Seedlings 2021

[shibui]

As seed is hard to come by now I planted a Japanese black pine in the paddock as a seed tree. Last autumn I harvested a few cones and extracted some seed.
Sowed the seed in winter and left the tray out in the open through winter.
Seedlings emerged a bit later than expected but germination rates are OK.

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Last week I pricked some out into individual pots. Everyone will have their own 'best' way to do this but I get good results with this method.

Lift the seedlings out gently.

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Some already have lateral roots starting to grow

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I cut the main root just below the best cluster of laterals so the plant puts all its energy into those side roots and into growing a few more that will form a good nebari in future.

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Some don't have any sign of lateral roots yet so I just cut the main root anywhere.

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Young seedlings can very quickly grow replacement roots. Chopping like this usually causes lots of lateral roots to form just above the cut.

Due to limited time and space I just potted 30 of the seedlings in that session. Still plenty more left.

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Timing is not critical for pricking out seedlings. I'll do more when I can make some space.

Also a tray of Japanese maple seedlings.

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These are from seed selected from the smaller growing cultivars in our garden and from some with smaller leaves to see if I can get some better forms for smaller bonsai.
I probably won't bother pricking these out into individual pots this season unless I spot some with special characteristics.

[Pearcy001]

Looking good Neil, although you may need even more bench space soon haha.
Do you usually liquid fertilize young seedlings soon after potting them up, or do you find the slow release is sufficient? I recently potted up a bunch of Ilex Serrata this Spring into 55mm pots, and now I'm thinking I should have gone larger, what size pots have you put the pine into?

Cheers,
Pearcy.

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[shibui]

All my seedlings for bonsai go straight into 11 cm squat pots that they will grow in for at least the first year. 55mm is OK for a start, provided you can manage watering adequately, but they will probably need to be potted on again before the end of the season.
These seedlings will get additional liquid feed whenever the rest of the plants get it - so every 2-4 weeks.

[Miikeboyle]

In late autumn I found a few Trident Maple trees in a local park covered in seed. I collected some seed and stratified it in the fridge over winter. Germination was way better than I thought and I ended up with 3 pots jam packed with seedlings. I'll just grow them for a year and then decide what to do next when they are dormant. I really enjoy playing with Tridents after playing around with the seedlings I purchased from you a few years back.

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[shibui]

That is a LOT of tridents. Germination from fresh seed is usually really good whether you stratify or not.
Crowding will reduce growth but on the plus side they should all have shorter internodes on the trunks so potential to develop better trees or smaller trees from them.
If you do want to let some grow faster and bigger you can prick out a few as I showed for the pines. Tridents transplant really easy. Roots can be cut hard and they will respond with lots of laterals that will give better nebari in future.

Whatever you do there will be lots of seedlings to trade/ sell/ give to friends next winter - spring.

[Pearcy001]

All my seedlings for bonsai go straight into 11 cm squat pots that they will grow in for at least the first year. 55mm is OK for a start, provided you can manage watering adequately, but they will probably need to be potted on again before the end of the season.
These seedlings will get additional liquid feed whenever the rest of the plants get it - so every 2-4 weeks.

Thanks Neil, I'm new to the seed game.

Cheers,
Pearcy.

Sent from my SM-G973F using Tapatalk

[Promethius]

Really appreciate the information and pictures. The internet is full of tips for advanced tree refinement; advice around development of early stock and seedling management is harder to come by but no less valuable. Cheers!

Andy