the San Diego Community

Top Palms

Kentia Palm – The Kentia palm is prized for its eye-catching trunk and beautiful deep-green fronds that arch outward creating a tropical canopy wherever it is planted. This is a perfect palm for tight spaces or planting in clusters. Kentia palm care is easy because it is one of the cleanest palms all year! (pictured)

Piru Queen Palm – The Piru Queen palm is an exclusive palm only available at Moon Valley Nurseries. Our Piru Queen palm trees feature thicker trunks with a fuller crown of greener palm fronds that grow into a 10 to 15-foot canopy. With minimal trimming requirements to remove dead fronds, Piru Queen palm care is simple! Plant Queen palms near a pool and the wind through the fronds will make you think you are on a tropical island.

King Palm – The King palm tree is a popular choice for Southern California because of its multi-colored trunk, clean look, and dark green fronds that drape beautifully over the trunk. It also adds a bit more seasonal color with purple blooms. The King palm is a great option to plant around pools for their striking looks and the extra shade that it offers.

Top Shade Trees

Ficus Indian Laurel – The Ficus tree is a fast-growing evergreen that will bring massive shade to your property due to its dense, high canopy. This medium-to-large shade tree loves to grow in an area where it can receive full sun, as it thrives on the exposure. Ficus trees can be planted as focal points in yards or areas of your home that needs dense shade. (pictured)

Tipu – The Tipuana Tipu tree is one of the best shade trees for Southern California. The Tipu tree is fast-growing and drought-tolerant, once established, which is great for low-water landscapes that still want to have green in their designs. Its canopy is filled with bright blue-green foliage with seasonal blooms of unique golden flowers. A Tipu would be a great addition to any landscape style from low-water to tropical.

Camphor – The Camphor tree is a dense shade tree that fits nearly any landscape. This clean and low-maintenance tree is known for its aromatic foliage. Many people love to use this tree as a mosquito-repellent as the leaves give off a smell that deters them from invading your space.  Not only is the Camphor tree great when planted as a focal point but it will also add plenty of privacy to your home or property when planted in rows.

Top Exotic Plants

Sago Palm – The most unique part of the Sago palm is that it is not a palm at all! In fact, it is related more to pine trees than palms! Whether you grow it in your yard or in a container, Sago palm care is minimal. They are tolerant of hot and cold weather and will grow in partial shade. The Sago is perfect for adding colorful contrast to desert and waterwise yards or adding more depth to a tropical design. (pictured)

Coral Aloe – The Coral Aloe is the perfect choice when you want to add something a little different into your landscape. This aloe variety offers coral-red blooms that bloom between the large grey-green succulent leaves in the late winter and early spring. These blooms grow in. Once established in well-drained soil, Coral Aloe can be added to desert or waterwise yards as an accent plant.

Top Tropical Shrubs

Tropical Bird of Paradise – This shrub is ideal when designing a tropical landscape or wanting to add some tropical vibes into an existing yard. The Tropical Bird of Paradise is a large ornamental shrub with huge banana-like leaves. Once matured, bright orange and blue flowers bloom, resembling a bird-like appearance, from fall through spring. This large shrub grows up to five feet high and wide, adding an amazing contrast to other plants in your yard. (pictured)

Hibiscus – Hibiscus shrubs are an excellent way to bring varieties of color to your landscape, brightening up any yard design style. From yellow, white, red, orange, blue, and more, we have many color options available! They are a medium-to-large shrub with dark foliage, which helps make the colorful flowers pop. Hibiscus grows best in partial sun but can adjust to full sun. They are commonly used to add more color to tropical designs and look amazing planted along borders.

Top Waterwise Trees

Museum Palo Verde – The Museum Palo Verde is a hybrid version of older Palo Verde species. This hybrid grew into a superior Palo Verde that gained all the best features from the older varieties. Some of these amazing features include a fuller, more vibrant show of yellow flowers and a brighter green, thornless trunk! These features make them ideal as a focal point or a shade tree in a desert, waterwise landscape.

California Pepper – The California Pepper tree is a fast-growing shade tree that loves the sun and heat. This sun-loving evergreen tree grows into an upright canopy with attractive bright green leaves and fern-like foliage. It does well in Southern California due to its extreme tolerance to drought. Once established, this tree could survive off natural watering through the year. They are often planted to add expansive shade for larger yards and greener foliage to low-water landscapes.

Vitex – The Vitex tree, or Chaste tree, is a breathtaking beauty that will get your attention as soon as you cross its path! The Vitex is a smaller-sized waterwise tree typically grown in multi-trunk form, creating dramatic shadows with landscape lighting. In the summer, the Vitex tree produces bluish-purple blooms that grow in long, pointed stocks.  This tree can be trained as a small tree or shrub form. Nighttime lighting adds a dramatic effect to this multi-trunk tree.  

Top Waterwise Shrubs 

Yellow Bells – Also known as Yellow Trumpet Flower, Yellow Bells are native to the general Southwest from Texas through Arizona to Southern California. This medium-to-large evergreen shrub grows fast and prefers partial shade to full sun. From spring to fall, large clusters of yellow trumpet-shaped flowers will transform your yard. (pictured)

Green Hopseed – Hopseed is a sun-loving shrub often used as a screen or filler plant for landscape designs.  It grows upright and can reach heights of up to 10 feet, but most are kept pruned down in a smaller size. The Green Hopseed bush is perfect for waterwise yards, once established, due to its tolerance to drought.

Bougainvillea – Bougainvillea’s are a great addition to any landscape design, and you will never run out of varieties to use and ways to use them! They grow as shrubs, vines, and gorgeous ground cover with flowers blooming all throughout the year. The color options vary from white, orange, pink, or magenta and add pops of accent colors in your yard or property.