What are the easiest species to grow from seed?

[Saizan]

I definitely need to get some black pine seeds, I'm currently growing 5 pinus pinea or possibly allepo pine that I grew from collected seed. I've tried the seedling cutting technique on one of them but I'm not sure if it will work. Black pines are proven to work though so I should definitely get some seeds. Know of any seed suppliers that would ship to South Africa?

Seedling cutting works perfectly with Pinus halepensis (I did it at 90% success rate many times). P. thunbergii, P. pinea and P. halepensis grow quite well in mediterranean climate.

 

[Blox]

I've ordered and had delivered seeds from more suppliers, from more continents. There's no problem with shipping generally, but certain species can be prohibited to export or import and then it's up to supplier.

Wanted to mention those Mediterranean pines before...you can consider all the species from that region - pistacia, olive, rosemary...some Australian natives - malaleuca, eucalyptus, leptospermum, metrosideros, callistemon...

Most Mediterranean species are fine, except the pines which can't be bought/sold etc. (invasive laws) most Australian natives are especially prohibited. I could probably try to collect some though, I'm sure I could say I'm removing alien species or something?

 

[Blox]

I'm also in a Mediterranean climate. I've had a very easy go of it with Japanese Maple, Liquidambar, Chinese Elm and Pomegranate. Black pine is easy to germinate, but they grow more slowly.

Do you provide extra shade for your Japanese maples? Is the winter cold enough for them to go dormant? According to the internet it seems like they need quite a long period of freezing temperatures to be healthy which I never get.

 

[Blox]

I have found sheffields to be by FAR the best place to buy seeds. They are often more expensive, but you get what you pay for. Also had great luck with myseeds.co. Rareexoticseeds sent good stuff too, except the trident maple seeds I bought seemed to be old and almost none sprouted (but that may have been my fault). They sent extra gift seeds though so its okay.

Thanks, I'll check those out

 

[Blox]

Seedling cutting works perfectly with Pinus halepensis (I did it at 90% success rate many times). P. thunbergii, P. pinea and P. halepensis grow quite well in mediterranean climate.

Do you have any developed Mediterranean pine bonsai? It would be nice to see some and also to hear about your methods. They are everywhere here and the seeds germinate really well

 

[Saizan]

Do you have any developed Mediterranean pine bonsai? It would be nice to see some and also to hear about your methods. They are everywhere here and the seeds germinate really well

Mine just have 3 years from seed, so we cannot consider it "well developed" . I can give you some links about, but there's very scarce information about develop of mediterranean pines compared with japanese pines.

For example, just take a look to this link (found on this forum some time ago): http://www.ofer-grunwald-bonsai.com/cracking-mediterranean-red-pines/

Another example of Aleppo pine: http://centrobonsaitenerife.blogspot.com.es/2016/06/actualizacion-pino-halepensis.html

 

[petegreg]

Centrobonsaitenerife...wow that's maybe the best M. pine grown in pot I've ever seen. Thank you for the link.

 

[Blox]

Mine just have 3 years from seed, so we cannot consider it "well developed" . I can give you some links about, but there's very scarce information about develop of mediterranean pines compared with japanese pines.

For example, just take a look to this link (found on this forum some time ago): http://www.ofer-grunwald-bonsai.com/cracking-mediterranean-red-pines/

Another example of Aleppo pine: http://centrobonsaitenerife.blogspot.com.es/2016/06/actualizacion-pino-halepensis.html

Thanks, that looks really good

 

[Adair M]

Grow olives from cuttings.

 

[Blox]

Grow olives from cuttings.

I'll try to get some cuttings from some wild olives. I really want to collect an old one though, some of those look amazing

 

[Adair M]

I'll try to get some cuttings from some wild olives. I really want to collect an old one though, some of those look amazing

Choose ones with small leaves. They grow from cuttings easily.

 

[Blox]

Choose ones with small leaves. They grow from cuttings easily.

yeah the local wild olives have small leaves that reduce in size dramatically

 

[michaelj]

Do you provide extra shade for your Japanese maples? Is the winter cold enough for them to go dormant? According to the internet it seems like they need quite a long period of freezing temperatures to be healthy which I never get.

We have very low chill hour totals here in Southern California. I don't think we got below 28-29(F) all winter, and we only faced overnight lows in the low 30s for maybe 10-15 nights total. My maples are thriving, however. They all went dormant and they all grew vigorously this spring. In the summer, I do put most of my maples in areas that get afternoon shade. Otherwise I'd use shade cloth. Aside from that, it's all good. And for what it's worth, my neighbors two doors down were from near Cape Town and they've told me many times that the weather here is very much like their weather back home.

 

[Blox]

We have very low chill hour totals here in Southern California. I don't think we got below 28-29(F) all winter, and we only faced overnight lows in the low 30s for maybe 10-15 nights total. My maples are thriving, however. They all went dormant and they all grew vigorously this spring. In the summer, I do put most of my maples in areas that get afternoon shade. Otherwise I'd use shade cloth. Aside from that, it's all good. And for what it's worth, my neighbors two doors down were from near Cape Town and they've told me many times that the weather here is very much like their weather back home.

that's encouraging. Do you get much wind? during summer and winter we have nearly constant wind but the summer wind is harsh

 

[michaelj]

We get winds that we call the Santa Anas. They can wreak havoc on a bonsai collection. You might have to water 3 times a day during Santa Ana wind days. Can be 100 degrees and 50 mph. Sucks the water out like it's using a straw. The maples leaves often start crisping at the tips when they come. But they generally survive.

 

[Timbo]

How about Pinus elliotti (slash pine)? I'm growing some Ceiba pentandra (Kapok tree), Grevillea robusta (Silk oak), Cedrela odorata (Spanish cedar). If I can grow them indoors (outside in summer) in 4b/5a you should be good Kapok needs more humidity though. Silk oak and Spanish cedar are suppose to be drought tolerant. Fast growing too! Silk oak is prone to wind damage, not sure that matters much in a 2 ft tree I'd love to have those trees in my yard, Baobab tree too. At least look up the Kapok tree buttress....pretty amazing along with the bark.

 

[M. Frary]

How about Pinus elliotti (slash pine)? I'm growing some Ceiba pentandra (Kapok tree), Grevillea robusta (Silk oak), Cedrela odorata (Spanish cedar). If I can grow them indoors (outside in summer) in 4b/5a you should be good Kapok needs more humidity though. Silk oak and Spanish cedar are suppose to be drought tolerant. Fast growing too! Silk oak is prone to wind damage, not sure that matters much in a 2 ft tree I'd love to have those trees in my yard, Baobab tree too. At least look up the Kapok tree buttress....pretty amazing along with the bark.

Why not have trees that will grow in your area. Ones that don't need to go inside. There are quite a few you know.
Being in Kalakaska go check out Barker Creek nursery on M72 in Williamsburg. They have a wide selection of plants that will work. Large procumbens junipers,japanese maples,boxwoods,mugo pines and others. And while you're there take a good look at the mugo pines. They said they were getting some large ones in. 10 gallon large. I haven't been there since early spring and they were waiting on a shipment.
Growing from seed is ok but I'd rather cut out the wait,get a large tree and cut it down to a workable bonsai size.

 

[Timbo]

I bought some from there, I just actually did root work on a back lot Mugo pine I got....worse circling roots I've seen yet (prolly won't make it). I bought a Amur maple 'flame' that I chopped (great growers). Biggest problem is I'm on a tight budget and unless they have sales they are too expensive for me. 10 gallon Mugo's are expensive. I have some of those stated, not many are close to bonsai size. I just can't afford spending 200-400+ on a Japanese maple, not to mention the chance of dieback in the ground. It's one tree I want but I would rather buy a 1/2 inch $10 on clearance JM and watch it grow/cutting/air-layer. If nurseries would sell medium size potted trees like Elm's, Maple's, Redbud's, Redwoods, for a decent price I could get a few here and there. they had a weeping Elm last year, but wanted 250+ if I remember right. Last fall they had some sweet Dawn Redwood 'Oden gold"? that I was too late on for the half off sale. I mean they sell these small 1/2 gallon concolor fir seedling for $20 with bad circling roots, all the conifers I saw you could possible put in a bonsai pot were over $100 even $200. Basically I have to wait for fall sales to be able to afford trees (One reason I collect so much). Also I like tropical trees! I'm not to the point I want to spend $100-500 on a tree I'm going to chop until I know I can keep them alive long term. Even for a 1-2 inch basic tree you are looking at $50-150 bucks and still not ready to work on it as a bonsai. If it's wasn't for me living on a small lot and needing permits I would get a seller's license and sell seedlings.

To me it's the enjoyment and process as much as the final product, I'm not looking to win any bonsai contest. I love looking at my small collection whether they are just stumps with leaves or some kind of shape. Even my 3/4 inch JM I have, not much but they are my favorite tree, as with Dawn Redwoods and Larches. I've been growing some elms from seed since last year along with other fast growers, I can watch them grow and I can manipulate them the way I want as they grow. Not buying a pot bound, strangling root nursery tree at an expensive price that may die after root work. I just made a Siberian Elm seedling over a small rock as the roots made that style look neat to me. Obviously the time element is the big catch, which is why I've mostly gone fast growers. in less than a year my Elm's and northern Catalpa's are pencil thick.

Long answer I know, a bit off topic but that is my situation. No woe is me, that's just my current state.

 

[Timbo]

To add to that, if anyone is looking for seedling, the local conservation district has tree sales in spring and fall as I'm sure some people have mentioned, better than seeds I suppose if they have what your are looking for. Of course most are native species. Better to buy a year or 2 behind and get 25 seedling (whips) for $15-40 bucks. Not always the best quality but saves money, gets a head start on slower growers like conifers and young enough to manipulate roots.

 

[jcrossett]

Aren't bougainvillea native to your area.

Sorry on a flowering kick lately loll.