2019 From seed

[Paul F.]

My lignum vitae's just popped up.. all 12... ( of course this is just three of them) So stoked! Only took 6 days.. I got some super fresh seeds right off the tree a few blacks away from my house. I could never get them to germinate. .

 

[Marlon]

Custard apple, two for two success rate. I also bought some tamarind, once they're soaked for juice I'll get the seeds ready for planting. I have a baobab seedling, now two months old. Also two duranta shoots, they were growing from a lateral root of a duranta I collected from my garden, i cut them off with some roots attached them in soil and they're doing quite well. Not really seedlings, I have a duranta, its already flowered and ready, I will also try seeding those.

anyone interested in seed exchange. It would be great!

cheers

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

Custard apple, two for two success rate. I also bought some tamarind, once they're soaked for juice I'll get the seeds ready for planting. I have a baobab seedling, now two months old. Also two duranta shoots, they were growing from a lateral root of a duranta I collected from my garden, i cut them off with some roots attached them in soil and they're doing quite well. Not really seedlings, I have a duranta, its already flowered and ready, I will also try seeding those.

anyone interested in seed exchange. It would be great!

cheers

Your custard apples are likely to have leaves that will be too large for bonsai. Interesting that custard apples, which were originally native to Central America region have made it all the way to Tanzania. For bonsai plant to ''go large'', say a tree a meter tall or taller, in which case the leaves won't look as out of proportion. Or just use them as potted patio trees for fruit production. I think they are quite tasty.

 

[Marlon]

@Leo in N E Illinois

I'm following a bit of advice I got from you in another thread, bonsai in the tropics. For all my fruit trees I do intend to go for a larger size bonsai. As I doubt there is a way to reduce the fruit size. Yeah it really is crazy, I only found out today. I was under the impression they're a native species. Sours sop too apparently.

Custard apples are delish! Its segmented, plenty of seeds, but the taste is worth it and they germinate quite readily.

 

[Cajunrider]

Well for 2019 my planting/bonsai schedule will include but not limited to the following:
1. Bald cypress: I have 2 BC for trunk chop and the air layer tops to plant in the yard. I also will have a dozen cuttings to plant in the yard.
2. Pomegranate: I have 3 air layers to plant and a trunk fuse in progress. Once air layers are taken, the main tree will be moved to bonsai training pot.
3. Tamarindo: I have one started from seed.
4. Spondias dulcis: I have one in pot now for trunk development. Most likely just nursing along for 2019.
5. Wisteria: I have one I just collected. I probably will just nurse it along for 2019. The two I have in the ground will be trained to become a tree instead of a vine.
6. Chinese elms: One in pot and 11 in ground to play with to practice things
7. Two crepe myrtles: One will be allowed to grow freely. The other will have a trunk chop.
8. Ochna serrulata: Collect one air layer to plant and put the base in a bonsai training pot.
9. Japanese maple: 2 big air layer (4" dia) to collect in Kentucky & pot and 3 babies to nurse along in a big pot. The babies will be potted as a group bonsai.
10. Japanese magnolia: 1 air layer to pot and trunk fuse to complete.
11. Banana shrub: 6 cuttings to plant and moving the big one to bonsai training pot.
12. Green island ficus: 2 air layers to pot, 3 cuttings to nurse along. 1 will be developed for informal upright and the other root over rock.
13. 4 dozens of Medjool dates currently in pot that will go into the ground along the drive way and the perimeter of the yard.
14. One pond cypress to be planted in the ground.
15. 2 Mangoes to be potted.
16. 1 Jujube air layer to be planted.
17. 6 pear cuttings to be planted.
18. 1 gardenia to be collected and potted. 4 gardenia cuttings to be planted.
19. Carambolas from seeds.
20. Sugar apple air layer to collect and the base to be potted.
21. Rainbow eucalyptus trunk development will continue.
22. 8 Dragon fruit to nurse along in pot.
23. Desert rose I just bought and plan to put in pot this weekend.
24. My friends are collecting a few live oaks for me to plant in the yard.
25. Collect the Sago palm in my yard and pot them to give to a friend.
I'm sure there are a few more I forgot to mention.

 

[BonsaiNaga13]

I've been collecting japanese maple (acer palmatum) seeds from basically any tree that had seeds, some red some green with not much autum color and I think a few blood goods. Some in full sun some in partial shade. Even found an upright lace leaf about 15 feet tall. I've planted up at least a few hundred, we'll see how things go. I know the seeds aren't true to parent but I'm having fun.






Planted some up in old produce containers,and the others in window boxes with plexiglass to protect from critters. Gunna stratify the rest in the fridge and see what works best. Also got about 30 trident seeds stratifying.

 

[Fonz]

Ok, I lied, I ordered some corck oak acorns yesterday, totally forgot about that

AAAARRGHHH!
I saw a thread about Acer Palmatum Arakawa (rough bark maple). Couldn't resist and ordered 24 seeds at Sheffields. Ofcourse they sent me 70 seeds… Too much seedlings next year, can't throw anything away...
Oh yeah and I went on a trip to England last week. Brought back 18 Fagus Sylvatica seeds

 

[BonsaiNaga13]

AAAARRGHHH!
I saw a thread about Acer Palmatum Arakawa (rough bark maple). Couldn't resist and ordered 24 seeds at Sheffields. Ofcourse they sent me 70 seeds… Too much seedlings next year, can't throw anything away...
Oh yeah and I went on a trip to England last week. Brought back 18 Fagus Sylvatica seeds

I'd happily take some arakawa off ur hands Fonz

 

[BonsaiNaga13]

pond cypress getting an early start

 

[10-brink]

I've been collecting whatever seeds I can find this season. So far I have: amur maple, Japanese maple, dogwood, eastern redbud, crab apples, white cedar, various pines from Lincoln Park in Chicago and I plan to collect some ginkgo seeds too

 

[Cattwooduk]

Going to try a shit load of paperbark maple seeds again starting to strat them next few weeks to plant out in spring. I know they're not great for bonsai but I'm determined to get some bloody seeds to germinate. So far nothing from about 200 seeds last couple of years. Bought about 550 more for roughly £12 so going to try some in the fridge, some in different patches of the garden, some in the shed and see what works best.

 

[W3rk]

I have a bunch of crab apple and domestic apple seeds that I put in ziploc bags with damp paper towels to stratify.

I also just gathered a whole bunch of some kind of Zelkova seeds (a nearby neighborhood has a ton of them for landscaping) and some Willow Oak seeds. I know about the float test. But what I'm not sure about is the next step for storing or stratifying these specific seeds because they start "dry" compared to apple. Is it also preferable to provide light moisture for these - or just go straight to cold storage?

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

@BonsaiNaga13
Just leave your pots of seedlings outdoors all winter. The cold will take care of stratification. Don't worry about freezing. Most of the seed you listed is hardy to areas further north than you. If nothing sprouts, just leave the pots outdoors, undisturbed for the second winter. Often for maples, hornbeam and some others, sprouting is best the second summer. Label the pots so you don't forget and dump them before the end of the second summer.

This holds true for many species starting seed. Many, many trees have at least of few seeds that don't sprout until the second year. Some, like hornbeam and Ostrya, nothing will sprout the first summer. Some are more random. Some the first, some the second. Juniper can take 3 or 4 years to get complete germination, some % coming up first year, with more each year afterwards.

 

[BonsaiNaga13]

Yeah

@BonsaiNaga13
Just leave your pots of seedlings outdoors all winter. The cold will take care of stratification. Don't worry about freezing. Most of the seed you listed is hardy to areas further north than you. If nothing sprouts, just leave the pots outdoors, undisturbed for the second winter. Often for maples, hornbeam and some others, sprouting is best the second summer. Label the pots so you don't forget and dump them before the end of the second summer.

This holds true for many species starting seed. Many, many trees have at least of few seeds that don't sprout until the second year. Some, like hornbeam and Ostrya, nothing will sprout the first summer. Some are more random. Some the first, some the second. Juniper can take 3 or 4 years to get complete germination, some % coming up first year, with more each year afterwards.

Yeah I have about 6 trays stratifying, I'm storing the rest in the fridge till I free up some space. If any of the acer palmatum sprout in the fridge I'll plant those. I watched Peter chan's vid on growing Japanese maple from seed and improvised off that. I was gunna plant all the seeds at once (went crazy and collected at least 1000 from several different trees) but I ran out of trays and cant dedicate that much garden space to the tree. I'm excited though cuz the genetic diversity of the parent trees. A few had really small leaves and one was a 15ft lace leafe. Before that I never seen a lace leafe over 3ft and I think I found a few blood goods so any red seedlings are welcome lol

 

[leatherback]

Couldn't resist and ordered 24 seeds at Sheffields. Ofcourse they sent me 70 seeds

probably they go from the pov that you would want 24 viable seeds?

Maybe they take into account germination rates?

 

[Fonz]

probably they go from the pov that you would want 24 viable seeds?

Maybe they take into account germination rates?

According to their website the germination ratio for their Arakawa seeds is 91%. I kept 65 seeds so next year I'll have 59,15 seedlings.

 

[AlainK]

I saw a thread about Acer Palmatum Arakawa (rough bark maple). Couldn't resist and ordered 24 seeds at Sheffields.

Not sure of how many will turn out to be of the true type: 'Arakawa' is a cultivar, not a subspecies, and most seedlings don't retain the characteristics of the mother plant.

Since the cork bark typical of 'Arakawa' takes a couple of years to begin developping, you won't see it until they mature a bit -if you ever see the typical features of this cultivar.

I have a grafted one (the only method to make sure that it is a "real" Arakawa, apart from cuttings or air-layering), and 3-4 year-old branches still have a smooth bark like the plain species...

 

[Fonz]

Not sure of how many will turn out to be of the true type: 'Arakawa' is a cultivar, not a subspecies, and most seedlings don't retain the characteristics of the mother plant.

Since the cork bark typical of 'Arakawa' takes a couple of years to begin developping, you won't see it until they mature a bit -if you ever see the typical features of this cultivar.

I have a grafted one (the only method to make sure that it is a "real" Arakawa, apart from cuttings or air-layering), and 3-4 year-old branches still have a smooth bark like the plain species...

Hey Alain, Sheffields also mentions that on their site. I bought the seeds before I read that part
We'll see in a few years if I got some winners or not.

 

[BonsaiNaga13]

Even found an upright lace leaf

looks like a large lace leaf to me. Leaves have 5 or 6 lobes

doesn't appear to be a graft and I'm not sure if it's even an acer palmatum. Its fairly large as u can see. If anyone has a positive I'd on this let me know. I collected a couple hundred seeds and wanna know what I'm growing

 

[Potawatomi13]

Georgia Oak, possibly Oregon White Oak if acorn good.