Determining the age of the oldest Bonsai tree isn’t easily done. It’s not like an Oak tree that you can look at and guess how old it is by comparing it the surrounding trees. Because of the miniaturized nature of the Bonsai tree the oldest Bonsai tree often looks like the same age as its much younger companions. One interesting fact about the Bonsai is that it enjoys an unusually long life. Bonsai trees tend to outlive their full size counterparts by several years.

The History Of The Oldest Bonsai Tree

Because the culture of growing and gardening with Bonsai trees is so old people suspect that there might have been Bonsai trees that lived for thousands of years. However speculation is useless when trying to guess the age of the oldest Bonsai tree, and according to the record books the oldest Bonsai tree is a Hinoki Cypress Bonsai tree.

The oldest Bonsai tree is over two hundred years old. Historians know that oldest Bonsai tree can be traced all the way back to the mid 1730’s. This means that the oldest Bonsai tree has been around since the first president of the United States, George Washington, was five years old.  The oldest Bonsai tree was purchased by the ambassador to Japan right before the start of World War 1. At the time of its purchase the small tree was one of forty trees that the ambassador purchased. After his death the entire collection of Bonsai trees were donated to the Arboretum. Sadly the group of Bonsai trees wasn’t
Properly cared for and about half of them were dead by 1969 when a Bonsai tree expert was assigned to the task of taking care of the ancient trees.

It is amazing to think about all the things the oldest Bonsai tree has survived.

The Hinoki Cypress

Historians believe that the oldest Bonsai tree is a Hinoki Cypress. A Hinoki Cypress Bonsai tree is usually shaped like a cone. The Hinoki Cypress has dark green foliage that are shaped like flat fern leafs. The dark foliage is beautifully accented by the Hinoki Cypress’s red bark. The Hinoki Cypress is a slow growing tree and it would be unusual to find one that is taller then 6 feet and they normally have a circumference of 4 feet. If you are raising a Hinoki Cypress Bonsai tree make sure your tree is planted in moist soil that is well drained. The Hinoki Cypress does best when it gets full sunlight.

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