AusBonsai

I was in the city today and signed a petition for the Australian Conservation Foundation. In exchange, he gave me a seed card. The seeds are from the lemon-scented bottlebrush (Callistemon Citrinus). My first thought was "Yay, bonsai!", which is probably a bad thing as the point is to plant it in your garden. Oops. (In my defence, I'm renting and will be moving in the near future, so in a pot I can keep it)

I've never seen these before, but thought they were a charming idea. But that led me to wonder if seed cards affect the viability of the seeds at all?

I'm yet to do anything with it. I bought some seed raising mix this arvo as I have been meaning to sow a few different seeds I've collected (mostly gums), so I'll do it when it stops raining, perhaps tomorrow.

But has anyone used these before? I searched the forum and got no search results. If so, was the germination rate significantly different to using either collected or otherwise bought seed?

Rhiannon wrote:I was in the city today and signed a petition for the Australian Conservation Foundation. In exchange, he gave me a seed card. The seeds are from the lemon-scented bottlebrush (Callistemon Citrinus). My first thought was "Yay, bonsai!", which is probably a bad thing as the point is to plant it in your garden. Oops. (In my defence, I'm renting and will be moving in the near future, so in a pot I can keep it)

I've never seen these before, but thought they were a charming idea. But that led me to wonder if seed cards affect the viability of the seeds at all?

I'm yet to do anything with it. I bought some seed raising mix this arvo as I have been meaning to sow a few different seeds I've collected (mostly gums), so I'll do it when it stops raining, perhaps tomorrow.

But has anyone used these before? I searched the forum and got no search results. If so, was the germination rate significantly different to using either collected or otherwise bought seed?

Would say natually collected seed would be more viable, than those that have gone through a carding process. But perhaps not, as I know my stock of carded seeds sits on the shelf for months and months before it is sold and turned over. I have never had anyone return the carded seeds, because they did not germinate (I am referring to flowering plant seeds, not native trees though).

Sweet, sounds promising. Thanks.

Rhiannon wrote:Sweet, sounds promising. Thanks.

Inevitably what's a bit, of seed raising mix worth (suprisingly a lot from Buzzings )? That's all at stake, chuck them in the sun and see what happens. Could get some great plants down the track.

Haha, that's what I figure! All the other seeds I have were collected from trees around my place, the seed card was free, seed raising mix cost me $13 for 30 litres - I figure a few bucks isn't much to lose! Worst case scenario, I'll learn a lesson from the failure.

The only concerning thing is that the seed raising container I bought doesn't have holes in the bottom. I figure I should fix that. You get what you pay for, I guess.

Rhiannon wrote:
The only concerning thing is that the seed raising container I bought doesn't have holes in the bottom. I figure I should fix that. You get what you pay for, I guess.

That's interesting! Are they designed for you to punch the correct drainage size yourself, I wonder? A bit parculiar..

I have no idea! Haha. I found it a little odd. I've read that seedlings should not be sitting in water (my general impression is that any tree sitting in water, particularly over winter, is especially bad), so figured the water shouldn't be sitting in the bottom of the container. At first I thought maybe the idea was that seedlings should soak this water back up, but the more I read the more I thought this was erroneous.

But I know nothing about seed raising containers - I've never seen one before (I was looking for seedling trays, saw this one for $8 and decided to scoop it up) not do I know how to use one, so this is all just trial and error.

At the bottom of the tray are a few (not sure how many from memory, but 3 or 4) long grooves, so I was thinking of drilling some holes in there. Perhaps that's the idea, but I don't know - there are no 'instructions' or text of any sort anywhere on or inside the box.

I just hope I don't crack the plastic!

Rhiannon wrote:I have no idea! Haha. I found it a little odd. I've read that seedlings should not be sitting in water (my general impression is that any tree sitting in water, particularly over winter, is especially bad), so figured the water shouldn't be sitting in the bottom of the container. At first I thought maybe the idea was that seedlings should soak this water back up, but the more I read the more I thought this was erroneous.

But I know nothing about seed raising containers - I've never seen one before (I was looking for seedling trays, saw this one for $8 and decided to scoop it up) not do I know how to use one, so this is all just trial and error.

At the bottom of the tray are a few (not sure how many from memory, but 3 or 4) long grooves, so I was thinking of drilling some holes in there. Perhaps that's the idea, but I don't know - there are no 'instructions' or text of any sort anywhere on or inside the box.

I just hope I don't crack the plastic!

I doesn't have two green vents on top does it?

Sure does. The brand is Garden Edge, if that means anything to you.

Rhiannon wrote:Sure does. The brand is Garden Edge, if that means anything to you.

Yeah it does. It is a humidy crib designed to have those black seedling trays inserted into it. It has no drainage holes, because the black inserts are ment to hold the seedlings, up above the lying water. The roots then drop down into the water. The water under the seedlings creates the humidity and you control that by opening and closing the vents.

I don't think, you are ment to fill it with soil.

Does it look similar to this one?

3 Foot Tall Ant Nest with Foraging Area- Authentic Natural Simulation

Yeah, that's exactly what it looks like, except it came with the black seedling tray inside it.

I feel like I'm missing something that's supposed to be really obvious - how does it work if you're not putting soil in the seedling tray? The holes in the bottom are plenty big for the seeds to fall through.

Rhiannon wrote:Yeah, that's exactly what it looks like, except it came with the black seedling tray inside it.

I feel like I'm missing something that's supposed to be really obvious - how does it work if you're not putting soil in the seedling tray? The holes in the bottom are plenty big for the seeds to fall through.

I had no need for the black seedling tray in my ant farm.
You put the soil in the seedling tray, then put the tray in the humidy crib. I was meaning you don't fill the bottom tray of the humidy crib with soil.

Oh! Now I get what you mean now. I thought you meant you don't put any soil in the seedling tray haha. It all makes sense now. Yeah, I wasn't gonna put soil in the green tray itself. I saw a Yates one in Bunnings today and it had holes so I figured mine was too cheap to have holes, or something. Thanks for clarifying that.

Also, the thing I was wondering was, with the humidity... what are you trying to achieve? As in, how humid are you supposed to keep the seedlings/when should you open the vents, etc? I had no idea how to use them so was just gonna wing it.

This is just my understanding in layperson terms. (Me being the layperson not you )

The more heat / water the higher the humdity.
The higher the humidity the more moisture is contained in the air.
The more moisture in the air the more the soil soaks up.

When and if you notice the side and particularly the top dripping with water, you could assume you soil is saturated from the run off. If the vents were left closed continuously, then perhaps your soil will become waterlogged and harm the seeds / seedlings.
It's really trial and error, if you think there is way to much humidity open the vents a tad. If it all dissapates to rapidly, close them a bit again.

For example figs thrive in humid environments, pleanty of moisture in the air, their soil stays damp, they suck it up and thrive. Not all plants enjoy these conditions though...

Seems like everything in bonsai - have a go and learn how it works from experience.

Thanks for the tips, makes heaps more sense now. I'll give it a go and see what happens. Maybe I'll get some new trees to play with and learn from, or maybe I'll just find out what not to do.

Cheers.