Help Starting from Scratch?

spike

I have had a couple of Bonsai in the past, but both have been very unsuccesful and have died. Because of this I have decided to start form the beginning and I have just purchased a Bonsai seed kit, which i am going to plant and grow. can any one give any tips or help on starting from scratch....the seeds are of a Jack Pine (?).......

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Jay

Spike, doing Bonsai from seed, and any suitable type tree will give suitable seeds, will take a l o n g l o n g time. Nothing what so ever bad about going from seed. You will have to wait till they germinate... grow into seedlings and then in maybe 5 years you can start training it. OK i'm a little negative . Why don't you try and pick up some two or three year old seedlings and start from there. I would bet if you tried, you would find a Bonsai Club near enough to you. This would be your best bet for getting advise first hand!

Also the club could direct you as to where to find good starter material. If you can not find a club... let us know what you purchased the first time and what you did with it and maybe we can help you from makeing the same mistakes again.

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A Bonsai student living with his trees at N 44.37 W 77.49...
Think before you act... then think again... no good comes from rushing

spike

Thanks for the info Jay, I thought it may take a long time to grow Bonsai from seed......

All I need to do now is find somewhere that sell 2 to 3 year old seedlings.

I do have a shop that sells Bonsai trees near me, but all the ones in there look alot older than 2 to 3 years!!

I'll have to have a look around for some books too about training etc..

Jay

OK... this is not an indorsement but http://freespace.virgin.net/pete.hare/bonsai.html
is the web site of the East Midlands Bonsai Society.... I recognize a few of the names on the site... real good people and artists.
they seem to be from places like: ARNOLD BEESTON NEWARK Nottingham and others.... if this is by you get to them... if it is a distance perhaps contacting them will help you find some local help.

__________________
A Bonsai student living with his trees at N 44.37 W 77.49...
Think before you act... then think again... no good comes from rushing

spike

Thanks again Jay, I'll have a look at that website, although Im not really close to East Midlands, Im in the South East, near London!!

Just out of interest though (as i am a COMPLETE beginner!) what does a 2 to 3 year old seedling look like? I presume at this age it is still very small and easy to train? I mean without the thick 'trunk' ??..I have absolutely no idea!!

Jay

2-3 year old seedlings can look different. It matters from where they were grown, by who, and what type of tree they are. I guess a better thing to say would be to try and find some young trees that have a basic branch struture or look like they will very shortly.

__________________
A Bonsai student living with his trees at N 44.37 W 77.49...
Think before you act... then think again... no good comes from rushing

spike

OK, thanks Jay! Im gonna look into over the next couple of days, maybe get some books and read up on it all...and try and find somewhere that sells young tree's.....Ill let you know!

Tony

Spike, I wouldn't start out with a pine tree for learning bonsai techniques. They are one of the more difficult trees to train. If you want an evergreen conifer try a juniper, it's pretty easy. Or if you want a deciduous tree try a elm or maple. Go ahead and plant your pine seeds and by the time they're training size you'll have some practice and experience behind you.

spike

Thanks Tony!! I've found the address for a Bonsai shop thats near me and I'm going to take a trip down there on Saturday, see if they sell younger trees ready to train.

I am going to plant the seeds, although you have to do a lot to them before you can even plant them! Soak for 24 hours....then cold stratify (?) for 7 days in refridgerator..I'll give it a go though, can't do any harm

I've been having a look through this website and others, and having been looking about 'wiring' the tree's to train them. If I get a young tree at the weekend, should I wire it straight away or will it still be too young??