seed starting

nichole

do most of you bonsai addicts start your own from seeds, or do most people buy plants and begin shaping them? what is the favoured approach? does anyone else 'out there' plant exotic seeds just to see what'll happen? or am I the only nutt?

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soonami

Bonsai is a long term hobby and many people do many things to obtain trees. The majority of people, I think, go to bonsai nurseries that specialize in seeding, grafting, propagating, collecting and shaping trees. These nurseries will have some trees that are completely unshaped, meaning they root a juniper cutting and it's just been growing in a a container for 5 years without any pruning. There's prebonsai which is nursery stock that maybe slightly wired, root pruned, or trimmed to a desired shape. And there is "finished" which have been fully styled and potted.

If you don't know of a nearby bonsai nursery, you like many people have no choice but to germinate seeds to get the majority of traditional species that aren't natural to north america such as, trident maple, japanese maple, japanese white, red, and black pine, ezo spruce, etc. But this is a long process from seed to tree, you'll probably have to wait 5 years before these trees have developed enough to train.

What I do is I go to nurseries and I look for trees with potential. Those that have thick trunks and have thick roots when I reach into the soil and feel around. This "nursery" collect is a good way to get quality product cheaply, as regular nurseries have more in stock than bonsai nurseries and usually more competitive pricing. Usually smaller locally owned nursery are better than like those of Home Depot and Lowe's, that's because some of these trees are probably grown by the owners themselves so they can help you look for something or let you know of any sales they might have. The quality is usually better too, since they are part of the community people will let them know if the plants were not good.

I also collect trees, there's plenty of literature on the site about that. I just started bonsai myself, but collecting trees is a worthwhile experience. You get to know your natural surroundings and native trees will survive your winter and climate better than trees that have adapted to the climate of Japan. And besides except for the trouble of asking for permission and the time to go out, it's free. Even if you can't find a 1000 year old rock mountain juniper like Walter Pall, if you look closely enough you'll almost always find something.

The process of obtaining trees is different for each person. Some people like Vance Wood gets more of their trees from nurseries. Walter Pall collects a large proportion of his trees from all over the world. John Naka liked to propagate his own trees through seeds or cuttings. So there is a way to go for everyone, but starting from seed is the slowest way to go.

I will usually collect seeds when I go out on hikes or while collect trees just too see what they will do. Part of the reason I do this is to replace some of the trees I take out and the other part is because it's just interesting to start from scratch

Camay123

http://forum.bonsaitalk.com/showthread.php?t=15786

You could be interested in this thread.

Regards,
Patrick

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nichole

yes, this is an interesting place. I have bought such strange little gems as coffee, and baobab, just for the fun of it, along with punica and citrus...I like the teenier bonsai and just the thought of miniaturizing trees not so much as a cultural thing (Japanese and/or Chinese). I even have a found and potted manzanita from the coastal area of our state, that has beautiful red bark and smallish round leaves...I guess my interest runs to just enjoying variety and using the miniaturization and potting techniques of the bonsai art to have my own 'arboretum' whereas I couldn't really do that any other way, since I don't own acres...anyone with me? I'm not a purist, to put it simply....will y'all still talk to me, or am I too loose with my 'art'?

soonami

Well, people here have different levels of interest and commitment to more traditional bonsai forms, but no one here will discriminate against you because bonsai is really just planting something in a pot. Many people here are plant collectors too, that my own a diverse group of plants, but only train some into traditional bonsai style. Even if you aren't a purist you still can learn about generally good horticultural practices and maybe you can introduce us to new plants and maybe a new approach to appreciating trees

nichole

you know, it seems like the frontier of native American species is just waiting to be explored for use in miniaturization...the fella at evergreen out there in CA has some native oaks and such, but maybe we could tap into the whole cultural thing in an
American way, and sell it back to the Japanese? If simpaco juniper is exotic and interesting here, maybe a Scrub oak would go over big there!!! just daydreaming again...

nichole

on second thought...shoulda titled this possibly "weed starting!"

soonami

Some of the best junipers come from America, and pines too. Collect ponderosa pines, and rocky mountain junipers are some of the best material availible to be worked with. Many Europeans come out here to the US to collect trees to work on since there is still so much unadulterated land out here with many trees untouched by human hands for centuries.

There has been a retransmission of American style back to Japan. The natural style, American oval, live oak style, whatever you want to call it, is a form that works with the trees' natural form as they appear in the wild in America and applying that to Bonsai styling. It is a successful and charming style that is gaining momentum in the Old World.

oh yeah, please use the edit button nichole, avoid double posts

ChrisM

i have started jap. blk. pine, trident maple, and white paper birch from seed, but those are obviously not going to be worked on for, at the very least, several years. most of my trees were purchased in raw form, or started from cuttings.

chris

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