I was reading this awesome book on the art of bonsai with killer-good photography, and I began wondering, "What is the the world's oldest living bonsai tree or plant?"
I got so many different answers.
The first I found was this:
Because of this type of incredible care, the oldest bonsai is a small, Hinoki Cypress that was under cultivation when George Washington was five years old in 1737. This particular tree was purchased in 1913 by Larz Anderson when he served as ambassador to Japan. In 1937 when he passed away, his widow donated the oldest bonsai tree known to man along with his entire collection to the Arboretum. Unfortunately, his massive collection was not cared for properly and by 1962, all but 27 of the bonsai died. On the good side, the Arboretum designed a redwood lath house for displaying the bonsai collection, keeping them in suspended animation during the winter months.
Then in 1969, a woman by the name of Constance Derderian was brought on to care for the collect. Having studies bonsai in both New York and Japan, she was an expert. However, when she retired in 1984, a man by the name of Del Tredici came aboard. Del knew that the oldest bonsai tree along with the other bonsai needed special care. However, he also knew they were tougher than most people thought. He reflected over the life of the oldest bonsai tree, stating, “These trees have been through hell and back over the course of their long lives. They’ve been through wars, revolutions, and long periods of neglect, and they’re still kicking. That’s something that gives me great hope and confidence.” With that, the world’s oldest bonsai tree now has the attention it so deserves and continues to thrive!
Then this was replaced in the search by the one in the photo at left above, which dates to 1626 and is feeling quite fine today, thank you very much for asking.
If you're making the qualification that it has to have been a potted bonsai the whole time, that one would still be the champion, because it has always been.
Then at the right is one that's 1500 or 2000 years old, but I don't think that one spent much time being potted. Only a few centuries or so. The rest of the time I think it was partying buck naked outdoors and watching shit happen in nature.
I had one bonsai tree before and I killed it. It lasted a little over a year.
Probably it had aspirations to be alive in 2501.
But my villainy put the kibosh on that.
I also have the touch of death for goldfish.
I do have an areca palm I've kept alive for about nine or ten years. And there was a wandering jew I bought when I was like ten that I kept alive for like twenty-five years.
It died several years after I vacated the house where it was living.
So you can't lay that one on me.
And all the trees I planted in my mom's yard are doing fabu...as well as the huge grove of bamboo in her backyard. I started that with two little specimens.
If you don't have a green thumb, try bamboo.
You won't be able to kill it.
Unless you take a flamethrower to it or something.
Or if your neighbors are pandas.
Then it might vanish. But only in those two scenarios: flamethrower or panda.
Bamboo has the insidious ineradicability of your average Blogger.
Once it's there, you're going to have a hell of a time trying to get rid of it.
Bonsai footwear is also very cool. I still didn't buy any yet. But I want to.
For autumn or winter.
I think they look stupid in spring or summer.
I sort of consider them "yeti wear."
Just like wool turtlenecks.
More yeti wear.
Bamboo is an easy way to get a sense of accomplishment.
Like playing that game where you turn over a floating plastic duck in the artificial miniature river at the carnival and you always win something.
I think that is the true origin of the phrase, "like water off a duck's ass."
No, it is.
Really, it is.
Shut up.
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