After Leo and Caroline Yruegas had a pool put in at their home, Leo decided he wanted to plant a palm tree by the pool. However, he said he had a hard time finding local places that sold palm trees. With the seed for an idea planted, he bought a greenhouse and started growing palm trees to sell to others.“We’d sell out every month,” Leo said.

In 2006, the couple officially launched North Texas Palms & Pottery. They rented a permanent spot on the McKinney Trade Days property.

Leo said for 15 years they were happy at this location and business was good. Last year, the McKinney Trade Days property was sold, and they were forced to move. In July, the couple bought an 8-acre lot on FM 1461 that was previously a horse farm. The new digs provided possibilities, Leo said.

“I was so excited because there were so many things I wanted to do that we could do on this property, like have greenhouses and grow our own annuals and perennials,” Leo said.

He and his wife repurposed the barn into a greenhouse and have plans to build more greenhouses within the year.

They carry five types of palm trees, all of which Leo said thrive in Texas. The palms range from 1 foot to 16 feet tall and are priced from $45-$1,500. The business also carries Live Oaks, Red Oaks and other traditional landscape items.

Jackie Lyles is the general manager and the Yruegas’ daughter-in-law. As it pertains to plants, she said Leo is an “encyclopedia of knowledge.”

“One cool thing that Leo likes to do is he’ll actually put eyes and hands on plant material. He’ll travel to different nurseries and look,” Lyles said. “He even plants it at his own house to see if it works.”

North Texas Palms & Pottery

3565 FM 1461, McKinney

972-779-0065

www.northtexaspalms.com

Hours: Mon.-Sat. 8 a.m.-5 p.m., Sun. 10 a.m.-5 p.m.