Aki Nursery

If you shop here, check closely for bugs.

Family run business with knowledge and quality. Prices are good and service is always excellent.

This is a great place to shop for plants. Emily and family (and staff) are friendly and very knowledgeable.
I was looking for a certain kind of lavender (Lavandula x Intermedia du Provence). I went to various Home Depot and Lowe’s stores in Irvine and Tustin. None of the employees knew what I was talking about. I checked with Armstrong Garden Centers in Irvine. They had no idea too what I was talking about until they looked it up in the computer. I checked with Green Thumb Nursery in El Toro. The sales person brought me to the Lavender area and said this is everything we have. I called Plant Depot, they knew what I was talking about, but did not have it. Then one day as I was driving on Alton avenue, I saw a sign «Aki Nursery». I drove into the parking lot and was thinking «what are the chances they will even have it». Right when I was greeted at the front, I asked do you have «Lavandula x Intermedia du Provence?». I was told immediately, «yes we do», and was brought over to where they had it.
I’ve been going to this place ever since. They know their plants, they have a wide selection, and they are very friendly.

Dead plants at high retail prices. This place is a solid joke and I wonder how they stay in business. If you want a real classy nursery that truly provides exceptional plants, flowers and trees head on down to San Juan Capistrano and get your money’s worth.

Came to create a succulent bowl for our office and Emily and her father took time to help select the succulents, plant and beautify it all in one sitting. Love giving business to our wonderful mom and pop businesses. Doing a great job with a variety of selection while creating a wonderful customer experience. I will absolutely return again. Thank you~

Low key nursery with really good selection of succulents in all sizes of maturity. Prices are good, we happened upon a 20% off sale that was a pleasant surprise. Staff and owners were attentive and gave us space to just wander around and look at everything.
It is NOT cash only as someone stated in another review. They take credit cards.

Very nice and healthy looking selection of succulents! I would have bought a lot but I was unaware that they are cash only. If I can find an ATM nearby I’ll definitely be back soon

These plants are in very good shape considering the summer we have had the place is organized clean and friendly.

Great selection. Staff is super helpful and friendly. The prices are good too. The family is super nice and humble. They give you an awesome calendar with some purchases too. We’ve shopped here twice now.

Visited for the first time after moving to Irvine a week ago. A really large selection. It’s a family-​owned business, and I’m a fan of that. Frankly, I’m tired of the aloof, disinterested, and sometimes surly Lowes and Home Depot employees, and same stuff at every single big chain store.
I was pleased to get some Milkweed, as that is very hard to find. The daughter of the owner was helpful and friendly, and wrapped my plants up so they didn’t get my car dirty. They have a sweet dog there too.
My only tip would be, you might want to bring a towel to wipe the bottom of your shoes before you get back in your car, as there is no paved parking and lots of water and mud around due to watering the plants.

I have been a loyal customer to this nursery since I discovered it 5 months ago. This a very-​well kept family business. The owners and their daughter are very knowledgable and helpful. The nursery encompasses a larger area than a regular Armstrong. They carry more varieties than big chains too. They have a fairly large selection of water-​wise plants and beautiful potteries. They also have a bonsai section and a big landscape plant section. But be aware if you are coming here to buy orchids this is not the place. Aki does not carry orchids.
The price is fairly low, almost always 20% or lower than big chain nurseries. They often offer additional discounts at the check out. I have purchased a black Mondo grass, an osmanthus tree and an E. Nodulosa from them so far. All plants are healthy and still flourishing today. I first encountered black Mondo grass at Roger’s Garden but gawked at their price. I have not seen this plant in any other nurseries until I stumbled upon them at Aki. For the same pot size of black Mondo grass, Aki’s price was only 40% of that of Roger’s.
Don’t forget to ask for the care tips at the check out! As long as you ask, the owners and their daughter will explain to you in details.

Rude.
Walked in looking for a bonsai gift. The man sitting in the booth who I’m assuming is Mr. Aki yelled at me and asked, «What do you want?!»
Uhm…a plant?
I told him I was looking for bonsai trees. He got up and pointed over at a heavy gate. Okay. Am I supposed to move it myself and risk getting yelled at again?
I walked toward it and started looking for a way around. Maybe there was an opening on the side. I hear behind me, «Hey! No! I said right there!»
F…
Okay.
I walked around. Didn’t see anything I liked. A lot of the trees were poorly maintained and very dry and brown with a price tag of $ 20. No thank you.
I left and said «Thank you» and he just stared at me, angry that I made him get up.
Damn. I came in thinking I was going to have fun based on the other reviews. I guess not. I get better service with better selection and quality at Home Depot and Lowes.

I practically buy all of my plants at this nursery now. The selection is always great and the prices are lower than the big chains. As a family run business, they are very eager to help and approachable. The owner has researched plants for me including getting pictures of trees or plants from the grower, so that I knew what to expect before ordering them. Highly recommended.

I called for a bonsai tree and they were nice enough to OFFER to send me pictures of their selections. I quickly came in and picked one up and on the way out, the owner came to my car to give me a small discount. They went above and beyond to provide excellent service!

Place is a very nice nursery very beautiful and large the one reason I am giving three stars is the daughter of the owners is kind of rude not very friendly and doesn’t have very much knowledge of plants or to find bonsai seeds I asked and she told me to go to Home Depot first Home Depot doesn’t even carry bonsai seeds and they told me to go to a Japanese nursery I hope I get my point across other then that it is a good place

This year we bought 10 silver sheens. To this day, only 2 survived. Aki told us there would be a limited guarantee on the ones they planted and none on the ones we planted. We were not informed that those trees should not have been planted in the summer. Aki sent their worker over to check on a couple of dying trees only to be told they were overwatered. We were told otherwise by other sources. Aki has done declined to do anything further regarding the loss of those trees (about $ 2000 worth). In as much as we would like to frequent the family owned business, we will certainly never again due to lack of guarantee and the gamble of loosing more and lack of knowledgeable support.

not very helpful.
I called today and got a very unfriendly female who referred me to Home Depot.

Abundant, varied selection at fantastic prices!
This is probably the best nursery I’ve been to. They have just about everything you can think of, the plants all seem lush and healthy, the Japanese owners are full of helpful information and — best of all — the prices are excellent.
They have a few planters but don’t carry any gardening tools or plant products. Here, it’s all about the plants. And, as I mentioned, the folks here know the world of flora very well. No matter what plant I pointed at and asked a question about, they had an answer. You’d definitely want them on your team if you played the horticulture edition of Trivial Pursuit.
The nursery entrance is easy to miss (on Alton just south of Sand Canyon) so be alert for their open gate. I don’t think I’ll ever go to any other nursery now that I’ve found this one.

I rolled in here the other day looking for a japanese maple tree and saw only two in the whole place. One tiny one on one side of the lot, and a giant tree on the opposite side of the lot. I’m not sure how this place is organized exactly.
It definitely feels more like a nursery for contractors to come by and pick up palms since that was 90% of their inventory.
The gf said it felt like «the dog pound for trees» which is cool if you wanna rescue a beat up pooch… not cool if you wanna take home your perfect fuzzy buddy.
I ended up getting my maple from one of the other nurseries in HB.

I have a soft spot for independent, family-​owned businesses. This nursery is awesome. The people that run the place are extremely kind and helpful. I actually just went in to buy some sod for my dogs. But the workers there made sure to bag up my purchase in big garbage bags so that dirt didn’t get everywhere, and they loaded it into my car — all without being asked. Great service. If I ever need house plants or anything else for my yard/​garden, I will definitely be coming back here. Their selection, from what I could tell, is quite extensive.
Also a tip: I had a hard time finding the place because you can’t really see it from the road, but it’s just east of the Kaiser hospital on Alton. After passing Kaiser, keep an eye out for a gate and a banner on your right hand side (south side of the street). You’ll drive down a gravel road to get to the nursery.