ABOUT US:
 
OUR COMMITMENT
 
PLANTS PLUS GROWERS NURSERY is committed to providing its customers with the highest quality succulents and groundcovers, grown in the most ecologically sound and planet-friendly conditions and delivered to customers with the highest standards of reliable service. 

OUR QUALITY:  At Plants Plus Growers we propagate nearly all our plants from cuttings, most of which are from beds of mother plants on the nursery property and a few of which are obtained under cooperative agreements with business parks and parks departments of nearby municipalities.  Not only does this assure a level of “quality control” over our basic stock, but it makes the Plants Plus property a lush and lovely environment in which to carry on our work. We pay particular attention to the quality of soil in which our plants are grown; a fact which we believe sets us apart from many other succulent & groundcover nurseries.  We begin with Sequoia red groundcover mix and amend it with Alaskan peat moss and commercial & fine grades of perlite (Amorphous Siliceous/Glass Silicate) from Arizona.  The soil mixing process is done in a state-of-the-art, wind- and sun-protected, concrete structure that virtually assures no inadvertent contamination of either the planting soil or the soil of the nursery property. We also take special care with the timing and phasing of the growing process.  We are blessed with ample greenhouse capacity and shade space for nurturing young and light sensitive plants, and the sunny but mild temperatures and moist ocean breezes of the Ventura Coast are ideal for outdoor growing.  We are careful in rating our stock for it’s readiness for sale and honest with our customers in letting them know the status of all that we have available for purchase.

                             
               MOSS - Veronica Repens             ECHEVERIA - Firelight                      DYMONDIA                        IVY - Algerian

OUR FOCUS:  Plants Plus Growers Nursery does not try to be all things to all people—only the best wholesale nursery for customers who are looking for the highest quality in a wide range of groundcovers and succulents—from mosses to grasses, lantanas to verbenas, thymes to jasmines and geraniums to vincas. Our long-standing inventories of  ice plant and sedum served as a foundation for what we have developed into one of the largest, small nursery collections of succulents in Southern California.  Already  we have sizeable sales inventories of more than 90 varieties of Adromischus, Aeonium, Crassula, Echeveria. Graptopetulum, Graptoveria, Kalanchoe, Sempervivum and Jovibarba plus 10 varieties of sedums.  We also are developing sales inventories of  more varieties of all those as well as Cotelydon, Haworthia, Pachyveria and several varieties of cactus.  These are becoming available gradually during 2010 and most should be available by the end of the year.  It is our hope that  this new focus--on these drought-resistant, fire-retardant and enchantingly beautiful succulents--can become another of our contributions to the greening of California .
We prefer to provide most of our groundcovers in “dirt” or “LA” flats and many in flats of sixteen 4 inch pots.  The succulents  are available in  4- and 6-inch pots and 2 gallon containers.  Increasingly, customers appear to be interested in 10-, 12, and 14-inch bowls with assorted succulents in arrangements, so we are rapidly increasing our inventory of them.

  PLANET FRIENDLY:  In 2004-2006 Plants Plus Growers Nursery was the recipient of substantial competitive grant funds from the California Cut Flower Commission, through the University of California, Cooperative Extension Services, to upgrade its entire irrigation system, prevent harmful run-off and capture and recycle its irrigation water.  A system of lined trenches channels run-off from 8+ acres of automatically irrigated plants into a holding pond on one corner of the property.  From there it is pumped back to two 5000 gallon tanks on the opposite corner where it can be quality tested and, as necessary, mixed with new irrigation water.  In 2008, according to UC Cooperative Extension monitors, the new system recycled 4.2 million gallons of water per year, or 46% of the total water used by the nursery.  Plants Plus operates with zero runoff from irrigation and catches 100% of storm runoff for re-use as well.  Other forward looking management practices (e.g. graveled roads & a separated, concrete soil mixing area) have resulted, say  UCCE staff,  in “…very good water quality, meeting fully the water quality objectives for agriculture in the region.”   As a result of these improvements, Plants Plus Growers Nursery has been named a model small nursery for water conservation and control and is a regular stop on nursery tours for agricultural professionals that showcase actions small growers can take to improve water quality and use.  In 2007 and 08,  the State Compensation Insurance Fund awarded Plants Plus Growers its "Top Group Performance Award for Safety Excellence.  Plants Plus Growers is committed to continuing its adherence to the highest levels of environmental and safety standards that will be necessary to sustain the industry and the planet in the years to come.  

RELIABLE CUSTOMER SERVICE :  Plants Plus Growers’ commitment to reliable customer service begins with listening to our customers about what they want and need.  Whether it is hearing your preferences during a sales call or delivery, responding to questions or taking an order on the phone or dealing with that rare problem that comes up in a complicated ordering issue or unanticipated delivery event, it is always our intent to hear your point of view and respond with the most courteous and customer friendly attitude and appropriate and creative solution. 
And while we made a point earlier in this page of saying that we take very seriously our commitment to growing groundcovers and succulents, we also want all our customers to know that if they are having trouble finding any particular plant for a client, Plants Plus has lots of friends and is very much part of the that tradition in the nursery industry that says, “Let us help you find it.”  We can’t guarantee we can find it, but we are always willing to help and it never hurts to ask.
We make regular, bi-weekly sales calls to customers in Los Angeles, Ventura and Santa Barbara counties and, in most cases, are able to deliver orders the next day.  We visit our Northern California customers for sales purposes about once a month; but our quality reputation with them has become solid and the phones are always working, so we usually make deliveries there once a week. Deliveries to customers who are members of eligible, non-profit garden clubs may be arranged if the order is sizeable enough and can be done in conjunction with regular deliveries in the same area. (See the "Contact Us" page for garden club eligiblity requirements.)
For better or worse, it’s a family tradition at Plants Plus to work long hours.  So while we would  prefer that customers contact us during “regular” office hours, Monday through Friday, 8am to 5pm and Saturday, 8am to Noon, don’t be surprised if somebody answers the phone outside those times.  And if we don’t answer, the phone machine will probably give you a hint about how to reach Jose at almost any time. 

   Jose L. Aceves,  Owner/President 

OUR HISTORY:  In this, its 15^th year as a business entity, the history of Plants Plus Growers Nursery  remains very closely linked to the personal history of its owner, Jose Luis Aceves Sr.  Jose came to the US in 1982 from the state of Guanajuato in Mexico.   He began immediately to work in the nursery business and undertook to master the industry from the ground up in nurseries around San Bernardino, Riverside and Los Angeles counties.  Early on Jose became skilled in the art of propagation by use of plant cuttings and to this day is committed to this method for nearly all the planting in his own business.  For six years he listened very carefully—in Spanish and in fledgling English-- to become more broadly knowledgeable about other facets of the industry.  Eventually, the opportunity afforded itself to try his hand for several years more at nursery sales, specializing in the sale of groundcovers to wholesale & retail nurseries and landscapers from San Diego to Santa Barbara to the San Francisco Bay area.  Weekends Jose tackled learning the retail side of the industry by working part time in a large & thriving, urban nursery in West Los Angeles.   It was there that Jose began to dream of owning his own business —and building the nest egg that would eventually make it happen.  In 1992 he achieved two other important life goals—perfecting his English in study at Glendale College and becoming a naturalized American citizen. Finally, in 1995, the opportunity came to purchase a small, wholesale, groundcover nursery on 2 acres in RiversideCounty.  Plants Plus was born!  In 1998, the nursery moved to a 6 acre site near Corona, making it possible--with a little help from El Nino-- to greatly expand production.  The client base expanded accordingly, with the first Northern California nurseries served in 1999.   Business continued apace through another year until Riverside County developers temporarily interrupted the dream by purchasing the nursery property to build homes. Not to be deterred, Jose decided that this was the time to not only own his business, but to own the land on which he would grow the finest groundcovers in California.  Recalling the wonderfully benign and nurturing climate he experienced in Ventura County during his years in sales, Jose began a search there for the ideal location to fulfill his dreams.  In April, 2000, Plants Plus Growers Nursery graduated from being a sole proprietorship to being a California S Corporation, situated on 12.7 gently sloping acres near Somis, CA, at the foot of South Mountain in the Santa Susana range.  It took the better part of a year to clear the land of an 8-acre orange orchard and erect adequate greenhouse and shade structures, but eventually the larger acreage again permitted an expansion of production and corresponding expansion of the client base. During 2004-2006 Plants Plus received  substantial grant funds from the California Cut Flower Association, through the University of California Extension Services, to completely automate its irrigation/sprinkling system and create a state of the art water recycling and run-off prevention system.  Today 48% of Plants Plus' annual water use is recycled water.  It serves as a model for Southern California small growers of what can be done with relatively modest funds to more than meet the water conservation standards of the future.  Today Plants Plus proudly provides more than 120 wholesale & retail nurseries in 10 California counties with more than 250 varieties of groundcovers and nearly 100 varieties of a wide range of succulents.  We are pleased to see that a recent user of the Yahoo Local User Guide called Plants Plus  “…the best ground cover wholesaler in California".  It reads "This guy, Jose Aceves, is a purist about quality in plants in general  and ground covers in particular”.  Please help us, friends who visit this website, to continue and expand our proud traditions.