New to this wonderful art... questions about growing from seed

[bonsaifromscratch]

Hello everyone,

I am excited to be part of this community! I have been learning about bonsai for the past two years and I am still interested in the subject. Since then I have attempted to grow them from seed (I am well aware of the challenges) and have learned a lot from the challenges.

So far I have successfully germinated and grown potential subjects (mostly dwarf pomegranate and tamarind). I am looking for suggestions of other species that tend to be fast growers from seed, like the pomegranate. Any suggestions would be welcomed!

 

[Eric Schrader]

I'm guessing that you're in a hot area based on your two tree choices. But you might make it easier for people to give you advice by filling in your profile so that everyone knows the city or at least state where you live.

As for fast growing - I think the standard zero to bonsai in less than 60 seconds is Trident maples. They'll grow amazing amounts in hot weather, and if you have them in the ground you can expect to have something large enough to start training in only a few years.

I grow Japanese Black Pine, CA native Oaks, trident, hornbeam and a few other things from seed with different levels of success. For me, no summer heat means that the trident progress is slow. You can see my pine progress in this thread:

http://bonsainut.com/forums/showthread.php?7033-A-few-pine-seeds-6-years-later

and Oaks here:

http://bonsainut.com/forums/showthread.php?8019-Valley-Oak-Q-Lobata-from-acorns

For Tridents, check out some of Smoke's posts, or his blog.

 

[coppice]

Drop red oaks off your honey-do list as well as bristle-cone pine. Both are sleeping beauty class trees who are a multi-generational project.

 

[bonsaifromscratch]

Thanks for the suggestions. I updated my information. I am in zone 5b. I grow the tamarinds and pomegranate outdoors during the warm months and keep them under lights in winter indoors.

 

[twarawa]

Thanks for the suggestions. I updated my information. I am in zone 5b. I grow the tamarinds and pomegranate outdoors during the warm months and keep them under lights in winter indoors.

Fun to see someone else growing poms from seed. I have been doing the same for the past year, though most of them have been under lights the full time. Mostly it's just an experiment to see how many things I can do wrong to them. So far they seem to be able to take a lot of abuse and keep coming back.

I'd be interested in hearing your experience with them too.

Tyler

 

[bonsaifromscratch]

Fun to see someone else growing poms from seed. I have been doing the same for the past year, though most of them have been under lights the full time. Mostly it's just an experiment to see how many things I can do wrong to them. So far they seem to be able to take a lot of abuse and keep coming back.

I'd be interested in hearing your experience with them too.

Tyler

Interesting. Are you in Alberta, Canada? How short are the summers?

I will be documenting the growth of my poms in my blog. Feel free to check it out every once in a while! Link is in my signature.

 

[twarawa]

Interesting. Are you in Alberta, Canada? How short are the summers?

I will be documenting the growth of my poms in my blog. Feel free to check it out every once in a while! Link is in my signature.

I am in Alberta. As far as summers go they are way too short. About End of May to the End of September/mid October but the temps are only really hot from about end of June to August/September.

I checked out your blog. The poms look just like the ones I have inside. They had a little trouble going well into dormancy this year so they are growing in my indoor greenhouse right now. Most were cut down to nothing or totally defoliated about 6 weeks ago as I had a huge mite problem. After cleaning out the greenhouse and ridding the mites they have come back very well. They seem to be easy to learn on anyways.

I look forward to seeing where you take yours on your blog.

Tyler