With 17-plus years in the business, North Texas Palms & Pottery has grown to be a premier retail and wholesale garden center in North Texas. While specializing in cold hardy palms, North Texas Palms & Pottery also provides sod, drought-tolerant plants, ornamental and shade trees, perennials and annuals, shrubs, firewood, pottery and Christmas yard art.
Owner Leo Yruegas started selling his palm trees from his own greenhouse at a McKinney Trade Days booth in 2004. He says his palms would sell out every week, and in 2006 he rented a 2-acre permanent spot on the McKinney Trade Days property.
“I realized I had a unique niche that couldn’t be found anywhere else,” says Leo Yruegas, North Texas Palms & Pottery owner. “It just grew from there.”
Leo says North Texas Palms & Pottery has been successful in bringing in plant material not seen at places such as Home Depot, Lowes or other garden centers. He says he works diligently to carry hard-to-find plants and more drought-tolerant plants. Over the years, he says North Texas Palms & Pottery became the region's experts in cold hardy palms. They carry multiple species of palms, including California Fan, Florida Sabal, Mediterranean/European Fan, Pindo, Texas Sabal, and Windmill.
In July 2021, the McKinney Trade Days property was sold, forcing Leo to find a new home for his business. North Texas Palms & Pottery now sits on an 8-acre lot on FM 1461 that was previously a horse farm. He says the new location has allowed the group to expand the business where they previously were limited in size.
Leo recently built a 90 feet wide by 96 feet long greenhouse, giving him a large space to start growing his own perennials. He says the first harvest is expected to be in late fall.
"New shade houses for growing landscape plants will allow us to market the business more to the wholesale industry," he says, sharing that North Texas Palms & Pottery currently sells bermuda sod to local contractors but with additional space hopes to start carrying other varieties.
Leo loves providing one-on-one communication with customers. He says he believes this is why he has so many repeat customers and is expanding his contractor business.
Spring is the time to start cleaning out flower beds, trimming plants, and planting in color. It is also a great time to fertilize trees and shrubs. North Texas Palms & Pottery carries Nelson Plant Food fertilizers and lawn care products, as well as its own custom blend fertilizer specifically for palms formulated by Nelson Plant Food.
Palm Tree Care Tips:
- Fertilize Palms four times a year. Twice in spring, five weeks apart. Once in the summer and once in the fall.
- New palm installs should be watered three to four times per week depending on season and rainfall amounts. Three minutes of hand watering with the hose on medium to high blast. Sprinkler heads, lawn irrigation, and water meters are not sufficient and are not recommended for trees and palms. Summer months may require some additional watering during the first year.
- The lower fronds of palm trees will always have some browning and drooping. This is normal and should be cut off at that point. When palms are stressed there will be browning or wilting on newer fronds.
- Winter care should include applying a systemic fungicide late in the fall, two applications 14 days apart. Apply the fungicide directly to the crown or center of the palm. Another two-part application in March after the last freeze is also recommended.
“I realized I had a unique niche that couldn’t be found anywhere else. It just grew from there.”