Bonsai trees stolen from Lake Merritt garden in Oakland

OAKLAND — Eight bonsai trees, including one 100 years old and another stolen but recovered once before, remained missing Tuesday after they were taken last week during a burglary of the Bonsai Garden at Lake Merritt, according to staff and police.

Bonsai is the japanese art of growing and shaping miniature trees; the plants are iconic symbols of peace, harmony and strength and the practice has existed for centuries.

Suzanne Muller, assistant director of the facility, said the trees “cannot be replaced so you can’t put a dollar amount on them.”

The theft of what were described as “live pieces of art” has left both visitors and employees “devastated,” Muller said.

What happened she said, is “abhorrent. It’s criminal. They’re stealing from the Oakland community. The garden is a jewel in the Oakland community.”

“These trees we refer to as generational trees. You can’t grow a tree in one generation. A lot of people have touched these trees in making them as beautiful as they are. They are not just a tree in a pot left to grow. They are styled and they are very well-loved.”

The garden, which will celebrate its 25th anniversary later this year and attracts hundreds of visitors a week, “is very well known throughout the world,” Muller said. “It’s mentioned in travel guides as a place you would want to come to visit.”

The theft was discovered early Thursday morning at the garden, which is in the 600 block of Bellevue Avenue and is the home to about 100 trees. It is the fourth time in several years trees have been stolen from the garden.

The majority of the trees in the garden have been donated. Often, they are left to the garden by relatives of a previous owner after that person’s death; the garden is often a better home for the plants than a windowsill or corner of a house, where they may not get the same level of care.

Whoever stole the trees cut through a fence that surrounds the garden and carried the trees out by hand. Police said video surveillance captured the image of one masked man but did not show a vehicle that may have been used to take the trees away.

Muller said all of the trees stood between 18 and 20 inches and weighed between 20 and 60 pounds. They were all in pots and were on benches.

One of those stolen is a Hinoki Cypress that is at least 100 years old. Another is a Flowering Apricot that was stolen in the last several years but later recovered after garden volunteers located it on EBay.

Muller said the thieves may try to sell the trees or keep them for themselves or someone they know. But she said the trees being stolen already bodes poorly for the level of care they might receive in the hands of someone who isn’t familiar with how to care for them.

“Every tree is unique,” Muller said, “and the problem with something that is a live piece of art is unless you know how to take care of it, it could die.”

Muller said the center’s sole funding source is donations and all who work there are volunteers. They hope to set up a online fundraiser soon and will use any money gained “for a more robust security system,” she said.

Muller is asking the thief “to please return our trees either to a local police department or fire department. No questions asked. We just want them back.”

Anyone with information about the trees is asked to call police at 510-238-3728.