Got ahead of myself...help please.

[TreeHugger74]

I realize I have a tremendous amount of research to do...so pointers to good free reading material is appreciated.

To the problem: I received a starter kit-got way too excited-and just planted without researching (you know...the kind that comes with the peat-pots). I have 5 seedlings of Pinus Aristata that have spouted so far (same pot) the first spouted about a week and a half ago and the rest followed suit. At what point should I separate them them to new pots, I don't want them to crowd or make further mistakes. I normally don't leap without looking but, I can't go back now. I am prepared to read a lot on this subject but, I don't want to chase a bunch of rabbit holes all over the internet so I thought I would try this forum. Right now I'm just concerned about the number of plants in the pot, what kind of pot to transfer to when needed, soil for transfer etc.

Thank you for any info you may provide...
Mike.

 

[WNC Bonsai]

So you have them all in the same pot now? Are you growing them under lights and in an enclosed area to maintain humidity? What kind of soil, plain old potting mix or just peat that came with the kit?

 

[TreeHugger74]

Same pot. It was the peat that came with...they are going to go outside, I just didn't want to kill them with the cold snap we had. I have a window with a lot of diffused light that they get rotated to. I will get some lights for them I just didn't expect them to pop up so fast. I did find some post here that I am combing through.

 

[cheap_walmart_art]

When I was getting started I found these articles to be a very helpful starting point in the hobby. https://www.evergreengardenworks.com/articles.htm

 

[GGB]

If I'm not mistaken humidity is terrible for aristata. They come from a very arid climate. I would let them grow for a year or two before seperating them. I've sprouted at least a thousand seeds from all different species of pine and I can tell you from experience that transplanting seedlings resulted in death more often than not. They're so fragile when they're that young. In the meantime... Try growing something else from seed while those grow. Bristlecone pine is the slowest growing tree I can think of haha, sometimes newbs love their seedlings to death. These will take a special amount of patience

 

[TreeHugger74]

Thanks for the quick replies. I will take a look at your link Cheap. Thank you GGB, it does mention they are slow growing. So I guess just let the strong survive out of the pot? I didn’t expect to keep them in a peat pot for 1-2 years...wouldn’t the roots be too entangled for them to all survive. I realize that I’ll probably kill a few, just trying to minimize. I’ll try to get a pic up soon. I have heard of trying produce from seed...lemon, fig, kumquat etc. should I go that route or just read up and buy some more/different seeds?

 

[TreeHugger74]

Quick pic

 

[plant_dr]

Those should have plenty of room to grow for a year or two. The peat pot itself wont last that long though. Consider planting it all inside another larger pot at some point.

 

[TreeHugger74]

any recommendations on a pot?