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Growing a Bonsai Tree

Growing a Bonsai tree is considered to be one of the most challenging trees to grow because of its long, delicate process. The average Bonsai tree takes around 5 years to mature, and some can take upwards of a decade to even be ready for trimming. Although these trees can take a long time to grow past a few inches, the process is said to help people with patience and fortitude.

Last Sunday, two thieves broke in to the Pacific Bonsai Museum in Federal Way, Washington and stole two historic Bonsai trees grown from Japanese black pin seeds and silver-berry seeds.

Museum officials does not know exactly how much they’re worth, but they said they’re worth thousands of dollars. The reason these trees are so valuable is because of their history dating back to World War II.

The History Behind the Stolen Bonsai

The Bonsai trees were grown by a Japanese American man, Juzaburo Furuzawa, who was imprisoned in an internment camp in Topaz, Utah. After he was sent seeds from relatives in Japan, Furuzawa decided to something with them. To by time, he started growing the seeds out of tin-cans. These two trees have now become some of the oldest tress of these species to still be alive. Alongside the slow growth, Bonsai trees need to be maintained every day. So, for the past 75-years, generations of Bonsai artists have been maintaining these two trees daily.

After a few days, these trees have been returned to the museum after the thieves came back and left them at the entrance of the museum in the middle of the night, Tuesday. The museum did not know who had taken the trees, but they were happy to see them back in the proper care. They were placed back on public display on Wednesday, according to the museum’s Instagram page. The trees had slight damage from improper care, but overall, they are still alive and will continue to grow for years to come.