Bonsai Supplies

Japanese Zelkova Bonsai – 25 Seeds

• No bonsai collection should be without one or more Japanese Zelkova
• Related to the popular American Elm but more disease-resistant
• Handsome, dark green serrated leaves turn yellow-orange in autumn
• Full sun or light shade
• Hardy to zone 6

* No bonsai collection should be without one or more Japanese Zelkova, a very popular bonsai specimen for novices and experts alike. Related to the popular American Elm but more disease-resistant. Handsome, dark green serrated leaves turn yellow-orange in autumn. Nice, mottled bark on older trees. Full sun or light shade. Easy to grow. Hardy to zone 6. You will receive:
25 Quality Seeds
Germination Instructions
Growing Tips

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Indoor Beginner’s Bonsai – Mini Cheerful Bonsai Bouquet for Home & Office Desk

• The perfect touch of exotic beauty designed for home or office.
• Easy, drought tolerant bonsai that would survive in any indoor setting.
• Small colorful leaves with slight curly shape that makes the look most special and interesting.
• Come with a plastic humidity plate/tray, pebbles, mini folding shears, organic bonsai food and general bonsai care instruction.
• A gift bouquet that would last.

This indoor bonsai plant is unique in several aspects: It can survive in our regular indoor environment with the help of regular plant light, and a very minimum care. Its has special leaf shape and colors would change from green in hot summer to a mixture of rainbow colors starting autumn or in air-conditioned room. The tree would flower throughout the growing seasons and certainly bring some cheer and radiant sense into your home or office. It may be the smallest bouquet-like potting on earth a

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About Basic Care of Seeds

It is important to maintain the freshness of the seeds in order to facilitate proper germination. This is why we store all of our seeds in a refrigerator dedicated for this purpose. Therefore, in order to preserve their freshness until you are ready to begin the germination process, you can store the purchased seeds in the plastic bag we have provided. You can place the seeds in the vegetable drawer of your refrigerator.

About Germination Instructions

Once you are ready to germinate your seeds, you have two (2) germination methods: natural germination or forced germination.

Natural germination: Sow seeds outside in autumn. Overwintering the seeds will accomplish all the necessary natural processes seeds require to germinate. Next spring, you should have sprouted seeds.

With forced germination, you are accomplishing the germination process artificially. Therefore, you will need to follow the steps listed below. Each seed is different. However most of them require three (3) steps. Some may require more while others may require less. These steps are: the scarification, the stratification and sowing.

1 – Scarification

Each seed has a shell around the live inner part. Some are harder than others. The goal of the scarification process is to soften the shell and allow water to reach the inner part of the seed. You will scarify the seeds by placing them in water, usually a glass or a bowl, for a period of twenty four (24) to forty eight (48) hours. The norm appears to be the use of warm water. Some seeds require boiling water while others require water at room temperature. Normally, the viable seeds will drown after the twenty four (24) hour period while others will float on top. If there are still seeds floating after the forty eight (48) hour period, you can discard them as they are empty seeds. Once completed, you are ready to begin the next step ( please note that some seeds require you to proceed directly to the third step).

2 – Cold Stratification

The next step is the cold stratification period. This step is where all the magic of nature occurs. In nature, most of the seeds fall from the trees in autumn. Consequently, seeds spend the winter period under colder temperature permitting the chemical in the seeds to develop and trigger the germination process once the ideal temperature is reached in spring. In the forced germination process, you attempt to recreate the winter period. In order to accomplish this process, use the following materials:

Plastic Ziplock bag

Paper towel

Water

Fold the paper towel in two and moisten with water. It should not be dripping wet but humid. Place your seeds on the humid paper towel and fold it over the seeds. Place the paper towel with the seeds in the ziplock plastic bag and store them in your refrigerator for a period varying from thirty (30) to one hundred and twenty (120) days. We suggest that you check your seeds every thirty (30) days in order to prevent rot and allow for proper air circulation. You will also check for germinated seeds. If this is the case, take the germinated seeds and proceed to the next step. If not, wait the required period and then proceed to the next step.

3 – Sowing

Sowing can be accomplished in the ground or in a pot. You can use any soil suitable for planting and growing. Make a small opening in the soil (approximately half (1/2) an inch deep), place the seed in the opening and cover it with a few millimetres of soil. Keep the soil moist.

Extra steps for certain species

If you choose to germinate your seeds via the forced germination process, you may be required to follow this extra step. This step takes place prior to the cold stratification. All you have to do is expose the seeds to ambient room temperature for thirty (30) to ninety (90) days. This is called heat stratification and is accomplished by leaving the seeds exposed in a plate on your desk. After you have achieved this step, you resume with cold stratification.

First, we need to clarify that there are no such thing as bonsai seeds, or seeds that when planted naturally become a beautifully trained bonsai. The seeds only grow into bonsai upon special care and miniaturizing methods, which entails no genetic alteration of the trees. If not properly treated, the so-called bonsai seeds will produce normal sized trees.

Aside from seeds, there are many ways to develop a bonsai: nursery stock, garden plants, or cuttings. Beginners would usually start with a bonsai that is already in some level of development, and slowly learn the special care required by the bonsai. At some point, a bonsai enthusiast would delve deeper by learning miniaturizing techniques, and how to wire and prune the bonsai. Advanced bonsai enthusiasts would not stop here, and the urgency to start from scratch becomes irresistible. They will attempt on developing bonsai from seeds.

Growing bonsai from seeds provides many rewards to any bonsai enthusiast. Obtaining bonsai from seeds is the simplest and most natural propagation method, and perfecting the art will make life easier for a bonsai enthusiast. Doing so will make one take absolute control over the bonsais development right from the start. However, growing bonsai from seeds require a sufficient amount of patience. Not only does it entail the risk that the seeds will not grow, but it also requires a huge amount of time, more specifically with slow-growing trees. If one is lucky enough, the bonsai will develop from the seeds within five years time.

If one is up for more adventure and risk, he could search the seeds on his own and identify what type of tree the seed will produce. It is best to seek seeds during autumn. It is risky because one does not have an idea on what the seeds had gone to, whether it had been attacked by parasites or exposed to some other diseases. On the other hand, commercially produced seeds have less risk of parasites and diseases.

Obtaining bonsai from seeds sure is tedious, but it can be very rewarding if one plans to become an expert in acquiring plant materials. The uncertainty factor of growing bonsai from seeds also make bonsai enthusiasts want to learn more in perfecting their craft. The different factors that contribute to the seeds failure to grow into a bonsai give bonsai enthusiasts a never-ending room on improving currently known methods serving as an inspiration to discover and investigate new ways to make propagation easier. Lastly, it is nonetheless rewarding to see a sprouting bonsai from a seed that one has taken care of from the start. What more of a fully grown bonsai that one has planted on his own, pruned and wired by himself, and taken special care by himself. It surely is a labor of love.