Far West Nursery

This place has gone downhill. They used to have a massive selection of trees and perennials, well-​grown and maintained. Now they have a bit of this and a bit of that out in their growing area, and most plants are either horribly pot bound or underwatered or both. It’s a mess. But it was a matter of dishonesty and bad attitude, rather than quality, that finally turned me against Far West for good. A few months ago I purchased three large succulent plants — three gallon pots, I believe — from this nursery. They were just under $ 30 each. When I went to plant them out, they turned out to be overgrown (pot bound) 6″ plants (which would have cost around $ 8 – 9 at that size) newly potted up to the more expensive size category. There was no rooting out whatsoever: I had paid more than a $ 20 premium on each plant for a couple gallons of potting mix. Since I had been a Far West customer since the 1990s (including the period when the nursery was taken over by another owner), and since the purchase that included these «cheat» plants was for upwards of $ 400, I went ahead and completed my planting and held on to the receipt to show the folks at Far West next time I went in there. When I did return to Far West a few weeks later, and was about to make another multiple-​plant purchase, I voiced my complaint about the deceptive potting on the succulents. The manager told me I needed to go home, dig up the plants and bring them in, and then he would see what he could do. This guy knew me as a regular customer, and he knew how much and how often I buy goods from Far West, yet made it clear that he did not trust me. He was accusing me of being dishonest, when I was the one who had been cheated. All I wanted was for him to make up for the overcharge in plants, at retail price. The business would still have come out ahead (and yes, it would still be by deception, but I wasn’t going to fight over the profit margin). I would even have settled for a small discount — for less than the amount I was owed — on my purchase that day, as an apology. I could not believe the affrontery of this man making me out to be the bad person, though, so I walked away from my intended purchases and I walked away from a business I had supported for almost 20 years. I haven’t been back and I will never do so.

I was looking for an air purifying plant for my dorm room & came out with two BEAUTIFUL plants for only $ 15! Incredibly helpful folks & nice selection.

Made the mistake of asking the difference between drought tolerant plants and drought resistant plants. Some woman, probably half my age, flat out refused to answer the question and then, treated me like I was a total idiot. Maybe I am, but why treat a customer (even perhaps an idiot) so awful. Not going back. Idiots have money too, yanno, and they have enough sense not to return to your place for that kind of treatment.
Why treat anyone like that, particularly at a place of business where supposedly you have customer service?

I absolutely love Far West! They have such a great selection and everything is priced competitively. Like other have said, it doesn’t look like much from the street, but the nursery actually stretches pretty far back. Even though FWN is around a 20 minute drive from my home (and there is a really great nursery right around the corner), I always find myself making the drive to SC to get my plants.

One of the best nurseries in Santa Cruz County. Don’t let the appearance when you drive up fool you. It looks like a cute little place that might sell a few plants, but once you walk in you realize how huge this place is. They have everything.
I’ve been there twice before, and stopped by today to get a few plants (and some advice on which ones are less prone to being completely destroyed by gophers). My husband and I asked an employee we found working in the back greenhouse, and he was very helpful and knowledgeable and gave us some good advice.
We selected our plants and headed inside to check out. The owner (I think it was the owner?) was also very friendly and helpful, answering several questions I had on annuals.
I’m not sure why so many negative reviews. If you’re looking for someone to fawn all over you because you walked in the front gate and expect a docent-​led tour, it’s not going to happen. Try to understand the magnitude of what is going on here. If you think your garden keeps you busy, consider that the sheer size of this place requires tremendous amount of work and upkeep. The owners and employees work hard to keep acres of plants in tip-​top shape. Being a locally owned business, they can’t hire dedicated tour guides without raising prices. If you ask them for help, you’ll get it.
And for the Unilocaler who was all offended because an employee took an «old lady» customer from behind him in line and helped her first? Get over yourself. Some day, God willing, you will be an «old man» and might appreciate a little extra courtesy someone shows you. And you may not appreciate their ingratiating smile as they smugly utter «Age before beauty»…

Wow. Sucks to write this review. We’ve tried time and time again to give this place the opportunities to redeem themselves, but to our dismay have received the same BS treatment as always. We just get brushed off, and when standing in line, have had employees literally take old lady-​customers from behind us and blatantly «cut» in front of us… it’s just plain RUDE. There’s a younger guy that works there that’s always been helpful, but all of the 40+ year old employees just treat us like crap. No respect for their «younger generation» of customers… what’s with that? I mean, I get it, I always hold the door open and let old ladies go in before myself, *Age Before Beauty*, but really… Just OVER and OVER and OVER again… We just can’t support this business anymore. Oh, and Succulents are BELLIGERENTLY OVER PRICED. COME ON YOU GUYS.

One of the better nurseries I’ve been to in Santa Cruz. It’s a really big lot and their selection changes from time to time. Their prices are pretty competitive from the places around the area, unless home depot or orchard supply has a big sale. The staff are pretty helpful if you talk to someone that isn’t the watering guy.

Not the first time at Far West that I felt like if you’re not a contract landscaper with an account there, you just don’t matter. I agree with previous reviewers that the staff needs to come down off their high horses.
I recently went in looking to buy roses in 5 gallon containers. The sales person at the «tiki booth» register completely ignored me as she warmly chatted with a landscape guy about his dog. She finally stopped to take a breath and responded to my question about their roses. She said, «They are all over there by that tree,» waving her finger in a general direction to the far edge of the property.
Uh, yes, thanks … but the entire property is lined with trees … which tree might that exactly be that you are pointing to???
No assistance provided. No helpful information given. Is there any chance she might be interested in what type of rose I am looking for or, for that matter, how many containers, or to show me other plant options? Eventually I located their rose stock and looked for a good while studying my options — then choosing to purchase nothing.
As I walked empty-​handed back to my car, I deliberately passed her once again (still loudly chatting and laughing with the landscape dude) to see if it even mattered that I was leaving without a purchase. Obviously, it didn’t.
I then headed over to the Garden Center at ProBuild and after getting all my questions answered dropped a cool $ 100+ on five rose shrubs.

I like the trees and plants at this place but the women who work there have the crappiest unfriendly attitudes. I asked about their tomato plants and she showed me some heirlooms and «over there are the organic.» I ask how are these other ones not organic as they couldn’t possibly be sprayed being just little saplings. Her attitude was so condescending about how they used «organic farming practices».She said something like «if you don’t care about the planet» to me. I do eat almost exclusively organic produce but a tomato plant is a tomato plant. Then when I went to pay I didn’t get a «hi» or «thank you» or «good bye» from some other gal. Just «heres your receipt». My wife has been their a couple times and said they were rude and judgmental to her too so it’s not just because they hate men. I used to go there because I try to support independent business’ instead of Home Depot or some other corporation but at least they treat you civilly in those places. I’m not looking to be fawned over and a docent led tour, just to be treated respectfully.

This is my favorite nursery in Santa Cruz. It’s low key, relaxing, with very knowledgeable staff. Definitely worth checking out, especially if you live in the Live Oak area.

This is the BEST nursery in the Santa Cruz area, bar none. Love their selection — the staff is highly knowledgeable and helpful. It you are ever down in the dumps, a visit to this place will cheer you right up.

A great local nursery with a huge selection of plants. You can find numerous varieties of flowers, trees, shrubbery, etc… far more than at any chain store home & garden shop. Their plants seem healthy and well cared for. I also enjoy the display area towards the front with numerous water fountains. It creates a peaceful atmosphere.

Okay, so if you’re looking for one of the largest nurseries in Santa Cruz, this may be it. In fact, I’d go so far as to say this is the best kept Botanical secret in the immediate Santa Cruz vicinity. Bamboo Giant is pretty rad too, but that’s in Aptos, and I digress.
Far West is a little off the beaten path; you have to access it from Frontage Road between 41^st Ave and Soquel Ave. Anyway, you can find it, I’ve got faith in you. Once you arrive, expect to be blown away by the massive 2.5 acre lot, packed with plants and trees of all shapes and sizes. I can tell you if I were going to begin a new landscaping project, or even just searching for a few house plants, this is where I’d come.
I deducted a star because one of the aloe plants I bought pretty much up and died within a month of my purchase. I thought about calling up and getting a new one but it was so cheap in the first place I just let it go. Meanwhile our other plant is thriving, and we love the pots we purchased here.