Greetings from the PNW!

[AweStruck_PNW]

Hello everyone!

My name is Casey and I live just north of Seattle. I hope everyone who reads this is doing well!!

I recently turned 35 and my fiance got me a bonsai kit for my birthday. I love gardening during the summer so she figured this would be a fun hobby for me and she was right, I have been enjoying my litte seedlings so far!

I would love any and all advice from you folks!!! As I am new to this hobby, I've been reading lots but its quite a slow process and there is soooooo much to know!

The kit that I got as a gift had 8 different types of seeds. Without too much thought, I planted the following:
-Black Spruce
-Colorado Blue Spruce
-Brazilian Rosewood
-Flame Tree.

I'm guessing that I'm in over my head here huh? I probably shouldn't have planted some tropical trees in the PNW during November...sigh...However, I do have a germination mat, a counter top greenhouse and a grow light that I've used for my summer vegetables.

I currently have each seed planted in its own pot using some seeding soil, with all of them in my counter top greenhouse. Using all of these tools, I've had some luck!

I probably shouldn't have them all together though should I? I'm assuming the spruces don't need as much humidity and warmth as the others types do huh?

What should I do? Should i move the spruces to a different area? Do they need to be in a greenhouse or covered area? It's cold this time of year and sunlight is minimal...so I'm relying on all my indoor tools :/

So far, all of my black spruce & flame tree seeds have some overgrowth, but nothing at all from the the Brazilian rosewood or the Colorado blue spruce.

What are your thoughts?? Is it overly ambitious to try and continue with these species? My flame trees seem to be doing OK, although my largest one seems to be kinda droopy suddenly...am I over watering it ya think?

I have my light on for maybe 10-12 hours a day, and I was using my germination mat to help keep them warm. I have since turned off the mat cause I was worried it was causing the flame trees to grow to quickly...is that something to be concerned with?

I'll include some pictures of my current setup and my trees! Let me know what you think and any suggestions for success are very welcome!!!

I'm thinking I might purchase a couple of trees to practice with while my seedlings are maturing further.

What kind of tree would you recommend? I've heard that ficus are rather easy, as well as some spruce trees...is this correct? Seeing that I live north of Seattle, I should probably choose a species that will do well in the cold eh?

Thanks again for any and all the help/advice
I'll for sure be in touch as my journey continues.

View attachment 412908

 

[Deep Sea Diver]

Welcome aboard to BonsaiNut!

Looks like you’ve been doing some fun germination experiments. Good Job!

You asked a number of questions

First off no issue with keeping all your trees together at this point. I do a lot of cuttiings and keep many species together at once, yet prefer the hardy species to go dormant if possible. However in your situatiin you’ll have to baby the lot all winter.

When these get too big for your dome, you can switch to chopped two liter bottles then harden these off.

At some point you will want to harden each tree off. Start by taking off the cover(s) inside for a couple hours inside, then Increase over time. When it’s time to take these outside do the same, a couple hours at a time, increase over time.

One of the key things any bonsai hobbyist learns is to gather as much information on each species they work with as possible. Use the search engine on this site to help, but also, look elsewhere, books web etc.

There are a couple (I think) online bonsai training courses offered by Bonsai Empire. I’ve taken all of these over time and refer back to selected parts at times. The first couple would get you started for now.

There are lots of trees you can start with in the Puget sound area. Chinese Elms, Black, Red and White pines etc Azaleas, Maples etc.

If it were me, I’d get some small Japanese Black Pine, Elm, Shimpaku or Nana Juniper and then study up how to keep these healthy and learn how do the initial styling. There are plenty of sources for these.

Also, I’d highly recommend you consider joining the Puget Sound Bonsai Association. You’ll get a chance to meet bonsai folks in the area, get training, and get to meet traveling professionals.

Here’s their web site.

cheers
DSD sends

 

[Potawatomi13]

First 2 strictly outdoor year around! Second 2 indoors Winter, outdoors Spring, Summer(non freeezing times)likely. Spruces wait till freezing past to acclimate outdoors. Be aware to keep from damp off of roots now.

 

[sorce]

Welcome to Crazy!

I dig the set-up.

Sorce

 

[Deep Sea Diver]

@AweStruck_PNW

btw: Please double tap your icon and enter yor approximate location and USDA zone. This will help others provide excellent advice to you and notify folks in the area that you are around.

cheers
DSD sends

 

[AweStruck_PNW]

@AweStruck_PNW

btw: Please double tap your icon and enter yor approximate location and USDA zone. This will help others provide excellent advice to you and notify folks in the area that you are around.

cheers
DSD sends

Thanks for the advice! I'm just north of you it looks like...8B!

 

[AweStruck_PNW]

Welcome aboard to BonsaiNut!

Looks like you’ve been doing some fun germination experiments. Good Job!

You asked a number of questions

First off no issue with keeping all your trees together at this point. I do a lot of cuttiings and keep many species together at once, yet prefer the hardy species to go dormant if possible. However in your situatiin you’ll have to baby the lot all winter.

When these get too big for your dome, you can switch to chopped two liter bottles then harden these off.

At some point you will want to harden each tree off. Start by taking off the cover(s) inside for a couple hours inside, then Increase over time. When it’s time to take these outside do the same, a couple hours at a time, increase over time.

One of the key things any bonsai hobbyist learns is to gather as much information on each species they work with as possible. Use the search engine on this site to help, but also, look elsewhere, books web etc.

There are a couple (I think) online bonsai training courses offered by Bonsai Empire. I’ve taken all of these over time and refer back to selected parts at times. The first couple would get you started for now.

There are lots of trees you can start with in the Puget sound area. Chinese Elms, Black, Red and White pines etc Azaleas, Maples etc.

If it were me, I’d get some small Japanese Black Pine, Elm, Shimpaku or Nana Juniper and then study up how to keep these healthy and learn how do the initial styling. There are plenty of sources for these.

Also, I’d highly recommend you consider joining the Puget Sound Bonsai Association. You’ll get a chance to meet bonsai folks in the area, get training, and get to meet traveling professionals.

Here’s their web site.

cheers
DSD sends

Thanks for all the advice and clarification! I'm sure this hobby will include lots of trial and error, I'm just hoping to not lose a lot of trees if I can help it!

I will keep these little seedlings in my container for the time being and continue to monitor them. How long until I should consider doing any thing further? (like hardening, repotting, pruning, fertilizing). Should I just keep it simple for now while they're maturing a bit? I have to imagine I wouldn't want to expose anything to this cold air at this point (30-40 degree temperatures). Would hardening be something I do as it warms up in spring?

Also, I have used my germination mat to start seeds, but I have never tried growing something that needs warmth throughout the winter...should I leave this mat on underneath my dome? I have heard that this can lead to limp/weak plants if left on. Is that true?

I also have some seeds sewn that haven't appeared to do anything! Colorado Blue Spruce & Brazilin Rosewood...Do you have any recommendations on what I should/could do with these? As of now, they've been planted for just about 5 weeks and as far as I can tell there has been no change. I moved the blue spruces out of my dome in hopes that this would help but still nothing...

I will definitely check out all the resources that you mentioned, including the PSBA website! Looks like there is tons of help in my area so that's great! I can't help but think of these little seedlings as my pets now so I'll do whatever I can to help them make it! Forgive me for the many questions I'm asking and the many more that will come! I am very new to this but am enjoying it so my brain is firing in every direction haha.

Thanks again!

 

[AweStruck_PNW]

First 2 strictly outdoor year around! Second 2 indoors Winter, outdoors Spring, Summer(non freeezing times)likely. Spruces wait till freezing past to acclimate outdoors. Be aware to keep from damp off of roots now.

I'm assuming you mean outdoor once they have mature a little, correct? I can't help but feel like the cold would shock them at their early seedling stage. And you do you mean to be sure to keep the dampness off the roots when acclimating them? I can only imagine moisture on roots during a cold morning wouldn't be ideal :/

I'm trying to get a grasp for watering as that seems to be where most people struggle. Not too much, not too little, just a nice dampness that can still breathe, correct? I typically use a spray bottling to dampen the top soil, but I'm not sure it drains well enough to reach the bottom. Any suggestions? What do you think about bottom water? I've also seen/heard some people will use a chopstick to poke the soil and ensure that air can flow from top to bottom. is that a useful technique?

At what point would you even consider transplanting these to a shallower pot with screens and wiring so it can spread it's roots? I can't help but think I'm overwater the top and not getting enough moisture further down the little pot they're currently in.

Thanks again for all the help and wish me luck!

 

[Deep Sea Diver]

Glad to see you have your data up now. You live fairly close to us btw.

First, the trees that didn’t sprout likely need cold stratification, unless they were already given this…. Check this BonsaiNut resource to see. If the BRT is not in the manual, look online.

Second, watering…. you want the soil moist, but not wet. A spray bottle will work for everyday use. Put one tbsp of hydrogen peroxide per qt spray bottle to help ward off dampening off.

What media are you using and what temperature are you incubating to? It looks peat based. If so, be very careful it doesn’t dry out. It’s very hard to get wet again.

Believe it or not, I put my cutting trays out in the rain if possible to wet them down. However you might want to stick with the sprayer and a small watering can until you get a bit more experience.

Third. Hardening off. This is tree and sample dependent. But follow @Potawatomi13 overall advice. For now I’d say wait on the spruce samples until they get their next set of needles. Likely a month or more. Then ease off the heat mat.

Down the line a good intermediate step is a garage window in a domed tray with the vents open. Most hardware or nursery shops stock single domes and flats.

For other tree wait until all signs of frost are past before hardening of.

Cheers
DSD sends

 

[Potawatomi13]

I'm assuming you mean outdoor once they have mature a little, correct? I can't help but feel like the cold would shock them at their early seedling stage. And you do you mean to be sure to keep the dampness off the roots when acclimating them? I can only imagine moisture on roots during a cold morning wouldn't be ideal :/

IF surviving Winter indoors basic harden off(first woodiness)already exists. Adaption to strong Sunlight is biggest part of moving outdoors AFTER danger of frost passed. Damp off is fungal death of roots in seedlings from excess wetness + excess humidity. Some movement of air plus open substrate seems to help.

 

[Deep Sea Diver]

Please keep us advised on your progress along the way.

Cheers
DSD sends

 

[AweStruck_PNW]

Glad to see you have your data up now. You live fairly close to us btw.

First, the trees that didn’t sprout likely need cold stratification, unless they were already given this…. Check this BonsaiNut resource to see. If the BRT is not in the manual, look online.

Second, watering…. you want the soil moist, but not wet. A spray bottle will work for everyday use. Put one tbsp of hydrogen peroxide per qt spray bottle to help ward off dampening off.

What media are you using and what temperature are you incubating to? It looks peat based. If so, be very careful it doesn’t dry out. It’s very hard to get wet again.

Believe it or not, I put my cutting trays out in the rain if possible to wet them down. However you might want to stick with the sprayer and a small watering can until you get a bit more experience.

Third. Hardening off. This is tree and sample dependent. But follow @Potawatomi13 overall advice. For now I’d say wait on the spruce samples until they get their next set of needles. Likely a month or more. Then ease off the heat mat.

Down the line a good intermediate step is a garage window in a domed tray with the vents open. Most hardware or nursery shops stock single domes and flats.

For other tree wait until all signs of frost are past before hardening of.

Cheers
DSD sends

Thanks again for all the advice friend! It is greatly appreciated

I was just using a heating mat in the mornings before but I got a thermostat recently and am aiming for 75-80 degrees. Is that a good temperature to keep things at?

Also, i got some food grade hydrogen peroxide and found mixed descriptions on the ratio so I wanted to double check. Is that something that I should use each time I water or just once in awhile??

The soil they are currently in was a seeding soil that was a mixture of pete and coconut I believe...found it at a local garden shop and the owner said it was great stuff. When would I ever consider reporting these into a more standard soil?

It seems to be somewhat damp on top and then dry on the bottom. I worry that the roots will struggle to get deep, should I let them soak in a bottom watering tray each day or anything like that?

Onto soil...what kind of soil am I eventually going to be after? I notice most bonsai soil is a mixture of pumice and other coarse material. And then j also seem organic bonsai soil that seems a lot more like your standard bakc of dirt kind. Do people use either? Both? Or is it somewhat species specific?

Let me know if you ever wanna drive up north a bit and see my set up! I bet you can give me a bunch more tips in person! Haha

Thanks again Deep Sea Diver!

 

[Deep Sea Diver]

Greetings!

Looks like we are gonna have a wintry spell here soon! First one this year, so its a good thing you are growing indoors.

75F 24/7 is a good temperature for sprouting. I use 70F after things get growing well.

Keep the light at 12 hours for now. When all your seedlings get well established, you could push this up slowly.

You might want to repot when the seedlings outgrow their containers. You could change to an inorganic bonsai mix then… or keep these trees in a peat based mix until they have another year under their belts. I’d switch the pines for sure. The flame tree I don’t have experience with. Hopefully you have an outdoor area for the pines this year.

Here we usually use APL (akadama, pumice, lava) about 1:1:1 for conifers and 2:1:1 for deciduous, each with a 1/2 cup of horticultural charcoal per gallonish as our base media (sometimes called Boon mix) and deviate around this base depending on the tree age. We use this at the PacificBonsai Museum too. But there are 100’s of variations on bonsai mixes and most folks I know will claim there’s is the best. Any good pre sifted, evenly sized, well draining mix will likely work here as long as the pot also has good drainage.… mandatory in the PNW!

For younger trees growing out, and we have lots of azaleas that grow good in this, I tend to use a peat based mix until the third year.

We use 1 tbsp 3% H2O2 / qt of H2O spray all the time, even on orchids. Yet be sure your H2O2 is 3%. This should be buried in the label somewhere.

As far as your Brazilian rosewood seeds sprouting, the best thing would be to connect up with @Clicio who actually lives in Brasíl and has sprouted local seeds there.

This resource may help with the Colorado Blue Spruce seeds.

Media should be damp, not wet, throughout. That takes a bit of finessing using a heat mat. btw: Peat mixes are notoriously hard to rewet once dry. A bit drier on the bottom is normal with that set up.

We use peat based mix all the time for growing out cuttings and seedlings. Here’s part of this year’s set up.



cheers
DSD sends

 

[AweStruck_PNW]

Greetings!

Looks like we are gonna have a wintry spell here soon! First one this year, so its a good thing you are growing indoors.

75F 24/7 is a good temperature for sprouting. I use 70F after things get growing well.

Keep the light at 12 hours for now. When all your seedlings get well established, you could push this up slowly.

You might want to repot when the seedlings outgrow their containers. You could change to an inorganic bonsai mix then… or keep these trees in a peat based mix until they have another year under their belts. I’d switch the pines for sure. The flame tree I don’t have experience with. Hopefully you have an outdoor area for the pines this year.

Here we usually use APL (akadama, pumice, lava) about 1:1:1 for conifers and 2:1:1 for deciduous, each with a 1/2 cup of horticultural charcoal per gallonish as our base media (sometimes called Boon mix) and deviate around this base depending on the tree age. We use this at the PacificBonsai Museum too. But there are 100’s of variations on bonsai mixes and most folks I know will claim there’s is the best. Any good pre sifted, evenly sized, well draining mix will likely work here as long as the pot also has good drainage.… mandatory in the PNW!

For younger trees growing out, and we have lots of azaleas that grow good in this, I tend to use a peat based mix until the third year.

We use 1 tbsp 3% H2O2 / qt of H2O spray all the time, even on orchids. Yet be sure your H2O2 is 3%. This should be buried in the label somewhere.

As far as your Brazilian rosewood seeds sprouting, the best thing would be to connect up with @Clicio who actually lives in Brasíl and has sprouted local seeds there.

This resource may help with the Colorado Blue Spruce seeds.

Media should be damp, not wet, throughout. That takes a bit of finessing using a heat mat. btw: Peat mixes are notoriously hard to rewet once dry. A bit drier on the bottom is normal with that set up.

We use peat based mix all the time for growing out cuttings and seedlings. Here’s part of this year’s set up.

View attachment 413313

cheers
DSD sends

Fantastic set up! Look at how much you have going on! Super jealous....how does your power bill fair?

When will I know the plants outgrow their containers? Should I base this on the size of the overgrowth, or when the roots reach the bottom of the planter? Since the bottoms tend to be a bit drier than the top soil, I imagine I wouldn't want to roots to struggle though that dry stuff huh?

I'll attach pictures of the two kinds of soil that I have. I simply ordered these from Amazon when I first got started, not realizing the complexity of soil composition and how long it would be until I needed to repot. Do you know which would be best for me to use? Neither of them have charcoal...is that something you add separately? I do see lots of different types of fertilizer, but I haven't used any yet because in my experience that comes in later once you have a more mature plant. Is that true with trees as well?

Type 1:


Type 2 (organic):


My pines are just small little seedlings at the moment, hardly any needles and certainly not recognizable as trees yet. Do you think I should leave these in their current container until say spring time when the weather is warmer outside? When you say "Hopefully you have an outdoor area for the pines this year..." do you mean come spring time? I can't imagine they'd do well being put outside into the cold winter, right? And do you mean outside in the elements or simply outside in say a cooler area like a garage?

I most definitely plan on having these outside when I can! I just want to make sure the weather/air is appropriate for the stage they're at when I do that. In a perfect world, I'd have some of these displayed on my porch so I could enjoy them in the mornings with coffee and through the windows.

The hydrogen peroxide that I have is food grade (use it as mouthwash sometimes) and mostly definitely highlights that its 3% H2O2. I'll start adding it to my water! Thanks! After reading on it, it seems to be pretty universally used, it's just the ratio that seems to be different depending on what source you're reading. So I just wanted to clarify that so thank you! My plants will enjoy the added oxygen!

I'll continue to monitor the wetness of the soil and hopefully, this will just come with some practice. Do you ever try bottom watering? I have done that with other starts and house plants before and it seems to help keep the soil moisture evenly distributed. I just always make sure to let the pots drain on a rack for a bit, and will even use a chopstick to make sure the bottom isn't bogged down. Is this a technique that will work on these little seedlings as well ya think?

Thanks again for all your help, advice, knowledge, wisdom....all of that! Hopefully I don't get too obnoxious! haha

 

[Deep Sea Diver]

Thanks.

Yep, that’s just the indoor stuff. Our power bill is actually less now since we converted all house lights to LEDs in the house and put in an on demand water heater.

As far a bonsai media goes the key is equal sized media so the pores between particles will be similar to get max aeration. @markyscott has made a couple great resources posted that you might what to master about soil physics. The first media looks like it needs sifting to attain that goal and appears to be pretty large for your purposes.

The second, I can’t tell, yet it seems to be an organic mix.

Harden the pines trees out in spring.

Wait until roots are plentiful and to the bottom of each pot before repotting. That could be in a couple months or all summer depending on the individual growth rates.

Ok, one last piece of advice and I gotta check out of this thread for awhile. One thing you should do if you haven’t already is research each species you are growing or soon to buy…

For example I just got in some little chojubai from Matt O at https://kaedebonsai-en.com/ and willl soon have Brett at https://www.evergreengardenworks.com/. send me some more quince after the New Year to go along with the ones I have as a long term project. Consequently I’ve been reviewing all the literature I’ve access to on quince horticulture and growing methods.

Thus one’s main job is learning horticulture, as your first goal is always “grow this —— ina way it’s healthy through an entire year, including the winter”.

Right after this, or perhaps along with your horticulture is styling techniques. My advice, begin with learning about creating a nebari on young trees, then branching.

cheers
DSD sends

 

[AweStruck_PNW]

***UPDATE***

Well, it's been a few months now and my trees are still going strong! Although, we did lose a few along the way :/ I've heard this happens and not to take it personally haha.

The family has grown in some ways too! I now have a few pine tree seedlings and have been working on propagating some rosemary as well as a tree/shrub of some kind...in fact, let me know what this is if you can so I can research what to do next!

I also have this little jade plant now...im not sure what direction I'm headed with this, but I hear they're pretty manageable and I've seen some beautiful jade trees before so I'm hoping this will turn into something cool.

I'm quite impressed with these little 'flame trees' ... which I have since learned these are actually called royal poinciana. These are tropical, flowering trees socim hoping I'll be able to keep them alive in the PNW. I'm going to use a combination of insulation, lights and a germination pad if needed during cold spells. I think I'll be able to get these outside for some good chunks of the summer though, given the warmth we've had the last few of years. I may need a greenhouse if sorts but hey, I think I can manage that.

I know I'm still years away from doing much in the way if training these...but watching them grow larger each day sure is cool! Check out these big, fern like branches...I love how some grow their own branches and others don't. They're perfectly uniform, except they aren't! Haha.

Well, thanks for all the help everyone! I'll continue to keep you posted but hopefully all goes well and there won't be much to update for awhile! Let me know what you think this other little tree/cutting is and hopefully I can get a jump start with some propagating luck!

Thanks again friends!

Hello everyone!

My name is Casey and I live just north of Seattle. I hope everyone who reads this is doing well!!

I recently turned 35 and my fiance got me a bonsai kit for my birthday. I love gardening during the summer so she figured this would be a fun hobby for me and she was right, I have been enjoying my litte seedlings so far!

I would love any and all advice from you folks!!! As I am new to this hobby, I've been reading lots but its quite a slow process and there is soooooo much to know!

The kit that I got as a gift had 8 different types of seeds. Without too much thought, I planted the following:
-Black Spruce
-Colorado Blue Spruce
-Brazilian Rosewood
-Flame Tree.

I'm guessing that I'm in over my head here huh? I probably shouldn't have planted some tropical trees in the PNW during November...sigh...However, I do have a germination mat, a counter top greenhouse and a grow light that I've used for my summer vegetables.

I currently have each seed planted in its own pot using some seeding soil, with all of them in my counter top greenhouse. Using all of these tools, I've had some luck!

I probably shouldn't have them all together though should I? I'm assuming the spruces don't need as much humidity and warmth as the others types do huh?

What should I do? Should i move the spruces to a different area? Do they need to be in a greenhouse or covered area? It's cold this time of year and sunlight is minimal...so I'm relying on all my indoor tools :/

So far, all of my black spruce & flame tree seeds have some overgrowth, but nothing at all from the the Brazilian rosewood or the Colorado blue spruce.

What are your thoughts?? Is it overly ambitious to try and continue with these species? My flame trees seem to be doing OK, although my largest one seems to be kinda droopy suddenly...am I over watering it ya think?

I have my light on for maybe 10-12 hours a day, and I was using my germination mat to help keep them warm. I have since turned off the mat cause I was worried it was causing the flame trees to grow to quickly...is that something to be concerned with?

I'll include some pictures of my current setup and my trees! Let me know what you think and any suggestions for success are very welcome!!!

I'm thinking I might purchase a couple of trees to practice with while my seedlings are maturing further.

What kind of tree would you recommend? I've heard that ficus are rather easy, as well as some spruce trees...is this correct? Seeing that I live north of Seattle, I should probably choose a species that will do well in the cold eh?

Thanks again for any and all the help/advice
I'll for sure be in touch as my journey continues.

View attachment 412908View attachment 412914View attachment 412915View attachment 412916View attachment 412917View attachment 412918View attachment 412919View attachment 412920

Hello everyone!

My name is Casey and I live just north of Seattle. I hope everyone who reads this is doing well!!

I recently turned 35 and my fiance got me a bonsai kit for my birthday. I love gardening during the summer so she figured this would be a fun hobby for me and she was right, I have been enjoying my litte seedlings so far!

I would love any and all advice from you folks!!! As I am new to this hobby, I've been reading lots but its quite a slow process and there is soooooo much to know!

The kit that I got as a gift had 8 different types of seeds. Without too much thought, I planted the following:
-Black Spruce
-Colorado Blue Spruce
-Brazilian Rosewood
-Flame Tree.

I'm guessing that I'm in over my head here huh? I probably shouldn't have planted some tropical trees in the PNW during November...sigh...However, I do have a germination mat, a counter top greenhouse and a grow light that I've used for my summer vegetables.

I currently have each seed planted in its own pot using some seeding soil, with all of them in my counter top greenhouse. Using all of these tools, I've had some luck!

I probably shouldn't have them all together though should I? I'm assuming the spruces don't need as much humidity and warmth as the others types do huh?

What should I do? Should i move the spruces to a different area? Do they need to be in a greenhouse or covered area? It's cold this time of year and sunlight is minimal...so I'm relying on all my indoor tools :/

So far, all of my black spruce & flame tree seeds have some overgrowth, but nothing at all from the the Brazilian rosewood or the Colorado blue spruce.

What are your thoughts?? Is it overly ambitious to try and continue with these species? My flame trees seem to be doing OK, although my largest one seems to be kinda droopy suddenly...am I over watering it ya think?

I have my light on for maybe 10-12 hours a day, and I was using my germination mat to help keep them warm. I have since turned off the mat cause I was worried it was causing the flame trees to grow to quickly...is that something to be concerned with?

I'll include some pictures of my current setup and my trees! Let me know what you think and any suggestions for success are very welcome!!!

I'm thinking I might purchase a couple of trees to practice with while my seedlings are maturing further.

What kind of tree would you recommend? I've heard that ficus are rather easy, as well as some spruce trees...is this correct? Seeing that I live north of Seattle, I should probably choose a species that will do well in the cold eh?

Thanks again for any and all the help/advice
I'll for sure be in touch as my journey continues.

View attachment 412908View attachment 412914View attachment 412915View attachment 412916View attachment 412917View attachment 412918View attachment 412919View attachment 412920

Hello everyone!

My name is Casey and I live just north of Seattle. I hope everyone who reads this is doing well!!

I recently turned 35 and my fiance got me a bonsai kit for my birthday. I love gardening during the summer so she figured this would be a fun hobby for me and she was right, I have been enjoying my litte seedlings so far!

I would love any and all advice from you folks!!! As I am new to this hobby, I've been reading lots but its quite a slow process and there is soooooo much to know!

The kit that I got as a gift had 8 different types of seeds. Without too much thought, I planted the following:
-Black Spruce
-Colorado Blue Spruce
-Brazilian Rosewood
-Flame Tree.

I'm guessing that I'm in over my head here huh? I probably shouldn't have planted some tropical trees in the PNW during November...sigh...However, I do have a germination mat, a counter top greenhouse and a grow light that I've used for my summer vegetables.

I currently have each seed planted in its own pot using some seeding soil, with all of them in my counter top greenhouse. Using all of these tools, I've had some luck!

I probably shouldn't have them all together though should I? I'm assuming the spruces don't need as much humidity and warmth as the others types do huh?

What should I do? Should i move the spruces to a different area? Do they need to be in a greenhouse or covered area? It's cold this time of year and sunlight is minimal...so I'm relying on all my indoor tools :/

So far, all of my black spruce & flame tree seeds have some overgrowth, but nothing at all from the the Brazilian rosewood or the Colorado blue spruce.

What are your thoughts?? Is it overly ambitious to try and continue with these species? My flame trees seem to be doing OK, although my largest one seems to be kinda droopy suddenly...am I over watering it ya think?

I have my light on for maybe 10-12 hours a day, and I was using my germination mat to help keep them warm. I have since turned off the mat cause I was worried it was causing the flame trees to grow to quickly...is that something to be concerned with?

I'll include some pictures of my current setup and my trees! Let me know what you think and any suggestions for success are very welcome!!!

I'm thinking I might purchase a couple of trees to practice with while my seedlings are maturing further.

What kind of tree would you recommend? I've heard that ficus are rather easy, as well as some spruce trees...is this correct? Seeing that I live north of Seattle, I should probably choose a species that will do well in the cold eh?

Thanks again for any and all the help/advice
I'll for sure be in touch as my journey continues.

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Hello everyone!

My name is Casey and I live just north of Seattle. I hope everyone who reads this is doing well!!

I recently turned 35 and my fiance got me a bonsai kit for my birthday. I love gardening during the summer so she figured this would be a fun hobby for me and she was right, I have been enjoying my litte seedlings so far!

I would love any and all advice from you folks!!! As I am new to this hobby, I've been reading lots but its quite a slow process and there is soooooo much to know!

The kit that I got as a gift had 8 different types of seeds. Without too much thought, I planted the following:
-Black Spruce
-Colorado Blue Spruce
-Brazilian Rosewood
-Flame Tree.

I'm guessing that I'm in over my head here huh? I probably shouldn't have planted some tropical trees in the PNW during November...sigh...However, I do have a germination mat, a counter top greenhouse and a grow light that I've used for my summer vegetables.

I currently have each seed planted in its own pot using some seeding soil, with all of them in my counter top greenhouse. Using all of these tools, I've had some luck!

I probably shouldn't have them all together though should I? I'm assuming the spruces don't need as much humidity and warmth as the others types do huh?

What should I do? Should i move the spruces to a different area? Do they need to be in a greenhouse or covered area? It's cold this time of year and sunlight is minimal...so I'm relying on all my indoor tools :/

So far, all of my black spruce & flame tree seeds have some overgrowth, but nothing at all from the the Brazilian rosewood or the Colorado blue spruce.

What are your thoughts?? Is it overly ambitious to try and continue with these species? My flame trees seem to be doing OK, although my largest one seems to be kinda droopy suddenly...am I over watering it ya think?

I have my light on for maybe 10-12 hours a day, and I was using my germination mat to help keep them warm. I have since turned off the mat cause I was worried it was causing the flame trees to grow to quickly...is that something to be concerned with?

I'll include some pictures of my current setup and my trees! Let me know what you think and any suggestions for success are very welcome!!!

I'm thinking I might purchase a couple of trees to practice with while my seedlings are maturing further.

What kind of tree would you recommend? I've heard that ficus are rather easy, as well as some spruce trees...is this correct? Seeing that I live north of Seattle, I should probably choose a species that will do well in the cold eh?

Thanks again for any and all the help/advice
I'll for sure be in touch as my journey continues.

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[Deep Sea Diver]

Well done Casey!

Keep up the good work.

DSD sends

 

[Potawatomi13]

What species is "Rocky Mtn Pine"?

 

[AweStruck_PNW]

What species is "Rocky Mtn Pine"?

I could certainly be wrong as I am very much a beginner...but the seeds were labeled Pinus Aristata, which I think is also known as the Rocky Mountain Bristlecone Pine.
Again, I could be wrong but they sure look cool! Watching them germinate and 'hatch' reminds me of little shop of horrors!

 

[Potawatomi13]

Hoping that was answer.