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Gardeners across OC are saddened from the closing of what they consider to be one of the largest native plant sellers.
The Tree of Life Nursery.
After nearly 45 years of pursuing their passion and promoting California’s natural environment, Mike Evans and Jeff Bohn, the owners of Tree of Life Nursery, have decided that the time has come to close up shop.
But their passion for native plants isn’t coming all to an end.
Evans and Bohn are leaving their garden to Rancho Mission Viejo in December 2025.
Initially occupying 14-acres of land at Rancho Mission Viejo, Tree of Life Nursery has grown to approximately 40-acres of leasehold for their propagation fields, green houses, and commercial operations.
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Their site will become the future headquarters of the Nature Reserve at Rancho Mission Viejo and will only include the Tree of Life Native Plant Garden.
Rancho Mission Viejo officials denied requests for additional information.
According to Evans, the nursery is closing for several reasons, including challenges the horticultural industry faces, lack of labor and a small marketplace.
However, the main reason is that Evans and Bohn are ready to retire.
“I think many would be able to agree and recognize that Tree of Life Nursery was founded and operated on a premise of our passion for what we do,” said Evans.
“The nursery itself is caught in this simplification of the marketplace and the unfortunate loss of many nurseries run by passionate individuals who were growing specialty crops that they especially believed in.”
Starting with wholesale of native plants, Evans and Bohn have since created a plethora of resources for residents to start their own native plant gardens.
Tree of Life Nursery resources are not only used by Orange County residents, but also organizations committed to native plants. Organizations like the Laguna Canyon Foundation.
Dulce Martinez, Laguna Canyon Foundation Restoration Project Manager, estimates that they have purchased approximately 100,000 plants from Tree of Life Nursery.
“My first impression was that it didn’t look like any average nursery,” said Martinez. “The layout is very organic, it doesn’t feel industrial like other nurseries might.”
Despite not knowing when they started working with Tree of Life Nursery, Martinez highlights how resourceful and responsive they have been over the years.
“They’re are leaving a great legacy of making California native plants accessible to the public,” said Martinez.
The Casa La Paz retail store allows people to purchase native plants, including some rare plants, and ask questions to their knowledgeable staff. Additionally, there are an abundance of educational resources located on their website.
Nicole Winik, Tree of Life Nursery returning customer, recently started a new native plant garden in her front yard to beautify her home and help with California’s drought through water conservation.
“Yeah, we’re bummed,” said Winik. “We are new to Tree of Life and so it’s pretty sad that such a huge source of California native plants is kind of going away.”
Winik mentioned that much of the inspiration for her garden came from the Tree of Life Nursery resources that they have online and in store.
Choosing to close the Tree of Life Nursery was not an easy decision for Evans and Bohn.
“I feel like this is our responsibility,” said Evans. “We’ve been filling this gap of growing plants on the heels of those other pioneers for 50 years and now we’re going out. I feel really, I almost feel guilty.”
But Evans has relied on his staff and co-owner to come to the conclusion that it’s time for someone else to pick up where they left off.
“[Staff] say, ‘Look, you did a good job. It’s somebody else’s’ and I kind of embrace that,” said Evans.
Kay Marcantonio, a long-time customer of Tree of Life Nursery since 2007, shared her deep connection to the nursery, which has been instrumental in her California native garden.
“It was almost like I was losing a friend,” said Marcantonio. “I mean, this has just been my go to place all these years, and the setting and everything’s so beautiful.”
Marcantonio praised the nursery’s knowledgeable staff and educational workshops, which have been crucial to her gardening journey.
“I think a lot of Orange County gardeners who are now native planters and have native plant gardens are because of Tree of Life,” said Marcantonio.
“I think they’re leaving a legacy of [encouraging the] rewilding of your yard.”
As Bohn and Evans look towards retirement, they aren’t sure what they have next in store for them but they are particularly excited to spend more time with their families.
“I don’t really know what lies ahead,” said Bohn. “I just want to take a breather and just try to see where I think God leads me and my family.”
“We want to honor Him in everything that we’re doing. So if it’s helping in some capacity, maybe conservancies or just helping [others] understand how to grow [native plants].”
While this may be the end of Tree of Life Nursery, Bohn is particularly hopeful that someone else will continue their legacy and make an impact in the native plant industry.
“I think that my hope would be that somebody else, some young people, would take this back up, to carry it further,” said Bohn.
“We’ve done a lot in horticulture already, but I think that we’ve just scratched the surface. I think that there’s a lot to be done, as far as making native plants more widely accessible in the everyday garden.”
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