How Old Is My Bonsai Tree?

When people see a bonsai tree one of the first things they ask is “How old is it?” and I have also had hundreds of people message me pictures of their new trees asking “How old do you think my bonsai tree is?”.

People just want to know the age of their bonsai trees and unfortunately unless you have grown the tree form seed, or whoever grew it from seed was able to tell you this information, you will never really know exactly how old your bonsai tree is.

There is just no way you can work out exactly how old your tree is, even trying to guess is just a waste of time. It’s too inaccurate.

However, the truth is, the age of your tree really doesn’t matter.

(Although age can affect how much money it can be worth. Older trees are generally more expensive)

Why Do People Want To Know A Bonsai Trees Age?

One of the main goals of bonsai is to have a tree that looks as old as possible. The more ancient and old looking, usually the better it looks. For the most part, a tree will only get to this point with time.

When we look at some of the best trees from Japan they can be well over 60 years old, maybe even over 100 years old. So people believe that the older a tree is, the better it is.

By asking how old a tree is, they can try and place it on a scale of how far along it must be developed and therefore how good it must be.

I guess this approach makes some sort of sense, but the reality is that just because a tree is 100 years old, doesn’t mean it is any better than a tree that is only 30 years old.

Most of the pictures of trees I get sent are young trees, I know they are not seedlings, but there is no way I can tell if they are 14 years old or 40 years old.

This may sound stupid; surely you should be able to tell the difference between trees of that age? 

(You can read more about – How Long Do Bonsai Trees Live)

Why You Can’t Estimate A Bonsai Trees Age?

One of the main reasons you cannot tell a trees age is because so many bonsai techniques are designed to make it look older than it is.

Pruning, removing branches, wiring, developing the roots, creating deadwood and carving …These are all fairly standard bonsai techniques and every one of them tries to make a tree look older than it actually is.

Pruning   

Pruning a bonsai is designed to increase ramification. I have been able to cut back some trees 2 or 3 times in a single year, each time getting a new flush of growth. In nature most trees only get one flush in spring and that it’s for the year.

So, by pruning I’ve been able to get the equivalent of 3 years worth of growth in one season. Obviously this isn’t fully accurate, but if I did this for a number of years my tree will be way more ramified and therefore look much older than a tree which is the same age and had no pruning done.

(You can read more about – How To Prune A Bonsai Tree)

Removing Branches

The same is true for removing branches from your bonsai. Older trees do not have smaller weak shoots coming from within the tree or low down near the base, so if these are all removed it can instantly make a younger bonsai tree look older and more mature.

Wiring

Wiring is one of the quickest ways to make a bonsai tree look older. Branches of young trees often grow straight up. These are pulled down with wire, which will  make them look like they are much older.  

(You can read more about – Why Do We Wire Bonsai?)

Developing The Roots

One of the biggest differences between a young tree and an old tree is how the roots flare at the base.

Young trees almost just look like a straight stick coming out of the ground, there is no flare at the base of the trunk. Bonsai trees that are repotted and have their roots worked often will start to develop this root flare a lot faster than those that are not worked and therefore look much older.  

(You can read more about – Developing A Nebari (Spreading Roots))

Creating Deadwood and Carving

Creating  deadwood will automatically make a bonsai tree look much older than it is. Trees naturally get damaged in nature and will form deadwood and hollows over many years. By creating this artificially it makes the tree look like it has been surviving for many years.

(You can read more about – Creating Bonsai Deadwood)

Tanuki Bonsai

Some trees are made in a way that they are purposefully trying to look older than they are. A tanuki bonsai is when you take a old, but dead piece of wood and combine it with a younger tree. This instantly makes the young tree look it is extremely old as it intertwined with deadwood.

Unless the tree is in front of you and you can examine it closely, you could be easily fooled into thing it was an old tree.

(You can read more about – What Is A Tanuki Bonsai?)

How Was The Bonsai Tree Started?

This is maybe the most important reason for not being able to accurately judge a bonsai trees age.

Basically not all trees are started from seed. They can also be taken from cuttings or air layers. Air layers are especially interesting as they can pretty much be started from a tree that is any age or size.

You can take a really old thick branch and separate it from the main tree to make a new tree. This new tree is instantly going to look very aged compared to something started at the same time from seed.

(You can read more about – What Is Air Layering)

How Has The Bonsai Tree Been Grown Before You Received It?

Another massive factor that influences how old a bonsai tree looks is how it has been growing. 

I have started seeds and put them in different size pots, some small pots and others bigger. A few years later the trees look very different. Basically the bigger the pot, the thicker the trunk. If you want to get really thick trunks, put them in the ground for a few years.

After 5 years I could show you 3 trees, all the same species …all of different thickness and size, but all 5 years old. I would bet anything on you saying that the tree grown in the ground was much older, just as it is so much thicker, even thought the 3 trees are the exact same age.

Basically all the conditions that could affect its growth are going to come in to play. How much pot space has it got? How much fertiliser does it get? How much light and water? What about pruning?

So trees that are the same age can look drastically different. Which means, trying to tell someone how old a bonsai tree is …is impossible. There is just way to many factors affecting how it looks to even try and come up with an estimate.

This is also the same for yamadori taken from the mountain. No one really knows how old these trees are when they are collected. You will often year some crazy numbers like “this tree is 500 years old” which to be honest, is possible… But I am always a little skeptical.   

Is There Any Way To Actually Tell?

The only way to tell how old a tree actually is …is to kill it. If you chop the trunk and examine it, you can count the growth rings. This should give you a fairly accurate number.

However, I can’t see many people rushing for their saws to try this out.

The only other way to be sure of a trees age is if you have grown it from seed and therefore now exactly how old it is.

Why Age Is Not Important In Bonsai?

Age is just a number. It means nothing. Age will make a bonsai tree look good, but it doesn’t automatically make a bonsai look better.

I’ve seen trees half the age of others, but they look twice as good. You only need a tree to look old and ancient; it can actually be quite young. It’s all about the illusion.

Carrying out good techniques repeatedly over the years will get you a much older and better looking tree than a tree that is left untouched for the same amount of time.

I would rather have a young tree that looks old, than an actual old tree that was just a mess.

If anyone asks how old a bonsai tree is, you should just say “I’ve had it for X years”  or “I have been training it for X years”

If you’ve bought it off some one and they can give you some info, then you can certainly include that, but I wouldn’t get caught up with its age. It’s just a number, It’s all about how it looks that is important.