Where is local? FL is a big state.

Sorry - am located in GA, so don't know of any local nurserys that really have a tropical plant selection

Where are you located in Georgia? I just did a quick Google search and there are some nurseries that sell tropical plants, but I don't know if they are local to you!

Atlanta - the only ones I've found locally only really sell the generic lemon/lime you'd find at Home Depot or Lowes.

Are you primarily wanting tropical fruit trees?

Troy's Tropical in Sarasota. I don't know if they ship.

I have always had good luck with zone9tropicals. I also shop ebay and etsy for specific things.

https://www.zone9tropicals.com

Tropical fruit can be found at Pine Island Nursery. They have a wide selection of tropical trees. They ship 3 gallon for a flat rate fedex, per their website info. You have to call for a quote. I havent been to the physical nursery which is S. of Miami but know those who have, and hear its a good experience and its very large.

http://www.tropicalfruitnursery.com

Gore's Nursery (not mail order) in NE FL/ Dinsmore area sells tropical fruit trees and citrus at a reasonable price. I saw Longan, Lychee, Starfruit, Mango etc in their greenhouse. I got my Miracle Fruit and HASS avocado trees from them a yr ago and they are doing well. I recently got a beautiful Star Ruby grapefruit tree from them. Its so healthy!

I dont think its too far frm SE GA and might be worth a trip. You can call ahead to see what they have in stock.

Just so you'll know, Lowe's will special order any plant you want if they can get it from their suppliers. Since they're nationwide, they usually can. Just ask to speak to the manager and see what they can do for you.

Pine Island Nursery is very good. I've been there a lot. I have bought trees, and when in season, bought fruit from them. They have good prices and usually have a lot of different trees.

Thanks all! I tried Pine Island but they didn't have a huge selection right now - going to try special ordering from Home Depot / Lowes - tried one yesterday, but didn't have a lot of luck.

There are other nurseries in homestead that might be able to help you. I go to Lara Farms for mameys, (the best are Paintin or Pace), but they have other plants too. I also go to Rays nursery, I bought from them Catalina (best avocados ever), and Brogdon avocado, also very good.

Since you live in GA, I would still call Pine Island, and ask if they would grow there. They are very knowledgeable and can give you advice. I have an uncle in Vero Beach FL, and he puts Christmas lights on his fruit trees. When it gets cold, he turns them on. He still have his trees. There are a lot of dwarf mango trees that you can get too. What fruit trees were you looking for?

@ily68 Trouble is getting them up here (without me driving very very far)!

@Flores Artscape I did find some myself but were fairly price $80-$90 for a 3G tree that I can get from Pine Island (including shipping) for $50

@dirtygardener Any tips on getting the Home Depot / Lowes people to help you... I have not had any luck!

@rhizo_1 Yes, mostly tropical, if you have a source on larger size non-tropicals (plums, apricots, apples) let me know though!

They are cheaper and do have good trees. My Choquette was from them, but it fell with the last hurricane. My brother didn't want to try and pick it up. It is very big, and the fruit gets better the older the tree gets. I had it where it was giving me very good fruit. What tree is the one you are looking for? I had four avocados Choquette, Brogdon, Catalina (Cuban one), and Doni. The best of of the 4 was the Catalina, than the Brogdon, Choquette, and last Doni. The Brogdon is good because it tells you when its ready to be picked. You have to take it off, when it starts changing colors. You can't let it drop because the skin is very thin. Only bad thing about it, is when cutting it. Catalina is very good, but not a heavy producer. Choquette is a heavy producer, and the older the tree gets, the better it tastes. Doni is the least tasting one, and the only one that survived the hurricane.

@ily68 I'm looking for all of them really - starfruit, lychee, longan, mango, avacado. I talked to Pine Island, but trying to see if I can get them bigger, they also are limited in a lot of their starfruit and lychee variety.

They don't really grow up here (so grow slow, also why I want them to start bigger), and have to stay potted so I can take them in the garage during the winter.

You would have to trim them, to get them into the garage in winter. We don't get too much winter here. Starfruit, we have Fwang Tung, very sweet. Lychee we don't have, but I want to get the Mauritius. Longan we have one, but I don't remember the name. Mango we had a lot, but lost some after the hurricane. I still have 5 mango trees. I have the Glenn (very good), Valencia Pride (my favorite), Carrie (very good but you shouldn't let them drop), and a dual one with Haden and Manga Blanca (Cuban one). We lost the Gold Nugget (good), Ice Cream (didn't like but it's a dwarf tree), Keitt (very good and the last mango of the season), Kent (very good but mines was small). I happy that at least I stayed with my favorite one. I'm getting another avocado tree, might get the Russell over the Catalina, because Russell bares more fruits than the Catalina.

Joe, do not buy the Choquette, even though it's very good. The more you trim it back, the faster is grows back. We cut half of it down, and by the end of the year, the part we cut was bigger than the part we didn't trim.

I have Longan Mauritis and its excellent. My Starfruit is Kari. We have several bananas including Raja Puri, Namwah which was supposed to be Ice Cream but wasnt lol. Also White Iholena, Double Mahoi and 3 diff ornamental types.

I also have a bunch of Jackfruit that I started from seed a few yrs ago, Monstera deliciosa that has a few fruits on it now, Miracle fruit, Hass Avocado, and some other stuff.

I have to overwinter everything except the bananas in my greenhouse because some years we freeze.

That's my favorite too, Mauritis. I also have the Raja Puri which is very good, but I also have some Brazilian ones that very good. We had the red one, the Hawaiian one (excellent for tostones), some Cuban one Macho, and some other ones. Jackfruit we planted 2 from seeds, but they told us they might not come out true from seed. We tried a Jackfruit from the Fruit and Spice Park in Miami, Lemony Gold I think they called it. It was the best for us, we have been looking for a tree, and no one seems to have it. Might have to take a grafting class from them, and graft it.