Introducing Sonoran Starts

Welcome to Sonoran Starts 🌵

Hi all,

My name is Ammar, and this is Sonoran Starts Nursery.

I was born and raised here in Phoenix, and over the last year or so, my casual appreciation for our unique Southwest ecology has blossomed into a full-on obsession—and a backyard micronursery operation at my family home.

Why Sonoran Starts?

A few weeks ago, I had the realization: I don’t know what to do with all my seedlings come fall. After some thought, I figured the best way to spread these plants is to literally spread them—through the community. That’s you.

I’m currently nurturing a mix of roughly a dozen tree and shrub seedlings, around 3–4 months old, from the following genera:

  • Parkinsonia (palo verde variants)
  • Neltuma / Prosopis (velvet mesquite)
  • Olneya (ironwood)
  • Chilopsis (desert willow)
  • Justicia (chuparosa)
  • Calliandra (fairy duster)
  • Strombocarpa (screwbean mesquite)
  • Tecoma (yellow bells)
  • Caesalpinia (bird of paradise)

More are in germination and infancy, and the list keeps growing.

The Vision

My goal is to build Sonoran Starts into the go-to destination for high-quality, native and desert-adapted young plants here in Phoenix.

As more folks become curious about native gardening and ecological restoration, I want to be a resource for them—with plants raised tough, outside, and chemical-free.

Want Plants?

I’ll be giving away some of the current seedlings this fall—once the weather cools enough for safe planting—and planting the rest throughout my neighborhood.

I plan to be fully up and running for sales in Spring 2026.

If you’re interested in plants for your own yard, know someone who might be, or even just know a good spot in the East Valley where I could stick a few plants, feel free to reach out:

What Makes These Plants Different?

These plants will:

  • Never be pruned, staked, or coddled
  • Grow outdoors in Phoenix conditions year-round
  • Be selected from local seed sources, mostly personally collected
  • Be grown in deep pots to support long taproots

Stay in Touch

Consider subscribing to the email notification list so you know when fall giveaways and spring sales go live.

Thanks for stopping by.
Stay cool—my tall pots finally arrived in the mail, so I’m off to sow more seeds!

- Ammar
AKA Sonoran Starts