Best Plant Shop/Nursery
Dade Plant Co.
Long before he was shipping rare tropical plants across the country, Pablo Zepeda was climbing banyan trees in Coral Gables. While other kids sought refuge from the summer heat indoors, he spent his days exploring the city’s leafy canopies — an obsession that would eventually grow into Dade Plant Co. Today, co-owners Zepeda and Christine Keller cultivate hundreds of exotic tropical plants from their lush Coral Gables home where a resident turtle named Gary roams among rows of greenery. Though the nursery isn’t open for traditional retail shopping, plant lovers know to find Dade Plant Co. at local pop-ups, breweries and farmers markets where the pair have become some of Miami’s most trusted ambassadors for the exotic plant lifestyle. What began as a fully online operation has grown into a nationwide source for rare and unusual plants. South Florida’s subtropical climate allows Zepeda and Keller to propagate species that thrive in conditions similar to those found in Colombia, Thailand and parts of Mexico. Their expertise lies not only in growing healthy, rooted plants, but in safely delivering them to homes across the country. For customers transforming apartments, offices and living rooms into indoor jungles, Dade Plant Co. offers access to extraordinary plants grown by people who genuinely understand them.