Review Highlights
“I went to the San Mateo Plant Sale & Craft Fair event today and saw Ricardo and his plant stand at the event.” in 12 reviews
“The shop is relatively small but with their Covid guidelines it felt very safe.” in 3 reviews
“I saw periodic updates on Instagram and from what I saw, they had a great selection including rare plants!” in 5 reviews
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- Apr 30, 2023
I went to the San Mateo Plant Sale & Craft Fair event today and saw Ricardo and his plant stand at the event. Beautiful selection of plants there and I was so sad someone bought the plant that I wanted that I went to the store the same day. Lots of beautiful, healthy plants that are hard to get, at prices that are super fair.
No shade to stores like Plant Therapy, but over $35 for a maranta lemon lime is not cool. Nothing like that here. I got my first Alocasia polly (4") for $15, a stromanthe triostar (4") for $15, and a silver monstera (2") for $10.
There's also lots of lovely accessories like pots, foldable moss poles, spray bottles, ADORABLE keychains, and tile coasters. All super cute and great prices.
I've got my eye on a queen anthurium too... will definitely be back for that :)Helpful 0Thanks 0Love this 0Oh no 0 - Jan 22, 2023
I am in love with this place but they are so far from me. I usually order online and get it shipped, but unfortunately, I had to come pick up my variegated banana plant. Through the 3 hour drive (traffic), I got to see the shop for the first time and you can tell the owners really care about the plants and makes the rare ones affordable. Thank you for all that you do!
Helpful 3Thanks 0Love this 1Oh no 0 - Jan 16, 2022
I was shopping at a Latino-owned plant store in San Jose that recommended this shop. I thought it was really neat another plant store would share other plant store recommendations and knew I had to check it out.
My first visit was at the start of the pandemic. I almost walked right by the store. My kiddo was registered in their plant pals club which offered a plant kit. We didn't continue taking part in the club as the store is far from us but it's a neat program. On my recent visit the store was a tad bit more spacious at the front but towards the register everyone was crowded in a line. I came looking for a specific plant with my kiddos and sister and found it! I also grabbed this cool sticker I found there. I got in line and noticed the owners both up front one completing the purchase and the other providing tips and support on the plants being purchased by each customer. This ended up delaying the line quite a bit. It was so hard to get help so I had to wait till it was my turn to pay to have them grab the plant I needed.
The store has a large variety of plants, pots, and stickers/pin/keychains made by locals. The plants are affordable and they focus on having "exotic" plants at affordable prices so everyone can own one. The plants pals club is a cool program for young plant parents. The layout of the store is like a long strip. It can be really crowded if there's too many people inside. It's a really neat store and can improve on having the owners walk around the entire store and check in on their customers.Helpful 5Thanks 0Love this 4Oh no 0Business owner information
Ricardo B.
Jan 16, 2022
Hi Tina,
Thank you for stopping by and we’re glad you’ve enjoyed the plant pals program!
We apologize we couldn’t get to you right away. Yesterday was the beginning of our 1 year anniversary celebration so it was a bit more crowded than usual.
We hope to see you again :) - Albert G.Atherton, United States04593Nov 5, 2022
I am OBSESSED!!!
Omg one of my new favorite plant shops in the peninsula! There isn't any other shops in the area which makes this shop a strong contender for a large dedicated following of loyal customers, now including me. I had a lovely conversation with Rebecca & Ricardo and fell in love with the store much more. They carry the not so common house plants and a good variety of Anthuriums so it's a big thumbs up for me! If you need genuine honesty and good info please hit up Rebecca & Ricardo. I hate to call this one of my top 3 favorite stores because my chances of coming back are highly likely.Helpful 0Thanks 0Love this 0Oh no 0 - Apr 6, 2021
You've ever gone into a plant shop and it suddenly felt like you were transported into a jungle? That's the feeling I had coming here.
My boyfriend's followed Ricardo's journey from selling plants out of his home and attending his sales there to ordering off his website for delivery to now opening a plant shop that's easy to access.
Parking could be a little tough off San Mateo Ave. but you should be able to find parking along the street if you go up a block.
Overall, definitely a must stop if you're in the area. As most folks have gone into collecting plants during quarantine, you're sure to find what you need here.Helpful 5Thanks 0Love this 6Oh no 0 - Christina H.Milpitas, United States105534Jan 8, 2023
My favorite shop of all time! I have several favorite plant shops in the Bay Area, but this one is currently my top. I will happily drive 40 minutes to get to this small, cute and colorful store. The couple who owns Las Selvas are amazing. They're kind, knowledgeable, and will answer any plant questions you have. They're supplying hard-to-find plants at an affordable price instead of ripping people off and making those plants so much more accessible. I didn't know this place existed until my former coworker introduced me to them, but I've been shopping there ever since. I also follow their Instagram and they put so much effort into sharing about their plants and accessories. You can tell they care a lot about their products, customers, and business. Amazing quality plants at an affordable price! You can't go wrong here.
Helpful 3Thanks 0Love this 2Oh no 0 - Shaeera A.Berkeley, United States131Oct 28, 2023
They are wonderful people that are providing a lot of rare plants for cheap prices. You take your chance for the price though, as I've noticed other nurseries have these rare plants but they are stronger. My experience with the plants I've bought at this store is that they haven't grown successfully. All of them have died except my ZZ Supernova. It might be the care I gave them, but I'm not sure. I give plants from other sellers the same care but they usually survive.
And I bought a Florida Ghost from them but I'm pretty sure it's a Florida Green. I've given it tremendous amount of light, yet no white variegation. My roommate also purchased a Florida ghost from them few months before me, and hers is green as well. I've seen a lot of Florida Greens floating around that are being claimed as ghosts... not sure what's going on here... if the variegation is reverting?
Still a great small business to support if you're in the market for a good deal on a rare plant. Maybe really ask them for care tips to make sure your plants from them don't end up like mine :)Helpful 0Thanks 0Love this 0Oh no 0 - Denelle C.South San Francisco, United States6114Nov 20, 2022
Rebecca and Ricardo are so incredibly professional, knowledgeable and it's obvious that they truly love what they do. I've never found a plant store who will put in extra work just to ensure plants are affordable to all. I constantly highly recommend everyone to check out Las Selvaz! Whether you are local or online, it is a MUST! I wish they were open every day but so worth waiting til Friday-Sunday! Thank you for helping keep my plant hobby affordable & caring about people first.
Helpful 1Thanks 0Love this 0Oh no 0 - Chris L.San Bruno, United States051Nov 27, 2021
Las Selvas is a gorgeous store that even my husband who isn't very into houseplants found stunning. Their prices are super fair, and I've yet to see a plant for sale that wasn't in great condition. You can't ask for more than that. Atmosphere- gorgeous. Pricing- extremely competitive. Quality- excellent.
I've been shopping around for a begonia maculata for a while and have been really disappointed with overall quality at other locations near where I work (which makes impulse buying subpar plants a bad habit I've developed). Mold, few and crispy leaves, etc. Not here! The begonia I picked up is stunning.
Ricardo will take the time to make sure you know how to care for the plants you've picked and is just an overall great guy. I can't recommend this store enough. Go there and treat yourself!Helpful 1Thanks 0Love this 1Oh no 0 - Jennifer B.San Francisco, United States1464Jul 18, 2023
A friend highly recommended Las Selvas and I finally found my way there over the weekend... and lets just say money was spent with no regrets. This plant store understands us - the crazy folks with a jungle in our homes and an insatiable desire to buy all the plants!
Sure, there was a plant wall that had some commons but they mostly had uncommons - not exactly the plants you'd get from Home Depot or Ikea. But... but on the other wall was a table with babies just sitting there for someone to take home and I about lost my cool - plants that generally hundreds of dollars each and stuff you have to order from a seller online. I've never seen them sold in a plant store let alone multiples on a table like this. I mean, I went there just to check out the store but I ended up coming home with 5 new plants but I couldn't help myself. I got:
1. 3 leaf top cut 3 node monstara albo with excellent variegation, a decent chonk stem, active notes ready to climb a pole and it was fully rooted in sphagnum moss/pearlite. The leaves are on the smaller side but that's totally fine, she has fenestration and she will grow!
2. A 4 leaf, 4 node monstara Thai Con with giant leaves that already have secondary fenestration on a CHONK of a stem, fully rooted in sphagnum moss/pearlite and ready to crawl and sprawl.
3. A small colocasia mojito, a super cool, beautiful, plant with crazy hydrophobic leaves my kid is obsessed throwing water at that had 3 corms I was able to harvest.
4. 2 small alocasia Jacklyns, the IT girl right now because she used to be hella expensive and has finally reached affordable prices. No corms yet but I'm patient.
5. A 3 mouth sarracenia to gobble the bugs (hopefully).
All that... ALL that for $280.
I already have 2 albos and 2 Thai cons, and when I bought all 4 of them (different sellers, different times) they had root rot of some form and were rehab projects even thought I paid top dollar for them. So I figured the albos and Thai cons on the table at Las Selvas were probably on a table because they had root rot or poorly formed roots. NOPE. Both had beautiful, very developed primary and secondary roots with zero rot or questionable sections. I just wish they weren't in moss because it's a PAIN to remove from the roots.
This is my new favorite place.Helpful 0Thanks 0Love this 0Oh no 0
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