How old were you when you started bonsai?

[Redwood Ryan]

Jim's recent thread, "Why should we care?" got me thinking about age and how it relates to this hobby. It was mentioned in that thread that not enough youth are involved in the hobby and that it's really an "old man's sport."

Being 21 and having been in this hobby for about 6 years now, this struck me as odd, but not all that surprising. I knew that over in Japan it was particularly an older man's hobby. I personally began this hobby back when I was about 15. I don't remember what my first tree was, probably a Ficus, or what got me into the hobby (other than my love of growing Redwoods from seed).

So I pose this question to you: How old were you when you actually started the art of bonsai? I don't mean the first time you saw one and thought it was neat, I mean the first time you actually found interest in it and began seeking knowledge to get involved in the hobby.

 

[Paul G]

And to add on, what ignited your love of the hobby? I mentioned in a post a few days ago that I became hooked at an exhibition in Grand Rapids. What about everyone else?

 

[markyscott]

27 when I was going to school at UC Davis. I shared a house with several people - one of whom was a Japanese woman who grew bonsai trees. She took me to a meeting of the Sacramento Bonsai Club and I watched none other than the great John Naka do a demo. I had no idea who he was or what he meant to bonsai, but I bought his books and my life hasnt ever been the same.

Thank you Noriko, wherever you are.

Scott

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

22

 

[Gene Deci]

I was 26 or 27 when I saw my first bonsai and I knew I would do that some day - but not then. I was newly married, baby on the way, living in an apartment. I started my current collection almost 25 years later. How is that for delayed gratification?

 

[Adair M]

17

 

[nip]

First "tree" at age 11. Got a little more serious in high school. A hurricane relieved me of collection in college. I've been easing back into bonsai ever since. I'm still the youngest person at 90% of the events I attend... I don't mind, but finding common ground outside of bonsai is difficult.

 

[jquast]

I was 28. My wife bought me a bonsai kit that comprised of five black pine seeds, soil and a pot without drainage holes as a birthday gift.

 

[edprocoat]

I have kept Bonsai since I was ten years old. I have never been without one since, At times I have had many and other times just a few.

ed

 

[evmibo]

About 16. Then I quit when I was in college because it wasn't really feasible. Been back in the game for about 4 years now. I'm 27.

 

[Smoke]

29, bought my first tree on my honeymoon to my current wife. Wasn't sure which wood I was more proud of.

 

[cockroach]

28 or 29,

Wanted to do bonsai since I was in 7th grade an heard about it for the first time. Finally found a tree online and started from there. 4 years on now and still loving it.

 

[Cmanz]

I was 25 or 26. I visited the Huntington Library and saw the great exhibit there. Have been hooked since.

 

[fourteener]

I was 23. Related to the discussion that started elsewhere, I was also a new homeowner interested in doing something with my landscaping.

 

[Zerojoke]

I was around eight years old or so and got a mallsai and Amy Liang's bonsai book. I was pretty hooked after that, and intermittently started taking classes. Still hooked on it.

 

[sorce]

4 years ago, I was 31.
Found a braided office ficus, while researching its care I learned it (and anything) could be bonsai.

I got hooked hooked after seeing Walter Palls trees.

Sorce

 

[JoeR]

First 'tree' at 13.

Always been interested before that though.

 

[Zach Smith]

Interested since childhood, got a "bonsai kit" early on that came with pine seeds(!), pot, wire and soil; that didn't work, got interested again when I got older and now into it for 25 years+.

We always hear about needing to get more young people involved. I've taken a different tack as I've gotten older. I think we should work on getting more older people involved. There are just too many distractions and the business of life for young people. Certainly there are plenty of younger artists and enthusiasts out there, but as age shrinks the enthusiast population shrinks as well. It's just nature. Go to any bonsai club meeting and check the demographics.

Zach

 

[BethF]

Zach has a point. I got my first bonsai in my early thirties. With young children to raise and a career to establish there wasn't time to do the daily tasks that must be done to simply keep the tree healthy and alive. So it died and I pushed that interest aside. By my mid-forties, I had the flexibility to take it up again. This time I researched the field. I also met a group of talented, dedicated bonsai practitioners who demonstrated what can be accomplished with patience, dedication, and discipline. I've been at it now for 13 or 14 years. Make no mistake: I've met a number of young practitioners who are amazingly talented and knowledgeable. And we should welcome them; after all, they are the present as well as the future of the art. Sometimes I regret getting a late start. Yet Saturday, I had the privilege of seeing a magnificent ironwood bonsai that was grown from seed by a man who is now 92 years of age. The tree is between 30 and 35 years old. So perhaps those of us who are older can still look forward to accomplishing great things.

 

[jk_lewis]

I saw my first bonsai in 1954, in Tokyo. The old gent who lived just down the hill from us (separated by a wooden fence) had a few pines. Then, since we live not far from Ueno Shrine/Park, I stumbled onto a bonsai show while wandering the city after school. I guess I was 17 at the time. It probably was 10 years after that that I tried to create my first tree -- though my mother had given it a try a few years earlier (but I was away at school).