A Family-Owned Business

Mark Constantini/San Francisco Chronicle
Mike Umehara attending to his trees

It’s All in the Family at Momiji Nursery

For nearly 30 years, Mike and Sachi Umehara have combined their talents to bring thousands of choice Japanese maples to customers of their Momiji Nursery in Santa Rosa, California. An equal amount of devotion has been applied to educating the public about these highly regarded trees; countless enthusiasts of the Japanese maple have benefitted from the Umehara’s gentle coaching on the proper care of Momiji.

As a youngster, Mike worked alongside his father learning the centuries-old art of Japanese horticulture. Mike’s father, Mitsuo Umehara, was curator of the original Japanese Tea Garden in San Mateo’s Central Park. Mr. Umehara’s eye for detail carried over to his avid interest in bonsai and he was widely regarded as a master of the art, winning awards in the United States and Japan. He taught classes in the art of bonsai for many years. Randy T. Clark writes in Outstanding American Bonsai—a Photographic Essay on the Works of Fifty American Bonsai Artists (Timber Press, 1989), “Mitsuo Umehara teaches bonsai in California and believes that it is a common experience of peace and beauty that needs to be shared.”

Mike continued to expand on the horticultural teachings of his father, graduating from Cal Poly at San Luis Obispo with a degree in Ornamental Horticulture. He became a Landscape Contractor, which eventually sparked an interest in starting a nursery. Mike was captivated by the work of J.D. Vertrees, the well-known and respected author of Japanese Maples (Timber Press). In 1979, Mike and Sachi began corresponding and then visiting with Vertrees, expanding their knowledge and increasing their devotion to these trees. “He was generous enough to sell many different cultivars to us,” Sachi says, “and so began our Japanese maple inventory for our nursery.”

Sachi spent her youth in Kyoto and Tokyo, Japan, then moved with her family to the United States to settle in San Francisco. When Mike and Sachi made the decision to start a Japanese maple nursery, she notes that life on the farm in Santa Rosa took some getting used to. As she worked with Mike to bring their Japanese maple nursery to life, her great love for these trees grew, as did her appreciation for their new environment. And just as Mike’s family background in horticulture dictated his approach to his work with the trees, Sachi’s family background in the arts influenced her approach: every tree was viewed with a sharp eye for form, leaf structure, and color. Only the best survived the Sachi test.

Mike has inherited his extraordinary attention to the smallest detail from his dad, bringing it to his work with the Japanese maple. Sachi, the perfectionist with an artist’s eye, is equally attentive to the trees. Momiji Nursery visitors reap the benefits of the many years the Umeharas have devoted to mastering the cultivation and propagation of the Japanese maple, evidenced by the thousands of premium quality maples found here. The experience of finding just the right Japanese maple for your garden is significantly enhanced by the gentle guidance of Mike and Sachi, who pay as much attention to your planting situation as they do to the care of their trees.

Mitsuo Umehara’s philosophy of sharing the common experience of peace and beauty through horticulture has clearly been passed on to Mike and Sachi who express it in their work with the striking array of Japanese maple specimens found in their Momiji Nursery.

— Rita Ter Sarkissoff, The Guide to Sonoma County Nurseries