Grove Way Bonsai Nursery

Beautiful gem of a bonsai nursery nestled in a residential area in Hayward. Johnny is helpful and kind and has an amazing array of trees. I purchased a nice little shimpaku juniper while there last time.

What a gem Grove Way Bonsai Nursery is. Hard to believe this place exists in the rough edges of Hayward.
Stepping into this house turned nursery is akin to taking a step into another world. In the front yard, you will find yourself amongst some of the most beautiful trees (both bonsai and non-​bonsai).
Step into the building and you will find a large assortment of ceramic bonsai pots, tools, various gauges of wire, and other miscellaneous bonsai odds and ends.
The real deal is in the backyard though. Some of the most gorgeous bonsai I’ve ever seen are back there. Row after row, and table after table of just bonsai. Junipers, pines, maples, azaleas, and more. Prices on pieces vary from specimen to specimen, depends upon age, and other things. There are small junipers saplings for $ 7, to mighty elms for thousands of dollars. One tree is even $ 60,000. Something for everyone I suppose!
The owner is a man names Johnny Uchida, and he is a plethora of knowledge. He has literally been doing bonsai longer than I’ve been alive. His nursery itself has been around since 1972. Craziness!
I ended up leaving with a beautiful 15 year old Shimpaku Juniper. Johnny was very friendly and did not try to oversell me on anything, or pressure me to purchase anything. He made extra sure I knew what I needed to do to be successful at bonsai. Honest, friendly, and a very personable man. Real stand up guy. So then, GWBN has everything you need to get going –a great selection of specimens, all the tools you might need, and expert advice.
For all thing bonsai, I would recommend Grove Way Nursery a thousand times over.

Came across this Bonsai heaven while visiting a friend & let me tell you Bonsai Master Johnny Uchida just made me wanna move to Norcal from Socal. Mr. Uchida is a very funny & knowledgeable guy! Visit him & see for yourself. Ask him about his $ 60k+ 100+ yr. old baby by the entrance. #grovewaybonsainursery

I had the sudden urge to own a bonsai tree so I visited this place in hopes of finding the perfect one. The trees were all so beautiful and it took me a while to finally decide on one. The owner is super nice and jovial. The cutest and friendliest man ever! He even showed me and my boyfriend how to properly water our new bonsai. The moment we stepped foot into the nursery, we had a good feeling. Loved it here. Bonsai #1!

Amazing selection of bonsai trees and Johnny Uchida is the man!

Great place to find rare Redwood bonsais.
Not cheap but hard to find unusual trees.
The owner is very knowledgable guy.
Don’t try to argue with him about growing bonsai trees indoor.
I just move here from East coast where I did successfully grow my bonsais indoor?!
Yes it’s better to grow them outdoor,
but there is no private outdoor space in my appartent here.
I p/​u Redwood bonsai tree (estimated age 50 YRS) and I’m very happy (indoor) with it!!!
The other two places in SF are much cheaper but no Redwoods and very small selections of bonsais.
Don’t even bother with the Vietniese place in SJ.
It’s cash only and very small selection.
I like this place… and I’ll be back.
It’s worth it even just to look around!

I was drawn into the mysterious, and seemingly timeless fixture of Grove Way in northern Hayward, the Grove Way Bonsai Nursery, by a festive sign advertising an x-​mas sale.
I knocked on the weathered, wooden door, painted a peeling and faded shade of pink (orange? salmon?). Mr. Uchida answered, apparently surprised by my rather meek knock.
I too, like a previous reviewer, sensed an avuncular disposition from Mr. Uchida. He let me look around and answered my questions thoroughly. The sale is 25−30% off beginning tomorrow 12÷9÷11.
Apparently, he teaches an intermediate class at the Castro Valley adult school. He also advised me to purchase the proper tools and information (book, bonsai class) along with the bonsai, which all told is a bit expensive for me at this moment.
Walking around the outside of this historic barn like house (I was told built sometime in the 1920s) is like looking at a living gallery. I loved the bosai Redwoods, Japanese Maples, Oaks, Elm, and so forth. There are some very impressive bonsai going from lowest — baby Japanese Maples for $ 35 – 50 and up to very large and very old specimens for $ 5000 — truly works of art.
I liked this place as much as the bonsai garden at Lake Merritt.

Went here to see and learn about Bonsai and explore the idea of getting some for my house. Walked around for a while and took a look. There were a couple of folks who were walking around, not sure if they worked here or were customers. Nobody asked if we needed help and decided to just leave after a while.
This is a pretty small place and they had very few bonsai trees to look at. Maybe being generous with the 3 star but I like small businesses even on their off days when they don’t help customers!

This is a secret and amazing nursery — amazing trees in the back — hidden jewels. Johnny Uchida, the owner, is a very nice, quiet bonsai master who has spent the greater part of his life on these trees. He is a wealth of knowledge, — one simply needs to ask, and his knowledge pours. I cannot stress the importance of this — as most nurseries I have visited cannot provide the information this one man can provide — I don’t believe his trees are over priced — as a matter of fact, I had been shopping for a Wisteria Bonsai for a few weeks, and the one I bought from him was significantly lower than anywhere else. On top of that, it was HIS tree, not a tree the nursery purchased to sell, as was the case around the bay. I am a novice at bonsai, but Johnny was willing to give me all the information I needed — as well as the 2 other folks at the store the day I went in. An amazing place for sure.

This is a unique experience. The owner is not solicitous, but gives you your space and lets you mull around. It’s like visiting an uncle’s house. When you ask questions, Mr. Uchida is full of helpful, honest information. The «backyard» is where all the magical things are. Because I am on a limited budget, I only purchased a few small items, mainly starter trees including a teeny tiny maple tree which the fiancé called a twig because honestly that is what it looked like, only smaller and a little less impressive. However, after transfering it to a teeny tiny pot (purchased from Grove Way), a few weeks of winter rain and occasional watering on my behalf, it has sprouted beautiful teeny tiny leaves. So encouraging!!!
The prices aren’t cheap, but again, starter plants can be had. And, based on my track record, these are quality plants because I am a known plant killer.
BTW, later found out that Mr. Uchida is a well-​known, well-​respected bonsai master and has gotten accolades both here and internationally. Even other nurseries recommend visiting him.

I’ve been to Grove Way Bonsai several times and was impressed with the master quality of the Bonsai. I took a private Bonsai lesson from the owner, Bonsai Master Johnny Uchida. Johnny is well known and respected int he Bonsai community and he knows his business. He is also a very nice man. His Bonsai can be expensive, but then most have taken him years to cultivate and shape. You’re probably paying a few cents and hour for his time.

This place is way more that a nursery, it’s more like an exotic garden where you can buy your favorite plant (if you have the $$). It’s expensive (imagine shelling out over 1000 $ for a funky looking pine tree) but these plants are truly works of art. However there ARE affordable pieces if you look around the back. I got a very nice little azalea for 59 $ (I think they were having a x-​mas sale). They also have a sizeable selection of ceramic pots and decorative rocks.
The owner, Johnny Uchida, was very nice. He gave me driving directions over the phone, and helped me find something in my price range. Very cool place, I’d want to come back just to check out the trees.

I have been coming to Grove Way for years. I started out my bonsai career self-​taught from books and online resources. Several years ago I saw the place in the yellow pages and drove by it on the way to school but seeing mostly landscape material i passed it by. Then one day i decided to go inside and was told that the bonsais were in back. When I made my way back to check it out I was blown away by what was back there.
Over the years I have visited the nursery for inspiration and materials, if you are unsure of what you are looking for or what you can afford you will need to ask because you will be overwhelmed by the selection otherwise. A lot of trees come with price tags, but a lot of them don’t and it’s easy to come across something in a small pot thinking you’ve found a starter plant when in reality it is quite valuable. If you have the time to spend lots of time looking around and really get to know the place you will find some bargains, but don’t expect to find a mass produced product with a spindly tree and lots of ornaments to buy as a cheap, last minute gift.
Don’t let any of this scare you away from visiting though, the atmosphere is not overly formal and about as far away from high pressure sales, fancy art galleries, or up-​selling as you can get. «Just looking» is always an option.
Mr. Uchida, the owner, is a one man show-​so to speak. So if you come with a serious purchase in mind make sure you leave some time because he may be helping others, running around answering phones, etc. It may take a while but he is always willing to help once he gets to you. It’s not really advertised that much, but he is also an experienced Japanese landscaper so if you are looking for that he has some landscaping material and is still active in that business.
Mr. Uchida is one of the main reasons I have joined up with a local bonsai club and started taking regular classes and since then I have been able to take advantage of the material at his nursery by making some relatively modest (well modest as far as these things go) investments. If you’re looking for the real deal when it comes to anything to do with bonsai, this is the place you want to be and he is one of the very very few that still offer that experience anywhere around northern CA.

There were some beautiful bonsai trees in this nursery. Unfortunately the employees/​owner were not very motivated or friendly. Questions were answered abruptly and disconcertedly, so I ended up leaving without a tree. I’m not willing to spend $ 400 at a place where I don’t feel welcome.
Additionally, the owner told me bonsai trees never survive indoors. No matter what. Mind blowingly incorrect.

Bernadette is right. there’s a magnificent forest of bonsai trees in the rear of the nursery. this is a place for the advanced novice to professional bonsai artist. however if you have about $ 500.00 to spend on a nice piece for your garden, this is your place. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting Mr (sensei) Uchida who’s been involved in bonsai longer that i’ve been alive. he’s very humble and extremely polite.
if you can imagine or have ever seen «perfect» looking bonsai in books, you’ll see them there. my favorite was a Japanese black pine tree he started out from a seedling in the late 1960’s. he carried the seedling in a 3inch pot and boarded the plane from japan to california. (no way customs would let you do that today) today, the trunk is more that four inches thick and stands just over 2.5 ft tall. it looks «perfect» i wished i had $ 5000.00 to purchase it. *he’s not really selling that one.
this place is worth the trip if you really like Bonsai or would care to see this truly wonderful collection. the choices for supplies are endless if you want quality japanese tools and other supplies.

A great collection of bonsais here. Don’t walk off by the inventory in the front of the shop, the good stuff is in the back… and a lot of it! My bf is interested in starting his own bonsai and has been doing a lot of research. The shopkeeper was friendly and has «more than just pots», he said. It’s amazing how much some of these little tress are. $ 475 for one, for instance and at a local exhibit at the Centennial Hall, we saw ones for over $ 1,000. Wow. We’re in the wrong business. I don’t mean to belittle the trees, they definitely are pieces of artwork. We’ll be back to pick up some materials for my bf’s first bonsai tree.