About Us

Tropical Forest is a closely held corporation operated by Juan E. Guerra and Luciano Guerra Jr. As detailed in our "In The Beginning" page, the Guerra family has been in the tropical plant and palm seed business since the early 1950s when Luciano "Chano" Guerra Sr. imported the first pound of Chamaedorea elegans palm seed ever into the United States.

Our offices are located in Mission, Texas, U.S.A., and we sell our products across the U.S. as well as in numerous foreign countries, including Mexico, Guatemala, the Netherlands, Spain, Australia, New Zealand, China, and Hong Kong, directly, as well as many others through our agents. With over 75 items on our product list, we supply a wide variety of seeds, bulbs, canes, and cuttings to the nursery industry. As the world's largest importer/exporter of Chamaedorea elegans 'Collinia' (Neanthe Bella) palm seed, we are known as "The Source" for Chamaedorea elegans palm seed and have been for over 55 years.

At Tropical Forest, we are an “original source” seed company. By “original source,” we mean that we produce our own seeds on our farm in central Mexico. With the ability to water, fertilize, spray, prune, and pollinate our stock plants, and with the ability to collect and process our seeds in-house and test our products in our own laboratory, we have the kind of control over the quality, purity, and consistency of our seeds that others who collect their seeds from the wild or sell someone else's seeds can never have.

Furthermore, as an “original source” seed company, we are often able to supply seeds to our customers when seeds are not available out of the wild. Whether scarcity results from climatic conditions, governmental policies, or pest infestations, we will be in a much better position to collect our seeds and supply our customers with superior farm-grown seeds.

Our seed testing laboratory in Texas allows us to perform germination and/or viability (tetrazolium) tests on all of our seeds promptly after they are received from our farms, during their time in storage, as well as with every shipment made. This allows us to know exactly how viable our seeds are at all times. This information is provided to our customers upon request, enabling our customers to more accurately determine their sowings.

Claims of quality and service are easily made yet very difficult to quantify. However, 75 years of continuous service to the world’s premiere growers is a claim that very few can honestly make. Nothing better illustrates our commitment to quality and service than the loyalty and success of our customers for all these years.

We welcome any questions, comments, or suggestions you may have, or if you would like to inquire about us from one of our customers in your area, please contact us, and we will reply promptly.