I don't know the nurseries in Orlando, but you should visit Leu Gardens.

Lukas Nursery is in Oviedo, off of Red Bug Lake Rd/Slavia Road (Has a little butterfly house too).

Or, for a smaller urban (packed in plants per square foot at higher prices) nursery with a wider selection, there's Apenberrys in College Park. Someone has to confirm if it is still open, etc. I think it's off Par Ave exit on I-4, then R onto what that main College Park street is!

Apenberry's is still open. It is on Edgewater Dr. They do have a very nice selection. My favorite is Biosphere in Winter Garden.

If you're staying near WDW, you should really, really go to Orchid World. It's off of West-192. It's in a run-down building, but it is sooo cool. It's free to get in to the atrium. The atrium has lots of orchids, of course, but they have a million other tropicals. They also have ponds throughout with HUGE Koi that "beg" for food. You may buy a cup of Koi food for a quarter, and your daughter will love to feed the fish. I think you should skip the nurseries, and spend some time at Leu Gardens instead.

Landscape Nursery (that is the name) off of Apopka-Vineland...

Check out Gaylord Palms Atrium. Just a bit south of Disney.

Tropicalfreak

I cannot think of any nursery I could honestly recommend here in Orlando. There is a small one near Leu Gardens, but I cannot recommend this one at all. There are two or three on Goldenrod, but they are not vorth visiting either. Lucas is way too expensive and they are not customer friendly.
There are some nice nurseries towards Mt. Dora, Eustis area, Seminole Springs Rose and Herb Farm comes to mind. I like that place, got some nice gingers there, too. Same with the above mentioned Biosphere Nursery.
I actually get my plants at the local Lowes, the Gardenweb swaps and Ebay.

There is also Boc Tower Garden, really nice.

Evelyn

Thanks for the input. I have a place in Kissimmee where I'll be staying. I have actually been to Orchid World last year in March when I was there, and wasn't at all impressed. We have a much better orchid display up here at Longwood Gardens. But maybe it's different this time of year. My wife will probably want to go anyway-she wasn't with me last year. Leu Gardens sounds interesting. I will go to a few of the nurseries just to see what is available in FL as opposed to PA. I was surprised when I went to CA a few years ago because they had pretty much the same stuff we had in NY, save for the orange and grapefruit trees.

Joel

I actually do like Lukas' Nursery in Oviedo (just off 417 and Aloma), even though sometimes they can be expensive, they also have a great variety of plants, and I never get tired of looking. I haven't had bad customer service experiences there... and the butterfly garden is pretty cool, too...

There is a really neat place in Winter Garden at 751 W. Plant St., Milam Landscape Nursery, Inc. You have to know its there tho, because the only sign is a "Plants for Sale" at the curb. My car refuses to pass a sign like this, that is the way I discovered them. They have some beautiful things.

If there is one place to visit I would go to Leu Gardens. It's easy to get to and it has the best and biggest variety of plants in the area. I would spend a morning or late afternoon there and enjoy. It's at it's best when the camelias are blooming, but it has a beautiful rose garden, a very nice butterfly garden and a wide variety of other flowering plants, bushes and trees. You might see a gator also.

Lukas Nursery is the biggest in the area, but near Disney Biosphere is an excellent nursery to visit, especially if you are into native plants and those that attract butterflies and hummingbirds.

If you plan to visit, shoot me an email. I always like to go to Biosphere.

Palmer's Nursery is apx 6 blocks straight down
from the entrance of Lue Gardens.
It's one of my favorites.

If you are still in Orlando Sat morning,
check out the street market in down town Winter Park.
There are several plant venders there along with veg, etc.
There's also a lot of neat stores in the surrounding blocks........cheryl

Does anyone know if any of the Orlando area nurseries are especially good for greenhouse/tropical plants? Hoyas, begonias, etc. (Well, I guess they might not be greenhouse plants in FL, but hopefully you get the idea.)

How about a good plumeria selection?

Has anyone been to Rex Begonia Nurseries in Apopka or Brad's Buds and Blooms?

I will definitely visit Leu!

Yes it is called Harmony Nurseries (Apopka), but there is no way they would allow you into see or buy anything, they are a hard-core/strict special access wholesaler.

Thanks for the info! I couldn't tell from their website. Any ideas on who would be open to the public in Apopka?