I encourage you to physically touch the soil daily. Luckily, I have a quick trick which you can use to avoid this catastrophe. While many beginners kill their bonsai trees by forgetting to water, others also lose their trees by overwatering, especially if the tree in question is in potting soil. This is because allowing air to enter the roots is an essential part of growing bonsai (in fact bonsai soil is entirely designed on this principle). Daily watering in potting soil can be a recipe for disaster if your seeds never are allowed to dry out. Potting soil stays wet more easily and unfortunately, the dark color makes it harder to tell by eye whether or not the soil is already wet. If potting soil is all you have available, watering becomes a more delicate balancing act. I have yet to attempt a tree seed that requires this treatment, but if you know of one, feel free to tell me in the comments! Other seeds that possess harder outer shells may prefer to be coaxed out with a little manual "scarification" or damaging of the outer shell by a small cut. The natural freeze-thaw cycle softens the hard protective shell of seeds and allows for water to penetrate the shell, which then signals the seed to start growing. Cold stratification is a method of imitating the natural effects of seeds accustomed to waiting through cold winter temperatures for months before waking up. In botany, stratification and scarification are our main tools to germinate seeds. Try as we might to seduce our seeds, participating in World Naked Gardening Day might scare the seeds more than it would seduce them, so we have to resort to other methods. Other species need to be seduced into waking up. Apple, lemon, and orange seeds often will sprout without fuss if you stick them straight into soil. The transformation of your seeds into the bonsai of your dream won't happen just by waiting, it happens with because of your guiding hands (but yes, also with lots of waiting)! This week, I'm going to start exposing the step by step, year-by-year methods you will need to employ as you watch your seeds sprout and grow. Last month in my serial Bonsai-From-Seed Guide, I already discussed some basic knowledge about the pros and cons of alternative ways to start a bonsai tree and bonsai seed myths which will hinder your seedling's progress if you aren't armed with the correct knowledge. I hope that through my comprehensive Bonsai-From-Seed Guide, more of you will readers become disciples of our bonsai hobby and more of you will be successful at creating beautiful trees you can enjoy for decades to come. The bonsai community can and should harness this craze for bonsai seeds by informing beginners rather than shaming them for not starting with more established prebonsai material. As I've said before, there is a widespread, primal appeal in watching a seed sprout firsthand.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |