New member and new bonsais

ajvarn · White Belt Joined: 27 Jun 2008 Posts: 3

hello im new to the forum and so i thought id start off with a little help with my bonsais. I have 3 of the same kind which i have grown from seed and i just want to know firstly what the species is and secondly what to do next with them

http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2752299440100378208LzFHMo

many thanks arnie

leejr · Posted: Fri Jun 27, 2008 6:22 pm Post subject: Re: New member and new bonsais

Hi and welcome to the most helpful forum around.I think they are of a two needle pine variety although not a 100% sure.
If your circumstances allow you to i would put them in the ground to grow for a while, if not the ground then maybe a large pot.
someone who will know for sure what they are will be a long shortly no doubt and will advise you a lot better than myself. Good luck. Very Happy

Stymie · Posted: Fri Jun 27, 2008 8:18 pm Post subject: Re: New member and new bonsais

ajvarn Hi.
You don't indicate whereabouts in the world you are, not even the hemisphere.
They are certainly some kind of pine. What did it say on the seed container? They must stay outside of course and open ground would be best for a few years.

ajvarn · White Belt Joined: 27 Jun 2008 Posts: 3

im from hertfordshire, england....i cant remember what it said on the seed packet....they are JBP's arnt they? thats what i can gather from what i can find on google

Stymie · Posted: Fri Jun 27, 2008 10:16 pm Post subject: Re: New member and new bonsais

They could well be Pinus thunbergii seedlings although I wouldn't be dogmatic about the variety. Make sure that they are outside at all times. They will grow many times faster in open ground with well drained soil and it will be a considerable number of years before you can call them bonsai. Meanwhile, you might like to invest in some nursery-grown material to maintain your interest while you are waiting for them to grow. Read the other forums on this site to identify suitable species.

imholte · Posted: Sat Jun 28, 2008 1:05 am Post subject: Re: New member and new bonsais

Your 3 seedlings are obviously pines, but are hard to tell what they are untill they get their adult needles.

The only thing you can do with your seedlings is to let them grow. Once they are of workable size then you can start to style them and work on them in hopes that they will become a bonsai tree, right now they are just seedlings in a pot.

Don has some good advice about getting some older material from a nursery that you can work on for a few years until your seedlings have grown a bit.

Oh and numerours bonsai are called bonsai, not bonsais

Welcome and hope to see you around more...there is a load of information to delve into on this forum so get to reading and learn lots.

ajvarn · White Belt Joined: 27 Jun 2008 Posts: 3

thanks for the advice, they will go in the ground asap.

steve · Posted: Sat Jun 28, 2008 2:58 pm Post subject: Re: New member and new bonsais

For best results, plant ehm above a flat piece of slate or something to keep the roots growing radially not veritically.