Cherry trees and bonsai

[creepycrawley]

Hey all... I'm really glad I found this site, it's got, like, the most AMAZING posts, and everybody's REALLY helpful ... Total newbie, so be prepared for dumb questions ... I've started stratifying some cherry seeds, around 25 to 30 in two batches, and I found a really cool post by TheLorax, who gave a TON of useful details about how to plant a cherry seed ... Thing is, I've looked up a few other sites too, but others kinda give conflicting views... I'm well into my 2nd month of cold stratification, but most of the sites never mention the part about warm stratifying the seeds after the 3-4 month cold stratification... They just say (in short) 'cold strat and plant'... So it's necessary right? The warm strat part? Will the seeds grow without it?

And the second part of my question is: I wanna try to create a bonsai out of one of these seeds, but in the posts I've found, everybody talks about a pre-bought plant or one which is, in almost every case, already grown from seed... Mainly they're related to maintenance and care of the plant, but not about growing one from scratch... I got a few books on bonsai too, like 'The Ancient Art of Bonsai' by Amboru Kato Kimura and 'Bonsai Gardening Secrets' by Erik A. Olsen.. They don't say anything about growing one from seed, but there's a wealth of info about maintaining one and caring for it... Can someone please point me in the right direction, cuz I get the feeling I'm looking in all the wrong places?...

Many thanks!

[Gnome]

creepycrawley,

Hey all... I'm really glad I found this site, it's got, like, the most AMAZING posts, and everybody's REALLY helpful

Thanks and glad to have you here.

And the second part of my question is: I wanna try to create a bonsai out of one of these seeds, but in the posts I've found, everybody talks about a pre-bought plant or one which is, in almost every case, already grown from seed... Mainly they're related to maintenance and care of the plant, but not about growing one from scratch.

This is because many don't want to spend several years, perhaps as long as a decade, simply growing out stock. They acquire stock from another source and create their bonsai from that. It will really cut the time scale down to a more manageable proposition.

Thing is, I've looked up a few other sites too, but others kinda give conflicting views... I'm well into my 2nd month of cold stratification, but most of the sites never mention the part about warm stratifying the seeds after the 3-4 month cold stratification... They just say (in short) 'cold strat and plant'... So it's necessary right? The warm strat part? Will the seeds grow without it?

Dirr and Heuser suggest a warm straticication period prior to the cold chilling. If you think about this it makes sense since Cherries ripen in summer and would spend several months under fairly warm conditions before winter sets in. I know that this only confuses the issue more but that is what my reference material shows.

Besides, what is the point of a warm period immediately before planting? Planting will be a warm period. Keep an eye on your seeds and when/if the bulk of them have split plant them.

What type of Cherry are you attempting to germinate, a store bought table fruit type? Brent Walston suggests staying with one of the ornamental species. He offers cutting grown starter material for sale, this ensures that you get a good specimen that will flower in a reasonable length of time. I have no idea if he ships to your country. It may not even be permitted.

If you do decide to purchase a tree beware of weak or unsightly graft unions that often are present, another reason to use cutting or seed grown material.

Norm

[creepycrawley]

Aw man... You're right, it does make more sense to give it a warm period before cold.. Must've read it wrong in the first place..

Ok, cherry type is your typical store-bought cherry.. Dunno what it'll turn out to be exactly, but I'd really like to turn one of them at least into a bonsai, the rest into full cherry trees.. Thing is, we got these cherries about a year ago, and they've been in an airtight bottle for that time till a month ago, when I started this.. It's been approximately a month and a half now since I started the cold stratification..

As to the bonsai thing, I don't mind waiting, but all I do know about bonsai is from my biology studies, namely cutting off the apical buds to change auxin distribution.. My teacher said it's the basis behind bonsai, and I just want to try my hand at the real thing.. Still a student, so time is no problem and patience comes with starting gardening itself, so.. If you can, I'd really like to know how to start a bonsai from scratch.. I've experimented on my mint patch and it's worked out pretty well... After seeing hundreds of photos of bonsai trees for years, I've finally decided to grow my own...

Ok, now then, seed status.. I've been wrapping them in moist paper towels in a ziploc baggie, two towels and about 25 seeds in each, and checking on them every week.. After nearly a month, some seeds in one towel started forming a weird green to white growth with a chalky consistency, and strange reddish hues in the other towel... I cleaned them off and wrapped them in fresh towels, new baggie... After about two weeks, the same thing started again, and this time I cleaned them off the same way and dipped every seed in a weak antiseptic solution (one capful Dettol in a full mug of water) for about a second and dried them off... Right now, they seem ok, been a week since I did it... I even cracked a seed from each batch to see if they're ok, and they were pretty much cool.. So please do point out if there's something outrageously idiotic I've done, or something I haven't done and I should... And major thanks for replying so soon...