Sloat Garden Center

I have what is commonly known as a ‘brown thumb.’ I don’t outright kill plants but they sure as heck don’t thrive under my care! Sloat has changed that thank God. The staff is really patient and helpful! They set me up with a beautiful (and super easy to care for) peace lily that, so far, is still lush and beautiful… Love this place!

Outwardly a very nice looking flower shop. I was initially very excited to find this place.
However, the soil I bought there was infested with fungus gnats and the plant I bought was infested with spider mites that ended up destroying almost all of my indoor plants. Spider mites spread like crazy, so it is sure that their other plants have been exposed to the risk of infestation.
I don’t know about other locations, but I will not be buying here again due to their bug problems.

Ever wonder why your house plant is struggling? Give Google a rest and get all the answers you need from the knowledgable, friendly, goes-​out-​of-​their-​way employees at Sloat! I brought in a clipping from my plant, Nick identified it and gave me the advice I need to be able to salvage and root the clipping. He was immensely helpful this evening even when I sauntered in approximately 15 minutes before closing. I now have the knowledge to keep my dracaena and «umbrella» plant (yes, he knew the technical name for that one too!) healthy.
I look forward to stopping by this Sloat many more times this Spring and Summer and recommend you do as well.

Can’t say enough about how service oriented this Sloat is! The pain of procuring and planting a garden in the city was totally relieved by Walt, Jason and Eduardo who not only strategized my needs but then picked, carried & loaded everything into my car with a smile! Love, love, love Sloat!!!

I think this is definitely the best one in the city as far as selection of plants and pots, the only reason I give it only four instead of five stars would be the pricing, it is pretty, actually really expensive sometimes which makes me a little hesitant to buy plants there. really good healthy plants though.

Get your plant pots here. They have one of the biggest selections in the city. Other than that, despite it’s big space I’m typically unimpressed with the variety and the care they give their plants. It looks like a well stocked nursery at first glance, but with a closer look, their herbs are bug eaten and half dead, snake plants have spiders/​webs all over them (no way I’m bringing those critters home with me), chili ornamentals are dusty, and oncidium orchids have obviously not been watered in too long because the pseudobulbs have wrinkled. You get the feeling that they are there to simply sell plants off shelves. I feel bad knocking the employees that work there because they’re actually really nice, but most of them know nothing about gardening and can’t help you with your questions. So, to wrap up, if there is one thing this place is good for, it’s the enormous selection of plant pots in all colors and sizes, decorative or practical, including a very decent selection of glazed orchid pots with holes along the sides.

Just went to Sloat today, where I have been going for years for good quality plants. Yes, they are a bit expensive, but their plants are good quality. If you want bulk for cheap, go to Home Depot in Marin.
I was VERY sorry to hear that both Bill and Carla were no longer part of the staff. Both of them were extremely knowledgeable and of good advice. Not easy to find in Garden Centers these days. I will deeply miss them.

I feel a bit sad, having to give Sloat a low rating. Very nice sales people, pretty knowledgeable, a little bit hard to find at times, but stand-​up folks and long time members of the community.
The issue is that their pricing is no longer realistic. While you wouldn’t think so to look at Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods, inflation is very low. The cost of growing a seed in dirt with water has not risen stratospherically recently. Virtually every aspect of their business has not experienced significant raw-​material inflation. But their prices have shot up.
Little plants in 4″ pots are now often seven bucks. With SF sales tax, we are looking at eight dollars to hope one little plant will thrive in an atmosphere where we shouldn’t be watering often. Fertilizers and insecticides can often be bought on-​line from the manufacturer for less than half Sloat’s price.
Even factoring in their knowledge, home-​grown roots (so to speak), and small-​biz appeal, you can simply get plants and supplies vastly cheaper elsewhere.

If this garden store was Berkeley Hort or Westbrae or the Dry Garden, there would not be any Sapote left. Any real gardeners in the bay area will tell you the best and rarest plants are found in the east bay, Specifically Berkeley or Oakland, or even Alameda, where you can find exotic subtropical plants at a steep premium price (i.e. that $ 65 a pot of Buddha’s Hand citrus plant). And if you are slightly more adventurous, go to Annie’s Annuals in Richmond, or Mission Hills Nursery in San Diego. You can find some real unusual plants to wow your fellow gardeners with. I spent a good number of years acquiring rare subtropical plants around the country. I can tell you that we serious gardeners are insane crazy bunch when it comes to rare plants.
San Francisco is not known for subtropical plant nurseries. Especially the suburb part of the town where one barely ever sees any sunlight. But don’t let that fool you. Competition is not nearly as fierce here for rare fruits from Central America. Most people here only think about planting a guava tree or sapote in their imaginary yard where the warm sun beams down and they have no neighbors staring down at them at all hours.
I was dragged here, as I tend to be when I’m in this part of town. He made it happen by driving me there and then telling me to check it out. I almost said no because the weather sucked, as per usual. But what a treasure trove I stumbled onto. Guava and Sapote. I’ve been looking for both to no avail. And for some added variety, I acquired pots of herbs and rare succulent to keep my sun garden filled with lushness.
Before you commit on driving down to San Diego to pick up some subtropical plants, make a stop here. You may be pleasantly surprised.

Very helpful and friendly staff (especially Vince). I searched all over the Inner Richmond for empty terracotta pots and, just as I was about to give up, finally found them here. They had a great selection. I would definitely recommend Sloat to a friend.

I sent this email to Sloat corp and NO response. Its clear there is a disconnect at Sloat.
Good day,
I wanted to alert you to the blinding lack of customer service at your 3^rd Avenue location. I walked up to your garden center today, a middle aged woman with glasses was unwrapping indoor plants with a young bespectacled man with long hair. As I passed, nothing. I walked around the garden center, walked inside, past 4 employees, nothing. I looked at the potting supplies and planters as the employees talked near the check out counter about shift changes with the middle aged woman (assumed manager). I passed them again, not a moment of eye contact, hello, goodbye, nothing. This was at 2 in the afternoon and I was the only customer in the store.
I am not a fan the box stores and their generic plants, but at least their employees will acknowledge customers. For your pricing structure, and the unique plants available, you should deliver exceptional customer service.
I hope you think this is important enough to address.
Best,

Poor communication & customer service at this particular Sloat Garden location.
Three weeks ago, I purchased two trees from Kentfield and San Rafael and have them delivered to this location since it’s the closest to my home. They called me right away after one tree was delivered but I had to call back a week later to confirm the arrival of the other tree. The person on the phone sounded very annoyed about the fact that my tree was still there even though I wasn’t informed by their staff.
When my gardener went to pick up the trees without me present, the staff only gave him one of the trees. When I called to inquire, the staff told me my tree has been damaged and to call the Kentfield location to get a refund. I was in a rush since I only hired the gardener for one day and he rented a truck on my behalf. I decided to go with another tree at another nursery close to my house.
I called Kentfield location the following week to ask for a refund or exchange. The manager was much nicer on the phone and said that the 3^rd Avenue staff should just give me a refund. I just got another call today from 3^rd Ave saying that my tree is still there and that their associate made a mistake. Again, the person sounded very annoyed.
While I’m glad that they are going to credit my account, I don’t appreciate the way that I have been treated as a customer. I may expect this level of service at Lowe’s or Home Depot but not at a $$$$ nursery.

Went by at a slow time (1pm on a Tuesday) and still felt like they were in a rush and didn’t have time to help. I was also told by on of the store managers Bill that they didn’t have what I was looking for (according to the person I talked with they «have no California native plants»???). Parking is also very difficult.
Disappointing. I guess its back to Flora Grubb or Home Depot.

Mediocre. An okay place to get gardening supplies and I’m glad they’re in the neighborhood. But I’ve never found them to be very knowledgable or helpful, and they don’t seem to like talking to me.

I was looking for an organic pumpkin today to cook a savory recipe. After hitting Whole Foods, CalMart, Arguello Market with no success (all had pesticides), I came here.
The dumb ass as the counter said he didn’t know if they were organic or not. He added that people buy them to make pies also. I let him know that didn’t mean they were pesticide free. He didn’t offer to check with a manager or distributor and when asked he said he couldn’t.
Shit place…

I’m not sure about all these mediocre reviews but I’ve only had positive expierences here. In my expierence, the people that work here are very helpful. I’m not always the greatest with plants. I’m taking baby steps and trying to work up from succulents and cacti to more difficult and lusher plants. The people that work there are always really good with explaining, in easy terms, the way to take care of plants. That sounds pathetic but I have killed my fair share of poor unsuspecting plants.

SHOP LIFTER’S PARADISE — BRING A TRUCK ! It’s difficult to believe these folks are related to the store on Sloat. Had I not walked to this branch in my neighborhood, I would have backed up my car and loaded up the trunk. Damn sure no one would have stopped me for there was no one there. I ran circles around the place trying to find someone to assist me.
After standing at the cash register for awhile with an herb I decided to buy (stealing really isn’t my way) this idiot kid pops out of the huddle the staff had been in in the far back cavity of the store to ring me up and asked if I found everything okay. «HELL NO!». I still haven’t found a similar plant I bought at the other Sloat and at this point, I will never again give them my business as this was the THIRD time I went in here with NO help.

Sloat Garden Center is a dangerous place. I go in, thinking I’ll only get a couple of herbs, and walk out with a whole bunch of ideas on how I can make our backyard look like something that came out of Martha Stewart living. The rational part of my brain laughs at me, saying «good luck!»
Their prices are decent, some plants better-​priced than others. Their member-​only sales are great. I’ve been able to rely on the expertise of staff to know how often to water and what kind of sun all of my plants need to keep them healthy.
Variety at SGC is great, even though the space is smaller than other nurseries.

I went to this Sloat Garden Center because I had a question about an old indoor exotic plant that I had, that needed some TLC. None of the staff knew anything about my plant so they asked the manager to help. Well, turns out she knew nothing about this exotic plant also. She (the manager) even went as far as to tell me to toss it away and that «she’s tossed out plants that looked even better than mine.» Not exactly the help that I was looking for. Seems that all the manager cared about was selling plants and supplies, and not much else. I’ve been to the Sloat at near the beach and they are much more knowledgeable and helpful.
This is the last time I’m going to this location, EVER!!!

Grass!
Grass seeds of all kinds, mulch, fertilizer, it’s all here. And a bunch of plants. I was tempted last year to buy fuchsia, but I’m not really a gardener at heart. However, when I need grass, it’s here.
So … there’s this grass & mulch combo called «Dog Patch» that I put on a yellow spot. The mulch is 90% carbon pellets, and I’m not sure if I can see the grass seed in there, but the first rule of life is trust. One bag, which apparently covers one spot, is $ 13.01.
Then there’s just seed and fertilizer, for a wider area treatment. A bag of just seed is $ 26.02, and covers about 100 lawns the size of mine. A can of seaweed fertilizer costs $ 16.26 and covers about 10 lawns the size of mine.
I’m not storing seed and fertilizer for 10 years, so the lawn gets to see it all, right now. In about 10 days I should see the jungles of Guatemala in my backyard.