Help with Mikawa Black Pine germination

Lynard

Dear Readers,

Hello out there! Long time reader, first time poster.

I wanted to get some opinions and advice on the germination of a couple hundred mikawa black pine seeds I have on on their way to me. First up is Cold Stratification or not? I see opinions both ways. Is there a noticable difference in success rates one way or the other and would it be late in the year to be putting them away in the fridge for a few weeks before i sow them?

Second, and what im most interested in, is what type of soil would be recommended. I just want a soil to help provide the best germination rate for the early stages of the root development, as I will be doing the procedure for completely cutting off the roots to get the earliest head start on the nebari. I guess they might go back into this mix after loosing their roots until they get going again. I have plenty of components. organics (fir barks and some compost) perelite, vermiculite, pumice, scoria (lava rock), akadama, decomposed granite, Sand, charcoal n all that. What type of mix you think would be optimal for me to actually put the seeds in and for growing the first and second set of roots in. This will just be in the little seedling trays with 72 - 1.5 inch square spaces.

Heh, I know discussions about soil mix are a sort of opening pandora's box in bonsai, but im really looking to give my seedlings the best chance since I've been wanting mikawa seeds for some time and now that I have some, I want to make the best of them.

Any other tips on the growing of these seedlings of course would be appreciated. I would also like to hear from other peoples experiences in growing black pine from seeds.

Thanks!
Linn

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