When my frequent partner-in-crime Kyle and I were in Santa Barbara at the very end of January, we had the opportunity to visit San Marcos Growers (SMG), arguably the most extraordinary wholesale nursery in California, for what we thought was one last time. After 46 years in operation, SMG had closed its gates on December 23, 2025; the 23-acre property had been sold to be developed for affordable housing. (If you’re interested in learning more about SMG, its history, and its legacy, read my post from February.)
I found two Google Earth/Google Streets images that show the nursery prior to August 2025 when they were still in full operation. The shade houses and growing grounds on the far side of San Marcos Road were still very much there:
Prior to August 2025: shade houses and growing area on the far side of San Marcos Road still there
The area with the shade houses was the first to be torn down. In November 2025 it looked like this:
November 2025: area cleared for construction
Ignore the rectangle in the lower right. It’s not part of the nursery proper. It’s a field SMG leased to a row crop farmer. He left in February 2025, but he still discs the field to control the weeds. The later photo (November 2025) is mostly weedy wild radish.
Google doesn’t have a more recent satellite image of the property. The biggest change, beyond the dismantlement of the shade houses and growing grounds across the street, is that the green belt at the top right has been cleared. The office and much of the main growing grounds on the east side of San Marcos Road are still there.
SMG officially shut down in December, but it has remained open by appointment since there are still so many plants left. A lot of the leafy stuff (trees, shrubs, etc.) has been sold, but there’s still a good selection of the plants Kyle and I are interested in: aloes, agaves, dyckias, etc. Right now, all remaining plants are 65% off wholesale prices. SMG will be selling them off through mid-August. After that, they will have to dispose of what’s left.
Even though Kyle and I live 6½ hours away, the temptation was just too great, so we made plans for one last trip. Not knowing what we would find but preparing for the best-case scenario, we borrowed a 4×8 ft. trailer from a friend and set out at 6:15 am on Friday morning.
Leaving Sacramento at 6:15 am
Quick fuel stop halfway to Santa Barbara
Traffic on Interstate 5 was light, and we made great time, arriving at SMG at 1:30 pm.
The fading writing on the side of the trailer is a poignant metaphor for everything that’s happened
Kyle and I set out on an electric cart and trailer to get down to the serious business of plant shopping:
San Marcos general manager Randy Baldwin gifted us a very special plant that SMG has been propagating for a few years but never released officially: Callisia warszewicziana, aka purple roseling (odd name), a tradescantia relative from Guatemala and southern Mexico. I love the rosettes, some of which appear as bulbils at the end of the flower stalks, but it’s the purple flowers that steal the show:
Callisia warszewicziana, try saying that out loud
Callisia warszewicziana bulbils forming at the end of the flower stalks
Callisia warszewicziana flower
Randy Balwin holding a pot of Callisia warszewicziana; Kyle with a tray of Crassula multicava ‘Mali’s Thai-Dye’.
We filled both the trailer and the bed of Kyle’s truck. No point in driving home with empty spots.
We spent Friday night in Santa Maria, about an hour north of Santa Barbara. Kyle unhitched the trailer and parked the truck at a diagonal for extra security. Fortunately, nothing was disturbed overnight.
We got home at 5:30 pm on Saturday, 35+ hours after we had left. Here are the plants on the trailer....
...and the truck bed:
You might be wondering what we will do with all these plants. Some will go in our gardens, some are for future plant sales, and some will be propagation stock. We’re not quite ready to reveal what we have planned, but I’ll keep you posted.
Here’s a cool 1-minute video of our plant shopping adventure. Be sure to click Watch on YouTube and select the highest resolution.
Regarding San Marcos Growers: The nursery is still open by appointment (wholesale only). Here is an inventory of what’s left. The list is not 100% up to date, but it’ll give you an idea. For more information, visit the SMG website.
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