Bonsai grown in Japan take longer to grow, but they are older and have no scars. As a result, Japanese bonsai are more expensive due to the high time and labor costs involved. Bonsai sold in nurseries are also often very expensive. Even though these types of bonsai trees are not harvested in nature, it takes years before they reach maturity, about six years on average.
Bonsai are expensive for several reasons. One is that they are considered an art form, and any art can be very expensive to own. Another factor is that there are not many bonsai trees and the supply is slowly increasing. A third factor is the slow speed with which bonsai increase in size and height.
Some bonsai trees are also very difficult to grow successfully. There are three parts to deciding how expensive a bonsai is, the age of a tree, the shape of its trunk and the size of the bonsai. Many of the oldest bonsai are not the small things we will have in our collections, and these expensive trees only reached their current size due to their extreme age. Understanding how much water your bonsai tree needs is one of the most important skills you'll develop as a bonsai gardener.
This is why you'll find that even the richest people can struggle to have the best bonsai trees they can find, as the owner may refuse to sell them. This drastically affects the total price of trees and nurseries will consistently use trees that grow faster rather than those that would need to be cared for over the next 20 years. The museum is a must-see for all bonsai lovers and will easily showcase some of the most incredible trees in the world. If you grew a tree since mid-adolescence, you can easily have a solid investment if the tree survives into retirement.
The price of a bonsai reflects its age, type of tree and the labor required to keep it alive. For example, the Bonsai Village of Omiya, located in Saitama, Japan, has several bonsai nurseries where you can find and buy bonsai of extreme age. If you look at it from a purely business perspective, bonsai are slow to generate a monetary return and must be preserved for a long time before they are viable products to sell. Just like paying a plumber to get the pipes in your home built properly, you're recognizing the skill needed to create bonsai trees.
Finding a good old tree that has been cared for can be a great challenge, as you will often find them in hardcore collections or are now museum pieces. This particular type of bonsai is extremely rare and its high price is closely related to the obstacles faced by collectors. Most bonsai trees look amazing, and the tree you're growing can look amazing after you've taken the time to train its growth. As with the Yamaki tree, it's not necessarily the age of the tree that differentiates it, but the history of the tree.
Bonsai must be packed with extreme care so that there is no risk of damage during transport (which would also increase the costs associated with trees) and must be shipped quickly to minimize disruption and changing conditions. Some bonsai tree species are much more difficult to care for, as trees can be sensitive to change and require you to constantly care for a part.
