For people new to the art of bonsai, the idea of growing your own bonsai tree from seed is often irresistible. In theory, growing a bonsai from seed can be a rewarding journey that allows you to give birth to your own ideal image of what a bonsai should be, but unfortunately, in practice, seed-growing is a journey which is fraught with frustration for the vast majority of beginners. It has been said that i

t takes 10 years of experience in bonsai before you understand how to grow from seed well.

I share this not to discourage you, but to brace you for the challenge ahead. If you're a new reader, I would encourage you to check out the first post in this growing from seed series "The Root of All Bonsai." In that previous post, we talked about the various alternative ways to start your bonsai and the advantages and disadvantages of each method. However, if you are dead-set on growing from seed, you're in luck!

Drawing on my own 15 years of bonsai experience and the 60+ years of experience of my bonsai teacher

, today we're going to cut through the BS and dispel common myths about growing bonsai from seed before we proceed to analyze the essential

concepts that will help you realize your bonsai-from-seed dreams in the subsequent weeks.





I am writing this series with the intent to sell my own seeds for growing bonsai (see here) . At the risk of sounding too sales-pitchy, I am sending an exclusive hard-copy version of this blog series to all my customers. The hard-copy guide will simply guide you through the complicated 10+year challenge of growing bonsai from seed. If you can't wait for our weekly release of future blog articles in this series, you will receive the full guide right away with your purchase of seeds. Thank you in advance for supporting my bonsai work! If you're looking to buy seeds for bonsai - full disclosure -. At the risk of sounding too sales-pitchy, I am sending an exclusive hard-copy version of this blog series to all my customers. The hard-copy guide will simply guide you through the complicated 10+year challenge of growing bonsai from seed. If you can't wait for our weekly release of future blog articles in this series, you will receive the full guide right away with your purchase of seeds. Thank you in advance for supporting my bonsai work!

Sections

Stay tuned to this series to learn how to transform these...

Left a Japanese black pine, and right a European beech. Both 2-3 years old.

...into this!

A 50-year-old Japanese black pine, grown from seed by Dan Robinson and now on display at Elandan Gardens.





2. Bonsai Seed Myths



2A. "Bonsai seeds kits are a great gift!"

Experienced bonsai artists are amazed at the enthusiasm of beginners seeking to grow from seed, but we know a grim truth. Unfortunately, most "bonsai seed kits" prey on the ignorance of these enthusiastic would-be-bonsai hobbyists for a quick buck. "Bonsai seed kits" often amount to little more than a scam for beginners because the kits do nothing to teach the owner how to be successful bonsai growers, much less artists. Many beginners get so discouraged by their withering seedlings that they give up on bonsai all together. Growing a bonsai from seed is definitely harder than keeping a bonsai alive that has already been grown. So if you are thinking about gifting a bonsai novice something which you hope will get them into the hobby, I suggest a young, established bonsai instead (and include a bonsai book for them to refer to easily!). By taking this route, the tree is more likely to survive longer and will allow your gift recipient to learn about and practice bonsai techniques much more thoroughly than they would by only growing from seed. I often suggest a beginner-friendly tropical species like jade or ficus for indoor growing or elm or maple for outdoor growing. However, if you intend to buy seeds as a gift for someone who is already into the art of bonsai, that could be a better fit than someone who has zero bonsai experience.

This is an example of a typical bonsai seed kit. One issue I take with these kits is that the bonsai trees they use to advertise were definitely not grown from a kit like this. It's practically false advertising. If you keep your seedling in the pot they provide, not in your whole lifetime would you see your seedlings become the tree in the photo. Only with more advanced bonsai knowledge, like what I aim to share in this series, can your seedlings get to that level, but the potential is indeed there.



2B. "Bonsai seeds are rare."

One myth that makes "bonsai seed kits" seem special is the idea that there is such a thing as a "bonsai seed" in the first place. In fact, there are no magic beans for bonsai trees; bonsai trees are not genetically different from their full-sized counterparts, and neither are their seeds. The seeds from a one-foot-tall ponderosa pine bonsai will still produce a 100+ foot tree if planted in the right place. Natural and man-made bonsai are instead small due to constrictions on the volume their roots can fill as well as thanks to regular pruning.

So no, the seeds I or any other "bonsai seed" seller has are not that special. The only sense that they may be special is that I have picked a species that will survive and grow easily in bonsai culture. Some species of trees are certainly more proven in their ability to become beautiful bonsai than other species, but it's definitely worth experimenting with new species! If you can identify the right time to collect mature seeds, you can work on starting your own bonsai without buying seeds from myself or any bonsai seed kit!

Take this apple for example. if you eat these apples and plant their seeds, despite the fact that this tree is a bonsai, the seeds will grow to full-size apple trees if the seeds are planted in the ground and left unchecked.

Bonus fun fact: Leaves may get smaller when a tree becomes a mature bonsai, but fruits and flowers will stay the same size for any given species.

2 C. "All bonsai are grown from seed."