Originally Posted by october

I would have to agree with this.....5-7 years is a great window for bonsai. Long enough to create a nice tree..but not so far in the future that it seems almost unattainable.

Also, I would like to add that there is nothing wrong with holding onto and nurturing this tree. I would just look to purchasing or finding several others. If you have other trees to occupy your time, bonsai will seem more rewarding and more fun.

Also, the secret, well not really a secret, of you seeing trees with biographies such as...IN TRAINING FOR 20 YEARS or STARTED FROM SEED 40 YEARS AGO is that the artists have like 80 to 400 trees.........When you have a collection in the hundreds, it is easy to put one aside, keep it healthy and nurture it until it is ready for styling.

Another important fact that I would like to add is that this tree, will not teach you much in the next 4-5 years...You will learn, maybe, how it buds and what its water needs are, but as far as actual bonsai learning, it will be devoid of content. You should start with pre trained or a tree that is almost finished, study the tree, study what the artist did to create it , concentrate on keeping it alive....With a start like this, your eye will be getting the future experience it needs to create your own future masterpiece.