A bonsai can live to be older than a large tree of the same species if it is grown with care. A bonsai needs good care, and a bonsai with poor care will not be healthy and might die. To keep a bonsai strong, it must grow outdoors like a real tree. It must never get too dry or stay too wet. It must never get too hot or too cold. If it gets a plant sickness like a fungus, it must be cured quickly. If it gets bugs like aphids the bugs must be cleaned off or killed quickly.