Any younger guys or gals here?

24 here, been at this a couple years. It's definitely an adults game. . . Have u seen the prices of trees and pots, you can't afford that shiz on mall job money.

I've also been a free mason since age 21 and have been the youngest member in my area for a long time. The average age of masons in WA is 65, I'd be willing to bet the average age of people active in the bonsai community is similar.

It takes time and resources to practice this artform, both things kids and middle-aged with kids people might not have.

Or you could go another route and make plants your life and you might stumble into your calling, but who knows. . .
 
I'am also very young, 34 years young to be precise.
 
At the moment I can't realistically buy high quality material on my own. I don't buy complete crap either though. I'm fortunate enough to have some support from my parents in this hobby as they once tried getting into bonsai only stopping due to time constraints and work. I would say my biggest priority right now is finishing my undergraduate degree with a good standing but on my spare time I still practice bonsai very seriously. It is my plan in 2 years to visit Japan first in a study abroad program and later to study bonsai. In the mean time I learn as much horiculture and training techniques as I can working on my projects and reading/watching content online.

In any case this is a hobby that I'd like to seriously pursue, maybe even becoming a side job in the future. At one point I began appreciating and looking at trees that pretty much on any occasion where there were trees around me I would study them each for their respective qualities. Because of that this hobby came very easily to me and I picked it up very fast.
 
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It sounds like you have some serious goals that include pursuing the art of bonsai. In the meantime, don't let feeling awkward keep you from knowing people who will gladly share their experience and advice. Yes, sometimes this forum erupts into arguments, but the fact is that bonsai people are predominately open and generous. Most are glad to help a beginner learn. Look at it this way: in a couple of years you will either go to Japan or into the work force. Either way, you are going to have to negotiate a new environment and have daily contact with people who are different from you in age, background, and life experience. So look at club meetings, exhibits, workshops, etc., as situations in which you are not only learning bonsai, but stretching your adult interpersonal skills. Both are invaluable in the long run.
 
aml1014 said:
I'm definitely the youngest in my club and I don't mind at all I'm far more mature than people 5 years older then I am so I don't mind the age gap, besides their some funny individuals and some of them have been doing it for 50+ years right here in my own climate so they know how to do things.
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Wish I had started at your age. I would be looking at some 3o year old trees by now instead of seedlings.
 
I'm 64 and as far as I can remember I feel the same as I did at 18. With the exception of aches and pains after I act 18 now. Of course I used a bit more herbal pain killer back then.
 
I just turned 25 last week and I have been in dabbling in this hobby since 2008 (18 years old). I would say that this hobby doesn't appeal to the younger generation as much due to the fact there is rarely any instant gratification and the large responsibility/ maintenance the trees require. Top that with dorm and apartment living through college which greatly limits the number,size, and species of plants you can care for starting out.

I am not super vocal on this forum but do frequent it for information. To answer your question... Yes I'm here!
 
I started when I was in high school. And stopped 6 months later when over summer everything died (Of course, chucking a cutting in a tiny tray and expecting it to live without care for weeks on end does not help). At that time (about 1990), internet fora etc were not around, and no clubs to speak off. So I would say you have a much better chance staying in the hobby, as you can learn much more quickly nowadays

bleumeon said:
I can't realistically buy high quality material on my own. I don't buy complete crap either though. I'm fortunate enough to have some support from my parents in this hobby as they once tried getting into bonsai only stopping due to time constraints and work.
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This would be a good secondary reason to be part of a club (Primary of course being for getting experienced growers around you to learn from): You get access to much more affordable material. I find that if people join who are still in school/studying, they often have first pic of everything, and often are given stuff for free, to help them get started. Decent material does not have to cost the world.
 
leatherback said:
I started when I was in high school. And stopped 6 months later when over summer everything died (Of course, chucking a cutting in a tiny tray and expecting it to live without care for weeks on end does not help). At that time (about 1990), internet fora etc were not around, and no clubs to speak off. So I would say you have a much better chance staying in the hobby, as you can learn much more quickly nowadays



This would be a good secondary reason to be part of a club (Primary of course being for getting experienced growers around you to learn from): You get access to much more affordable material. I find that if people join who are still in school/studying, they often have first pic of everything, and often are given stuff for free, to help them get started. Decent material does not have to cost the world.
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I'm currently member of the Santa Anita bonsai club. I've only been at 1 meeting and their show so far though. Another meeting coming up in a few weeks I'll try to attend.
 
I'm 30 and started at around 16 but grew up n Hawaii so the fascination was always there. I started getting serious and making yamadori trips and buying more $$ pots and tree's around 5 years ag0. I been to our club and the age gap is not as bad but I am the youngest. I don't go anymore because I've learned more here then there and people at my club don't like advice.
 
I wish I'd stuck with it when I first got into bonsai about 30 years ago. The lack of peers in my age group was certainly one of the reasons I didn't stick with it. Had I known then what I know now, I'd have found a lot of people who would have been very happy to help a young person get more involved and develop better trees.
 
I'm not old, I'm just young since a longer time... :)

That being said I'm actually 51 and just started last year.
I'm pretty sure that, even if I always find bonsai absolutely stunning, I wouldn't have be able to practice (or try to) before: no place of my own, not so much $, moving every 2 or 3 years on several continents and so on. Not to mention the patience and dedication needed that I was may be not ready to give.

The good side is that it's never too late to start, the bad side is that I may be dead long before one of my tree reach the bonsai state :)
That's why I just added a codicil to my will: at my passing I want to be use as an organic fertilizer and be equally split on the different pots. :D
 
While starting young can give me a bit of an advantage its also a bit unpredictable. I want to undertake larger projects, but the growing and refinement process can easily take 5+ years. After I finish my undergraduate schooling I possibly may move forcing me to forfeit a number of my projects. In the next year or so I hope to acquire higher quality material with the nebari, trunk, and primary branches in place that will just require me to refine the shape and branching over 2-3 years.
 
quietobserver said:
Ever seen a mature one in full bloom? Tree in super miniature form.....don't look like much online though.
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I suppose thats my quirrel with them; you almost never see a mature one. I have not seen one before but I am about to google them.

It seems to me they dont trunk up and so they are mostly just popular for flowers, no?
 
CHOJUBAI.jpg Page-1.jpg Chojubai Dwarf Japanese flowering quince are prized for their delicate red or white blossoms, dark green shiny leaves and rough bark. The name "Chojubai" means "long flowering apricot" because the flowers and bark are similar to Japanese flowering apricots. They rarely develop a heavy single trunk and are usually trained in the multiple trunk style or root-over-rock style to present a heavier looking trunk.

Attached is a well developed Chojubai bonsai as well as page 1 of a comprehensive article by Owen Rich on Chojubai bonsai which appeared in the 2014/NO. 1 issue of International BONSAI magazine.
Bill
CHOJUBAI.jpg

Page-1.jpg
 
Those Chojubai looks great! Maybe I'll plant some in my parents garden and come back for it in 10 years!
 
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