akiraana
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Posts: 5
Joined: Sun Oct 08, 2017 4:02 pm
Location: Zone 6 Arkansas

Bonsai from seed?

Has anyone here started a bonsai tree from seed? If so what kind? I tried to start a sakura tree last year but messed up the cold stratification and they rotted :( It's a goal of mine to grow a bonsai from seed, I think the fact that it would take forever means it will be extra rewarding haha.

imafan26
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Joined: Tue Jan 01, 2013 8:32 am
Location: Hawaii, zone 12a 587 ft elev.

While you can start with a seed, the most valuable bonsai are very old. It would be better to start with a nursery plant that is a little older. You want to find something that has character and a good shape. It takes a while to find the right one. If you are a beginner and planning to keep these plants in the house, I would suggest you start with an easy beginner bonsai plant like a geometry tree, schefflera, carmona, ficus or jade and work up to the bigger trees. It is easier to work with plants that are more forgiving about light and don't naturally have long branches and a rangy habit or are leafless for parts of the year.

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rainbowgardener
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Joined: Sun Feb 15, 2009 6:04 pm
Location: TN/GA 7b

You can plant a tree seed. You shouldn't even think of it as growing a bonsai from seed, since it won't be able to be worked on as a bonsai for many years. You are just growing a tree.

In the meantime, while you let your tree seedling grow out for a few years, you should buy yourself some starter trees to practice/ learn on, so that by the time your tree seedling is ready to be worked, you will have some idea what you are doing.

I think the two best ways to do this are 1) check out all the end of season sales that are going on now at nurseries. You can probably find a young tree or shrub in a nursery pot, cheap. 2) buy yourself a pre-bonsai or bonsai in training tree. These are trees that are still in nursery pots, but have had one initial shaping. You can get these for $20-30 or even less. That is a good thing, because you are almost certain to kill a few along the way as you learn about bonsai.

https://www.bonsaiboy.com/catalog/pre-bonsai-trees.html
https://www.easternleaf.com/Pre-Bonsai-Trees-s/354.htm



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