Newbie here, unsure what the next step will be.

[EthanCox]

Hi there!
I'm a complete newbie to the art of Bonsai, I've always had an interest in the art and was purchased a "grow your own" kit for Christmas.
So far I've had 4/5 of the Scots Pines germinate which I'm super please with! See the photos attached, what should I do with them as they are potted in the soil that came with the kit and the compostable pots. I'm worried that the pots may end up rotting? Also will I need to move it outside at any point? Currently in winter over here in England with temperatures reaching 0°C/just below.
Thanks!
Ethan

 

[EthanCox]

Photo attached here:

 

[Huggz13]

Welcome!

You can leave them in there for a while.

Then when they get a littler bigger and stronger and get some needles on them, get them into a nursery pot with well-draining organic potting mix and get them outdoors in a good location and just let them grow and develop while keeping them watered and fertilized.

There are two stages of Bonsai - development and refinement.

The first instinct is to go directly to refinement and skip development altogether. That is, take baby trees and wire them, put them in a Bonsai pot, and start trimming and shaping, but that’s not the way to go.
Of course you can do that if you want.
But ideally, to be true Bonsai, they must grow and develop first to thicken the trunk and develop a tapered trunk.

You can grow trees from seed.
Or buy preBonsai (young trees and shrubs) online or from nurseries and start developing them.
Or collect suitable Bonsai material (trees and shrubs with an already thick trunk that are ready for shaping and design) by digging specimens.
Or buy Bonsai material online or from local nurseries.

These videos have helped me immensely with regard to development and getting started.

Bonsai Roadmap

Bonsai Development

Slip Potting

Beginner Guide

And of course ask lots of questions on here and learn from the experience and mistakes of others. Everyone is very helpful.

I’m new as well, so others can add to what I’ve said here. But this is what I’ve learned in just a couple of days and I hope it helps.

 

[ShadyStump]

Bonus points for getting one of those kits to do anything!
You just showed up half the members of this forum.

They will need to be raised outside, but will hopefully make to spring good and strong. Where are you keeping them now? They'll need allot of light to make it.

The peat pots rotting shouldn't be an issue if you're watering properly. You should be fine for now, but once they've out grown it in a little while you'll need to repot them into individual larger pots for growing out. Don't just drop that one into a new pot, though. Those are intended for planting starts in the ground.
That is an option, to just plant them in the ground to grow larger for several years. Many of us do that because the trees will grow much faster than when in a pot.

Bonsai might better be described as the art of wait and see. While you're learning that you can watch those videos, and read like crazy on this forum to get an idea of next steps.

 

[EthanCox]

Bonus points for getting one of those kits to do anything!
You just showed up half the members of this forum.

They will need to be raised outside, but will hopefully make to spring good and strong. Where are you keeping them now? They'll need allot of light to make it.

The peat pots rotting shouldn't be an issue if you're watering properly. You should be fine for now, but once they've out grown it in a little while you'll need to repot them into individual larger pots for growing out. Don't just drop that one into a new pot, though. Those are intended for planting starts in the ground.
That is an option, to just plant them in the ground to grow larger for several years. Many of us do that because the trees will grow much faster than when in a pot.

Bonsai might better be described as the art of wait and see. While you're learning that you can watch those videos, and read like crazy on this forum to get an idea of next steps.

They're currently sitting within a propagator in my kitchen with a West facing window, we get plenty of sun throughout the day providing there's no cloud cover! The kitchen temperature is far more regular than the living room etc. Would you recommend moving them outside now within the propagator? The only problem with them being outside is that we only have a front garden which is mostly undercover?

 

[Huggz13]

They're currently sitting within a propagator in my kitchen with a West facing window, we get plenty of sun throughout the day providing there's no cloud cover! The kitchen temperature is far more regular than the living room etc. Would you recommend moving them outside now within the propagator? The only problem with them being outside is that we only have a front garden which is mostly undercover?

Since they’re doing well so far and they’re still very tender and it’s still a little cold, I wouldn’t move them outside yet.

Others might disagree, but I would wait until your nighttime temps warm up and then get them outside in the sunniest location you can find in your yard (I mean your garden)

 

[ShadyStump]

They're currently sitting within a propagator in my kitchen with a West facing window, we get plenty of sun throughout the day providing there's no cloud cover! The kitchen temperature is far more regular than the living room etc. Would you recommend moving them outside now within the propagator? The only problem with them being outside is that we only have a front garden which is mostly undercover?

I would keep them in that window until any danger of frost has passed, but I'd recommend getting a good grow light to supplement with. Very few trees will thrive indoors on partial sunlight, and definitely not these.
Do you have any significant experience with vegetable or flower gardening? Just wondering what your base experience level is now. Makes a difference in where to start explaining things.

 

[EthanCox]

I would keep them in that window until any danger of frost has passed, but I'd recommend getting a good grow light to supplement with. Very few trees will thrive indoors on partial sunlight, and definitely not these.
Do you have any significant experience with vegetable or flower gardening? Just wondering what your base experience level is now. Makes a difference in where to start explaining things.

I've grown basic plants here and there over the years but just never really focused a whole lot of time on them which is something I regret! So all in all not a lot of experience

 

[leatherback]

You just showed up half the members of this forum.

 

[EthanCox]

I would keep them in that window until any danger of frost has passed, but I'd recommend getting a good grow light to supplement with. Very few trees will thrive indoors on partial sunlight, and definitely not these.
Do you have any significant experience with vegetable or flower gardening? Just wondering what your base experience level is now. Makes a difference in where to start explaining things.

Are there any lights your recommend in particular?

 

[ShadyStump]

I'm fairly new myself- a couple years in on a tight budget with quite a body count, LoL- and only in the last few months started focusing on lights at all. Where you are now, I'd say anything at the hardware store or garden center that's designed for seed starting, and is fairly bright. The red/blue LED grow bulbs are great for this, and can be had cheaply. Just hang it from a regular light socket cord over the trees. You shouldn't have to worry about anything big or fancy right now. Ask at the shop and they'll be able to help you.

This is my south facing front window, keeping a few plants that won't weather our winters alive.

Doesn't have to be much, just make sure it's some stout light output for pines. If you can't find grow lights for some reason, a regular day light type bulb with around 450+ lumens output and a color temperature of at least 5000 Kelvin will probably get you to spring.

 

[EthanCox]

I'm fairly new myself- a couple years in on a tight budget with quite a body count, LoL- and only in the last few months started focusing on lights at all. Where you are now, I'd say anything at the hardware store or garden center that's designed for seed starting, and is fairly bright. The red/blue LED grow bulbs are great for this, and can be had cheaply. Just hang it from a regular light socket cord over the trees. You shouldn't have to worry about anything big or fancy right now. Ask at the shop and they'll be able to help you.

This is my south facing front window, keeping a few plants that won't weather our winters alive.
View attachment 417290
Doesn't have to be much, just make sure it's some stout light output for pines. If you can't find grow lights for some reason, a regular day light type bulb with around 450+ lumens output and a color temperature of at least 5000 Kelvin will probably get you to spring.

Awesome thanks for the info! I forgot to mention within this kit there was: Dawn redwood, red maple, larch, Norway spruce and Scots pine. Didn't have much hope for the dawn, latch and red maple but 2 of the Norway spruce have germinated so far, would the same course of action for the Scots be in order for the spruce?

 

[ShadyStump]

Awesome thanks for the info! I forgot to mention within this kit there was: Dawn redwood, red maple, larch, Norway spruce and Scots pine. Didn't have much hope for the dawn, latch and red maple but 2 of the Norway spruce have germinated so far, would the same course of action for the Scots be in order for the spruce?

Yes. Conifers in general will have similar baseline needs as far as growing is concerned, though when you get to development for bonsai their differences become more outstanding.

If you're inclined to start more trees, give the others a go! Different people in different climates find different trees to be more or less successful, or appealing. Maples are very popular because they're fast growing, hardy, and very more forgiving of newbie mistakes than pines tend to be.
I promise you'll get tired of waiting the decades it will take for these to look like something to show off, so you can hunt around the local nursery or garden center for something that's at least mature already to start working on.

 

[Huggz13]

I promise you'll get tired of waiting the decades it will take for these to look like something to show off, so you can hunt around the local nursery or garden center for something that's at least mature already to start working on.

Fact.