How old is the world's oldest bonsai?
Just like the art of bonsai itself, the oldest bonsai in the world is over 1,000 years old. Bonsai comes from a Chinese term literally meaning "tray planting," and it's an art/science of keeping trees small by regularly and strategically pruning them.
Almost a year ago, I discovered the existence of this bonsai while writing a blog post about Tacoma, Washington's gorgeous Pacific Bonsai Museum. I wrote, and I quote: "The oldest bonsai in the world is a tree near Milan, Italy that is over 1,000 years old! Obviously, that is now at the top of my bucket list lol."
Who knew that not twelve months later I would be traveling in northwest Italy and get so close to this bonsai? When my mom, stepdad, and I planned our trip to Milan, I said "Hold on. There's somewhere I absolutely have to go."
Was it easy getting from Milan to the Crespi Bonsai Museum?
No, not really. The Crespi Bonsai Museum is about thirty minutes outside of Milan, so it required a rental car. Renting a car in Milan was obviously a whole experience, but we made good use of the day trip and also visited the literal paradise of Isola Bella on Italy's Lago Maggiore.
Was it absolutely worth it?
Yes, yes, it was absolutely worth the hassle to get to see the oldest bonsai in the world! It was also easily worth the very modest 6€ entrance fee. The museum is small, and probably mostly exists to bring in business for the larger and very impressive bonsai garden store, which by the way, was awesome. I mean, just rows and rows of perfect little bonsai you could take home to start your own bonsai journey. If I lived near Milan, I would have spent my life savings here, and I wouldn't even regret it.
The Gorgeous Bonsai of the Crespi Bonsai Museum
Of course, the museum would never have the oldest bonsai in the world displayed right in front. There were three rooms total, each with some very nice bonsai.
At every turn, Tony would ask "Is this it?" I had seen a photo online, so I knew what I was looking for. I told him when we found it, we would know. But even I was not expecting what was there.
Seeing the World's Oldest Bonsai
I mean, most bonsai are small. As we learned last year when I saw the oldest trees in the world in Nevada, to survive 1,000 years, you kind of have to take it slow. "Limited annual growth" was the key to success. I was expecting it to be more modest. I was expecting something small and compact and reserved. But when I saw this bonsai through the glass doors, I literally gasped. It was magnificent.
I mean, I was so awestruck by it. It was so much bigger and grander than I expected.
Why This 1,000 Year Old Bonsai Is So Amazing
I would happily live my whole life staring at this bonsai while drinking my morning coffee and never get tired of the view. I mean, it's beautiful! I could go on and on about how much the world has changed in one thousand years and how this tree just carried on through all kinds of environmental changes, all the diseases it skirted, et cetera, et cetera. But yeah, it's just a tree. It's clearly been very well cared for and probably kept in optimal conditions. It probably doesn't experience things like existential dread or heartbreak or taxes.
But what's more impressive to me is the number of caretakers who have been involved in this bonsai's continued survival. Say one person tended to it for fifty years (which would be a very long career and also a stretch considering average lifespans up until a few centuries ago were more like 30.) That would still be 20+ people!! Generation after generation, who learned from their predecessors and continued to prune and tend to this tree so that I could enjoy its beauty today!
It takes hours to carefully prune the roots and branches of a bonsai to look just the way you want but also avoid causing the plant too much stress and killing it. And to do that month after month, year after year, for one thousand years?
I'm awed by the dedication to continuing an art and tradition so that this tree could have the chance to survive 1,000 years and grow to be this absolutely massive and stunning work of art that a random 32-year-old plant enthusiasts centuries in the future might travel thousands of miles to admire... Well, admire it I did. And if you ever find yourself near Milan, be sure to visit the Crespi Bonsai Museum so you can, too.