New to Bonsai-Growing from seed.

[yakuzumo]

hello,
I just bought a mix of deciduous and confiers from tmseeds.com and they should be arriving shortly. Sound nice? Well here's the problem... I have NO idea on how to germinate them and I'm not sure how to keep them alive afterwards. All I really know is that you have to cut them... and I know how to water them. I know your not supposed to water them on a scheduele. I also know what type of fertelizer I should use. However I have NO idea on how to wire them, what type of soil I should use, how to make the seeds grow, and how to cut them.
I'm sorry I can't be more specific about what type of tree they are going to be. (All I know is they are a mix.)
But I really hope you can see what you can do to help me. As you can see, I don't want to kill them. Thank you,
Yakuzumo

[Gnome]

yakuzumo,

Hello and welcome to the site. I usually suggest that beginners avoid seeds as a route to bonsai. Since you already have purchased them we'll see what we can do to help. The fact that they are mixed is going to make this endeavor that much more difficult, and even if you do get some going you will likely be guessing species for some time to come. The seeds of different species require different handling and I would never buy such a mix. Perhaps they are packaged by species and you are just getting a sort of "grab bag", I hope this is the case.

First you need to focus on what is important right now. This means that pruning and wiring are not going to be an issue for you for some time to come. When you get the seeds if the are truly mixed up I suggest you make an effort to sort them. Use Google to find representative photos of various types of seed. For example it should be pretty easy to differentiate between Pines and Maples. Hopefully this will not be necessary.

Some species require mechanical or chemical treatment known as scarification, some require a chilling period in order to germinate. Rather than speculate any further lets wait until your package arrives and take it from there. Make sure to let us know what you discover.

In the meantime:

[url]https://www.bonsai4me.com/Basics/Basics_Seeds.html[/url]
[url]https://www.evergreengardenworks.com/seed.htm[/url]
[url]https://tomclothier.hort.net/page10.html[/url]

Norm

[yakuzumo]

Norm,

Thank you for your help. I will take your suggestions and now, its a matter of waiting until the seeds arive. So, thanks again and ill PM you(if you want) when they arrive.

Yakuzumo

[Gnome]

yakuzumo,

You're welcome. I'd prefer that you post publicly, that way others can participate as well.

Norm

[alisios]

It's cool you're going to try this. I hope you have a lot of patience - especially with seeds -

I think the Bonsai experience is best from many angles so that while you're waiting on one tree(s), you can do something else, too - like nursery stock, harvesting from wild, purchased bonsai, germinating seeds, etc...

good luck and keep us posted

[Gnome]

alisios,

It's cool you're going to try this. I hope you have a lot of patience - especially with seeds -

I think the Bonsai experience is best from many angles so that while you're waiting on one tree(s), you can do something else, too - like nursery stock, harvesting from wild, purchased bonsai, germinating seeds, etc...

You make an excellent point here. It was not my intention to sound so negative toward seeds, I start some every year. I usually say something along the lines of what I wrote here:

I don't think it is a particularly good idea for beginners to grow from seed/cuttings, at least not exclusively so. Such small stock can take years/decades before you have anything to work with. Similarly, many but not all, mass produced bonsai are so young that it will be quite some time before anything substantial will be achieved. There are other methods of acquiring bonsai that will get you off to a quicker start.

A much better approach is to purchase something a little more advanced from a specialized nursery. Another option is to visit a conventional nursery and spend some time poking around the grounds. You can create your own bonsai from nursery stock and learn something in the process. If you have experience with trees/plants in general, excellent material can be collected from the urban landscape. Keep your eye out next spring for neighbors removing old landscape material.

Thanks for picking up my slack.


Norm

[yakuzumo]

Norm & Alisios

Thank you to both for your support.

yakuzumo

[seanabc]

Good luck with your seeds. I've been trying to grow seeds since last summer. People are not joking when they say it's a slow process! In that time most of my seeds either failed to germinate or died shortly afterwards. So far the only success I've had has been with Orange pips.

As people have said, it's a good idea to diversify and try some other things as well. Since I planted my first seeds I've also bought a couple of finished bonsai and planted cuttings as well.