Propogating japanese white pine seeds

[pwk5017]

Hey, just curious to see if anyone has had experience with jwp seeds. Some sources say they are just like other pines (little to no stratification), and other sources say some ridiculous procedure of 2 years. Anyone have experience?

Patrick

 

[snobird]

I bought 100 seeds once and only 3 were fertile. Float them to see if they sink or not. If they sink they are fertile. I stratified mine in moist sand in a plastic bag in the vegetable drawer of my refrigerator for about a month before planting and all three germinated.

 

[pwk5017]

3/100 is a pretty terrible percentage, friend. This leads me to beleive the incredibly long warm/cold stratification period is necessary. Looks like this summer, i will begin the process

 

[pwk5017]

Wait, now that i read it again. Did only 3 out of the hundred sink?? Explain what you meant by "fertile" Thanks!

 

[snobird]

Yes, only 3 sank! Those were the fertile ones. Usually I leave pine seed in a glass of water overnight(12hours) to see how many will sink to the bottom. You may leave them longer if you want more hope and you can stir the water a little to help them sink as sometimes there is some resin or air bubble that cause them to float longer. That indicates to me which ones are fertile and will likely grow when I plant them. Ordered seed from the UK when I was living in a different country where JWP's were not to be found and it was an expensive lesson. If you live in a country where JWP are common in nurseries bonsai/stock its not worth the effort in my opinion.

 

[pwk5017]

Thanks for the explanation. Seems to me, that all this absurb stratification is not necessary, and that they should be treated like jbp, and jrp. Yeah, I can find jwp at local landscape nurseries, but they are incredibly expensive, and not trained for bonsai. I do enjoy the merits of growing pine from seed as well.

 

[Vance Wood]

I have grown several hundred of them over the years. The important thing is a good seed source. Soak them in warm water for 24 hours, the ones that sink are more likely to germinate. Dry them off and place them in the vegetible crisper for about two months and plant them in a sterile mix, best sprayed with a fungicide like Captan to prevent damping off. You can plant them direct but your percentages will be smaller. The problem is not getting them to germinate, provided you have good seeds, the problem is getting them to survive for more than a couple of years.

 

[pwk5017]

hmm, i see Vance. So, your suggesting, that jwp are a pain in the ass to grow from seed, and just to buy older stock? I suppose, the question of "to graft, or not to graft" was going to come up at some point even if i did grow them. Well, thanks for the responses guys, I will stick to maples, and jbp/jrp when laying out my seed flats each spring.