Tree-lover’s paradise

When Jerry Mendon moved from Southern California to Paradise in 1968, after 20 years of owning a nursery, he wasn’t planning to stay in the business. Funny how things work out. Mendon’s Nursery has been going—and growing—strong since 1974, drawing customers from across the Northstate. Among the most distinct offerings are 100-year-old Japanese maple trees priced at $10,000 and two huge Sagu Palm trees costing $55,000 apiece. Mendon, 76, still comes to work six days a week; Saturday, he showed off one of the cherished Cycus revolutas (pictured) and talked about this unusual business nestled in among the homes in the area.

Is it just the nature of Paradise that you have this nursery in the middle of a residential neighborhood?

Well, it wasn’t meant to be. When we bought this place, it was four-and-a-half acres with a little rundown house. I didn’t know what I’d do with four-and-a-half acres, but I wanted some room, because I’d moved from the city where you have a 57-by-140-foot lot. … We had a lot of fruit trees on the property, and people would say, “Why don’t you open a nursery?” It just happened. I guess you never get it out of your system.

What are some of the more special items you have here?

Probably our selection of dwarf conifers, which is probably second to none in this area. We have a couple of quality growers in Oregon who specialize in that, and some are selective on who they sell to. Pines, spruce, firs. Then we’ve got two unique Weeping Atlas Cedars by our sign at the street that everybody goes gaga over and wants. We carry a lot of them in all different sizes.

I’ve heard about $10,000 trees …

We’ve got a couple worth more than that—a couple of Sagu Palms, a slow-growing cycad. We’ve always carried a number of them, but a salesman who calls on us put us onto two that were in Red Bluff, in the old Victorian section of town. I took one look at them and said, “I’ve got to have those!” We know they’re well over 100 years old. I’ve been dealing in palm trees since the 1950s, and I’ve never seen anything near the size of these.

Has anybody made offers on them?

We’ve gotten a couple people who have nosed around. One is a guy in Chico who can afford them; the other is a winery in Napa. If we sell them, fine; if we don’t, fine. That’s the problem with the nursery business: You get attached to things.