Friend in Japan sent me a DIY 'grow your own bonsai' kit as a Christmas gift. I am a square 1, absolute 0 experience grower. Advice?

[rhizodyne]

Hi, so complete newbie here who was essentially thrown into this hobby via a Christmas gift sent to me by a friend in Fukuoka.

What she sent me is a tiny 'DIY at home super easy yadda yadda' store-bought bonsai kit that comes in a small egg shaped container and includes a very small, no drainage pot, a few seeds in a small package, and a small pack of something called 膨らみ土 = 'expanding soil,' which I think is supposed to function as starter material, and apparently expands significantly when water is added. Evidently the species of seed I have is 黒松 Japanese black pine.

I became a little skeptical of how simple the instructions were. They basically just say to open the soil and put it in the included pot, add about 30 mL of lukewarm water (or enough until the soil expands by about 5x), and then just put the seeds into the soil, so that they are submerged. Oh, and to just make sure to water regularly and avoid direct sunlight until after I see germination, at which point I should make sure it gets at least half a day of sun and some decent wind. I should then choose an evidently successful sprout and then put it in a separate pot.

But then I read up online about how cultivating bonsai from seeds is actually very challenging, and how I need to take very specific care during the germination process, and basically every stage afterward if I can even get that far. Needless to say I am suspicious of how simple the attached instructions are.

So, what do you guys here make of the instructions on this kit? They do seem quite rudimentary, but at the same time I presume the company that makes these just wants to make this as beginner friendly as possible? I also read that the Japanese black pine is pretty good for beginners.

The package also says that this is meant to be 'ornamental' as a bonsai, I'm not sure what to make of that other than that it's supposed to look pretty and/or be quite small.

Any thoughts or advice would be much appreciated.

I attached a photo of the kit's contents.

 

[Potawatomi13]

Personal advice #1 wait until Spring when can get natural sunlight without freezing temps to attempt growth. Pines normally die indoors. #2 plant each seed singly in individual small pot (with drainage hole) in whatever soil others here recommend for seed growth. Personally have several volunteers grow in regular Bonsai mixture of 60% fine pumice/40% sifted rotted bark. If instructions did not say so do not waste effort refrigerating etc before potting.

 

[Shibui]

Growing bonsai from seed is a very long term project like 10-20 years for a decent bonsai tree. There are much better ways to stat out in bonsai but the company makes lots of money from selling these kits with seeds to gullible buyers.
Germinating the seeds is easy enough. They do that in the forest every year without any help. Keeping the seedlings alive after can be more of a challenge for someone who has not grown plants in small pots. My estimate is that probably 90% or more of these bonsai seed kits are dead before the end of a year. Hope you do better than that.

JBP is an iconic Japanese species for bonsai but that does not mean maintaining them is easy. Pines grow a little different to many other trees so they need a whole different management and pruning regime. The good news is that you have a year or 2 to find out how to manage them before you'll need to put it into practice.

I second waiting for spring before planting your seeds and outdoors is the only place to grow pines.

 

[Paradox]

I sense you really aren't interested in the hobby but you got this gift and don't want to disappoint the giver.

As stated above, these kits are a bit deceiving as it isn't a simple matter of planting the seeds, watering them and poof, bonsai.

Give it a shot in the spring if you are interested, take some pictures for your friend so they see you tried it out. But don't be disappointed or upset with yourself if the seedlings don't make it.

 

[JudyB]

Sprouting seeds can be fun, going from there to bonsai is the long road to nowhere, unless you give it lots of time and develop it patiently. I would try the seeds out for the fun of growing them, but if you are interested in doing bonsai, pick up a nursery plant or two and start with them. Or better yet find a local club and see if they have any material already in pots for you to start with. They will be happy to help you learn.

 

[Srt8madness]

Don't worry. You haven't been thrown in yet. When you're scrounging thru garden center bushes looking for abnormally fat trunks, that's when you'll know.

BTW those seeds will grow full sized Japanese black pines, Bonsai is the art of keeping a tree small. If you don't want to do bonsai, you could have a new yard tree

 

[rhizodyne]

Personal advice #1 wait until Spring when can get natural sunlight without freezing temps to attempt growth. Pines normally die indoors. #2 plant each seed singly in individual small pot (with drainage hole) in whatever soil others here recommend for seed growth. Personally have several volunteers grow in regular Bonsai mixture of 60% fine pumice/40% sifted rotted bark. If instructions did not say so do not waste effort refrigerating etc before potting.

Thank you for the advice! Yes, I did figure that planting now might not be ideal given the cold, and yes for sure I would never risk root rot in anything I plant. Funny you mention the refrigeration, the instructions did even say I could skip that step for pines, lol.

I will research the best starter material to work with. I might just buy the raw materials and mix it myself, if that's economical, although it very likely isn't.

 

[rhizodyne]

Growing bonsai from seed is a very long term project like 10-20 years for a decent bonsai tree. There are much better ways to stat out in bonsai but the company makes lots of money from selling these kits with seeds to gullible buyers.
Germinating the seeds is easy enough. They do that in the forest every year without any help. Keeping the seedlings alive after can be more of a challenge for someone who has not grown plants in small pots. My estimate is that probably 90% or more of these bonsai seed kits are dead before the end of a year. Hope you do better than that.

JBP is an iconic Japanese species for bonsai but that does not mean maintaining them is easy. Pines grow a little different to many other trees so they need a whole different management and pruning regime. The good news is that you have a year or 2 to find out how to manage them before you'll need to put it into practice.

I second waiting for spring before planting your seeds and outdoors is the only place to grow pines.

Yeah, makes sense about the germination aspect. But yeah, needless to say this is absolutely not some 'just add water' kind of fun home project, which is the impression that these companies might profit off of from newcomers.

 

[rhizodyne]

I sense you really aren't interested in the hobby but you got this gift and don't want to disappoint the giver.

As stated above, these kits are a bit deceiving as it isn't a simple matter of planting the seeds, watering them and poof, bonsai.

Give it a shot in the spring if you are interested, take some pictures for your friend so they see you tried it out. But don't be disappointed or upset with yourself if the seedlings don't make it.

Well, I actually am. I do enjoy gardening and horticulture, although my experience with it is with....other crops. I would say I am more just overwhelmed, since I really did not realize there would be this big a mismatch between my own expectations as to how much I would have to invest in this project and the reality of actually growing a quality bonsai. This dissonance was compounded, of course, by the perfunctory instruction manual.

Anywho, I will take this project on and give it my best, although you are correct that I am partly motivated by wanting to show my friend that I appreciate the gift.

 

[Wulfskaar]

Welcome @rhizodyne !

I was in your shoes 3 years ago. Got a "bonsai seed" kit for Christmas. I waited quite a while to germinate the seeds, but I still have several of the trees now. My seed kit and the resulting research got me quickly hooked, although I always loved trees.

Seeing the you're in the bay area, I'm not sure how much freezing you get. Just wait until after there is little chance of freezing. I started mine indoors and later moved outside, so that is a consideration for you. Once they were like 2-3" tall, they started to whither a bit until I put them out in the sun and fresh air. They quickly came back after that, underscoring that trees should be outside. I think starting indoors if fine though.

If you are interested in the hobby, my suggestion is to both grow the seeds and get more developed trees as well. I think there are good lessons to learn from growing from seed, but it will take years to make it a bonsai. I also have a small emotional attachment to all the trees I've grown from seed, so it's been really fun for me.

I did NOT have to refrigerate my Japanese Black Pine seeds. They all (close to 100%) popped up within a week of putting in the supplied peat soil. I have had the best luck using peat for getting seeds to germinate. Once they are older, you can transplant into better soil.

Here is my journey with my JBP. Maybe it can help you along. Good luck!
https://www.bonsainut.com/threads/damping-off.46132/

 

[Pixar]

Wish I had some friends in Japan .Someone who could send me some bonsai pots and fishing reels

 

[Srt8madness]

Well, I actually am. I do enjoy gardening and horticulture, although my experience with it is with....other crops. I would say I am more just overwhelmed, since I really did not realize there would be this big a mismatch between my own expectations as to how much I would have to invest in this project and the reality of actually growing a quality bonsai. This dissonance was compounded, of course, by the perfunctory instruction manual.

Anywho, I will take this project on and give it my best, although you are correct that I am partly motivated by wanting to show my friend that I appreciate the gift.

lol, there are people who start bonsai material via hydroponics. There is a lot of crossover actually, you have an inorganic media that needs to be managed with correct doses of nutrients, light, etc.

Even if you're not doing cannabis hydroponically, there is still application. Instead of "clones" its "cuttings". Clonex = rooting hormone, and so on.

In the end, they're all plants!