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“Bonsai here today. Gone tomorrow,” reads a sign in bold red paint along the exit of Highway 280 in Portola Valley. Danny Marrone runs a roadside bonsai business out of his truck and can be spotted on the side of highways throughout the Bay Area.
“It’s a creation that you see grow, bloom, live and survive. It’s an art,” said Marrone. “People come to buy a tree to cheer themselves up, some come with a love for trees already.”
Every spring and summer, he loads his truck with over 2,000 bonsai trees and travels from Santa Clarita in Southern California up to the Peninsula to sell his creations. He said the bonsai trees thrive in the Bay Area climate.
‘It’s a creation that you see grow, bloom, live and survive. It’s an art.’
Danny Marrone
Spotting Marrone’s truck is a treasure as his location is never set in stone. He sets up his truck a few days out of the week and has been spotted in Portola Valley, Half Moon Bay, Redwood City, Los Gatos and San Jose. Danny said he gets the most customers when he’s stationed off of Alpine Road and Highway 280 in Portola Valley. He typically opens his shop Wednesday through Sunday from noon to 8 p.m.
The 15-year-old business was started by his late brother Steve Marrone, who died eight years ago from lung cancer. Danny has been keeping up the business in memory of his brother, who taught him the art of creating bonsai. He’s been selling trees for 10 years.
Danny Marrone (left) sells a bonsai tree to Rachelle Bautista at San Jose’s Shady Oaks Park on the corner of Coyote Road and Blossom Hill Road on June 9, 2024. Bautista drove from her residence in Vacaville, on her way to see a friend that lives nearby, when she saw Monroe’s big sign and truck full of bonsai. Photo by Karina Patel. 
A picture of Steve Marrone hangs in the back of Danny Marrone’s bonsai truck at San Jose’s Shady Oaks Park on the corner of Coyote Road and Blossom Hill Road on June 9, 2024. Marrone sells bonsai trees on the sides of highways around the Bay Area, a business his late brother, Steve, started over a decade ago. Photo by Karina Patel. 
Danny Marrone trims bonsai trees he sells out of his truck at San Jose’s Shady Oaks Park on the corner of Coyote Road and Blossom Hill Road on June 9, 2024. Photo by Karina Patel. 
Danny Marrone sells bonsai trees out of his truck at San Jose’s Shady Oaks Park on the corner of Coyote Road and Blossom Hill Road on June 9, 2024. Along with intricate pots, Marrone sells adornments and decorative gravel. Photo by Karina Patel.
Danny explained that the most difficult part of creating a bonsai tree is “propagating the plant and getting them to survive.” He also warns that the trees don’t survive in environments with manmade heaters — something many bonsai owners are unaware of.
Every one of Danny’s customers is given a walkthrough on proper care and maintenance of the trees. A detailed sign is displayed with instructions on watering, pruning, temperature and transplanting.
“You have to love them, nurture them and give them a lot of TLC,” said Danny.
The truck is stocked with various types of trees including Junipers, Fukien tea trees, Chinese elms, Hawaiian Umbrella and boxwood. The bonsai trees range from $15-$150 depending on their size.
Danny said it took lots of traveling and trial and error to find the locations that he now regularly sets up shop. The locations were chosen based on how easily people can drive up, park and walk up to them.
After a decade of running the business, Danny has met a lot of people and has developed lots of strong friendships. He said he frequently gets repeat customers and some who bring their bonsai to him for advice on how to care for it.
Danny has traveled as far north as Napa to sell his bonsai trees. He stays in hotels as he travels for months at a time.
“I love my craft and these trees once you start doing them you start to realize that they have so much life in them. They’re good company sometimes!” Danny said.
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