oldest bonsai ever?

showdownmetal

does anyone know how old the oldest bonsai is? if you dont you can post how old one of yours is... i heard they can live over 100 years... so... how old?

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Craig Cowing

The most important thing to consider in reference to the age of a bonsai is the years in training. The actual age of a bonsai, if it is known, is not as important as the number of years it has been in training. For instance, the famous Yamaki Pine at the National Arboretum is roughly 380 years old and has been in training the entire time. By contrast, I have a large collected honeysuckle that is approximately 130 years old, and it has been in training as a bonsai for three years.

The appearance of age is the goal in bonsai, with some exceptions.

I believe there are some junipers in the Imperial Palace collection in Japan that are pushing 600 years old but someone else might be able to clarify that.

Craig Cowing

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3069James

i've read that they can live indefanitly i lost the website i found it on but what they said trees are programmed to reach a predetermind hieght when they do the growth slows to where it can't sustain itsself and then dies since bonsai never grow to the mature hieght through pruning they will never reach full maturity hence they theoreticly can live forever as long as somebody is there to prune them

HB Smith

Here is an interesting related link.

http://www.findarticles.com/p/artic...324488#continue

I want to think though that it is more complicated than this. Time will tell, but probably not in our lifetimes.

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Howard

www.BonsaiSmiths.net

rockm

" lost the website i found it on but what they said trees are programmed to reach a predetermind hieght when they do the growth slows to where it can't sustain itsself and then dies since bonsai never grow to the mature hieght through pruning they will never reach full maturity hence they theoreticly can live forever as long as somebody is there to prune them"

That is a theory that some bonsai practioners have. It is a theory though. I believe SOME of it. Nothing can live indefinitely, that is the nature of life. Doesn't mean some things can't live a very long time.

In a perfect world, bonsai might be able to live a very very very long time, but here in the real world there are fungal and bacterial diseases, agressive humans armed with pruning tools and no knowledge of proper bonsai soil or care, and other assorted hazards. Trees also live on a different time line than humans. They age differently, not linearly, like humans do. We are in awe of the linear age of some trees, when those trees aren't really all that old. One hundred and fifty is middle aged for an oak. 500 is middle aged for a bristlecone pine in the White Mountains...

Bonsai age, as has been pointed out, is a relative thing. The almost 400 year old Yamaki pine in the U.S. National Arboretum isn't the oldest bonsai there is. There are bonsai in the Japanese Imperial collection that are older still.

By the way, there may be older bonsai in the U.S., but they haven't been bonsai for as long as old bonsai in Japan. Some collectors of old Western Junipers in the U.S. claim they have wild collected trees that are in excess of 1,000 years old. May or may not be true. I have a live oak bonsai made from a collected tree from Texas that is in excess of 150 years old. It's been a bonsai for 10-15 years or so.

All this is kind of relative, as the primary fascination of bonsai for those that have been doing it for some time, lies not in age, but in form. We are in love with the tree's ability to "speak" to the viewer, not with how old it is.

Age fascinates those unfamiliar with bonsai. That's not surprising, since the art strives for an illusion of age. If you walk throught the National Arboretum behind a group of people that have never seen bonsai, the remarks are always about how old the trees might be. If you tell them that the tree they've just estimated to be 300 years old is really about 50 or even less. They won't believe you. The bonsai is doing its job...

Craig Cowing

There is a story about John Naka who had a neighbor appear at his door asking if he was the guy who did bonsai. He showed the neighbor his trees and the woman asked how old a particular tree was. Naka said "300 years--I know that because I planted it myself."

Craig Cowing

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I'm not finished yet, neither are my trees.

hansvanmeer

Well the oldest tree i have seen turn in to a bonsai , was a more than 750 years old "TAXUS"! It was imported from Korea and styled By Dany User (Belgium)! The tree was enormous and most of it was death wood, from this the could count the year rings, and came to this enormous 750 + !!
I have some old Yamadori Hawthorns from the U.K (one off them is in my gallery + 100 year), From my Mugo Pine Yamadori from Italy, i cut off a branch that from counting the rings was more than 280 years old !! Makes you wonder how old that tree actually is? But the oldest one i have, must be my Mugo Uncinata from France, pieces off death wood branches i took off were way over 300 years old!!
Although i know high ages on a tree dos not means it is automatically good material for bonsai, or make the tree any better if it is not well designed!
But it's sure as hell makes a difference to me, when i think about removing a Branch or something like that! I don't know how to say this in words, but it humbles you ! And sometimes it is even a bid intimidating !
It is nice to work on these old wonders off nature, they naturally bring the best out off me!
Regards Hans

Craig Cowing

It is truly a pleasure to work on older material. As I mentioned above, I have a bush honeysuckle that is about 130 years old. I have a few others that are in the range of 90-110 years old. I have a red maple that is about 125 years old , and a crabapple about the same. The character of older collected trees just can't be beat. The development in the ground for a century or more is wonderful.
Craig Cowing

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I'm not finished yet, neither are my trees.

mike_p

The link is to one of my California Junipers that I believe to be at least 500 years old. It was collected around 10-12 years ago, and had been in serious bonsai training for about 4 years when this photograph was made. Height including pot is about 4 feet.

Mike

http://www.worldbonsaicontest.com/04008.htm

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but
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