brewmeister83
Chumono
I don't recall the definition of bonsai including anything about how long a tree has been styled...
Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, but I though I heard somewhere that in Japan some exhibitions don't start accepting trees until they're 20 years old (in final pot, taken a few styling sessions and aged/refined for some time) To them, that's the bare minimum requirement for Bonsai to be shown.
This thread and the artisan cup trees mentioned reminds me of one of the first Graham Potter vids I ever saw years ago:
I remember it so well because I thought he had "finished" the tree to the point it was bonsai, but at 7:13 he dropped the bombshell "There's 10 years of work gone into this tree, and in ten more years we can call it bonsai." No offense to those at the artisan cup, you have unequaled skill and material compared to someone like me, but I can't help but think of this quote when I look at those massive juni that are 5 years old. They kinda remind me of the yew in the vid - close, but not quite there yet.