Defra,
the Bonsai Today articles just said, collect seed, choose x size.
Place where insects or other cannot reach, keep dry, paper bag.
Like a cupboard outdoors/garage.
Then for spring, simply soak for 24 hours in normal water and plant.
Home experience -
Germination can be as early as 5 days, more frequently 7 to 10 days and as
long as 14 days.
[ Seeds sold to us from a sensible seedsman would be kept in cool storage
for the sustained quality of the seed.
So the most we do is bottle and place in the vegetable crisper. Even the 1996
seed from Eve is coming up and they are just bagged in for sale boxes with
the bonsai kit thingees.]
Soil is just a sterile mix of peat moss / perlite at say 2 /3 to 1/3 silica based gravel
and all by volume / small garden spadeful.
We use the seedling trays as the J.B.pine will produce surface roots naturally
and our more intense light makes the seedling shorter, thus the potential
buds are very low down on the trunk.
Germination is in full sun ------ 6 a.m to around 2 p.m .
I hope you don't make this experience so difficult that you give up.
Best to you in growing.
Anthony
* The peat moss / perlite mix is a commercial bag from Canada.
Growing J.B.pine since late 1980's.
J.B.pine is rated for zones 7 to 10.
Cross over to the Tropics - zone 13
