Cajunrider
Imperial Masterpiece
I was thinking about the Angkor Wat straggler figs myself when I thought about 1000 year old ficus. You beat me to the pictures. Thanks!
I was thinking about the Angkor Wat straggler figs myself when I thought about 1000 year old ficus. You beat me to the pictures. Thanks!
The ficus at Angkor Wat are not 1,000 because the complex isn't 1,000. Many of the ficus at the site are dated to less than 100 years ago, some possibly 300-400, 500 at the outside-- from what I can find. Seems no one really knows exactly how old some of the trees are--, but the temple was built in the 11th century. It was abandon in the 15th century (1400s) about 600 years ago...
I know the age of the Angkor Wat and of course the trees aren't 1000 like you said. Still when I think of old strangler figs I think of Angkor.The ficus at Angkor Wat are not 1,000 because the complex isn't 1,000. Many of the ficus at the site are dated to less than 100 years ago, some possibly 300-400, 500 at the outside-- from what I can find. Seems no one really knows exactly how old some of the trees are--, but the temple was built in the 11th century. It was abandon in the 15th century (1400s) about 600 years ago...
The Varied Origins of the Bodhi Trees at Angkor
While some of the trees were planted in the 1950s, others may be centuries old, researchers say SIEM REAP--As the month of April approaches, tropical heat...cambodianess.com
Where I grew up, those giant ficus in pots were often potted with soil that wasn't as free draining as regular bonsai soil here. Plus in the hot summer we have monsoon rain every day like clockwork so no watering needed. In the fall and winter, if we forgot to water, it was much cooler so it wasn't too bad. I don't remember having to worry so much about watering those things. One of my uncle had a really big one and he only watered it every now and then.I'm sure over 1000 years somebody would forget to water it. I have a hard enough time going 5 or 10 years without a catastrophe.
There is a tendency to "age rapidly" once everyone old enough to really remember has passed away. A friend from Nepal, her Grandparents seemed to age 2 years for every year according to village lore once they were older than all their neighbors. When they died, claims were made that they were 104 and 109 years old. They were born before birth certificates. However, if we assumed the grandmother had her first child at 20 years old (restrained for the time) she would have been only 86, and if she had her first kid at 16 (more common in the rural villages) she was only 82 when she died. But she was the oldest woman in the village, so the village had decided she was 104 and her husband was 109. Jnan (the husband) was thought to be 5 years older.
Of course a tree 1000 years in a bonsai pot is much more valuable than a tree only 25 or 40 years in a bonsai pot. We sell perception, don't we?
The curator to whom you refer is Chris Baker. I was in a class on Wednesday evening with him, and this tree was one of the topics discussed. There are numerous areas in the Rockies and throughout the Black Hills where the USDA or the Forestry Service have core-sampled trees in different stands or groves to assess their approximate age. This allows for some extrapolation of a range of ages, as is the case here. In addition, limber pines are relatively slow growers, whereas a faster-growing Ponderosa in harsh conditions will grow approximately one radial inch per hundred years. I think the range estimate is entirely credible.1000 years is quite a crazy amount of time, especially to be kept as a bonsai that long. The lack of detailed history is sketchy… I’m sure it’s hundreds of hundreds of years for sure.
I was at the Chicago Botanical Gardens for the Midwest Bonsai Society show last weekend and saw this tree
View attachment 437448
View attachment 437449
No doubt another oldie, 600-1000 is a big range. Since there was a big show happening there was a curator (I assume) who walked around and explained the history of the trees. This stunted tree was collected from a stand of trees in the Rockies that is allegedly hundreds and hundreds of years old. This tree has been in training for maybe 50 years.
At the end of the day, none of us were around even 100 years ago, so these ages could all be complete heresy
Seen a ficus displayed once unconventional but powerful . There was a shallow bonsai pot sitting on a flat slab of marble . So the marble looked like a display stand or base for the pot . Tree planted in the pot of course . But the roots escaped over the side at one end of the pot . And into moss covered compost on the slab . Instantly made me think of these trees overgrown ruins. Roots escaped there intended growing conditions like I said was very powerful compositionI never get tired on looking at these picts. I hope to someday make a small pottery ruins to train a ficus over. These massive roots really make the ruins look like a toy.
I worked on that tree back in 1995 at Gerry's house, so I can vouch that it is at least 29 years old.I was at the Chicago Botanical Gardens for the Midwest Bonsai Society show last weekend and saw this tree
No doubt another oldie, 600-1000 is a big range.
The tree you mention is the original subject of this post. I highly doubt the tree is 1,000 years or even the oldest bonsai. It comes up in searches as such because the owner of the exhibit lists it as the oldest. There is no documentation of its origins. Given that ficus exhibit no reliable annual growth rings in older wood, documentation would provide more evidence. No one has really asked them to prove the claim. The owner of the tree saying it is the oldest doesn't make it so. He's got exhibit tickets to sell.There is a collection of genuine specimens on a solid slate table, the most of which are over a century old and were trained by prominent Japanese masters such as Ogasawara, Kato, Kaneko, Kawamoto, and Kawahara. After seeing these pictures, i do believe this is more than 1,000 year old Bonsai tree in Italy. its branches are so thick, can't grow in a century. A species of evergreen woody plant in the fig genus, Ficus retusa is indigenous to the floristic region of Malesia and the Malay Archipelago. Ficus retusa is a fast-growing, round, broad headed, evergreen shrub or tree that can grow to a height of 10 meters (33 feet) with an equal spread. Its trunk is smooth and light grey, and it can reach a diameter of around 1 meter (3.3 feet). The trunk also provides strong support for the massively spreading canopy. such an amazing natural marvel kept safe in the museum. When the museum opened in 1991, the bonsai, placed in a majestic glass pagoda, served as its centerpiece. A frequent bonsai for beginners is F. retusa. There is no doubt over it. When you google oldest bonsai tree in the world you will get the answer of Ficus Retusa Linn