SPROUTS! FINALLY!!

Today is indeed a momentous day. I have 1 seedling from my 15 seeds started. It grew today while I was at school, totaling at about 3/8 of an inch. Giant, I know. I have some more seeds germinating, and hopefully the other seeds I have will sprout as well. It is either a Japanese Red Pine or a pomegranate. I think it is the Pine. I hope it doesn't die

Briddell - proud owner of 1 seedling, grown from seed

Good stuff, Briddell. Now you have encountered two learning points on your journey.

One is something to learn restrospectively and that is to make sure you always label your seeds when you plant them. Don't worry, we've probably all ended up with trays of unidentified green things at some point because we forgot to stick in a label.

The second is to get yourself a decent book that shows you pictures of the plants through their various stages of development. Most plants have quite distinctive seedlings and it is a good idea to be able to recognise them. If nothing else, you will be able to determine early on if you are lovingly tending a young future show winner or a weed that has strayed into your soil.

Good luck with the rest of them.

Congratulations Briddel, you proud owner of the unidentified seedling that has sprout from seed!

One seedling has sprouted unexpectedly into a jardiniere of mine on my balcony. But I can definitely say this is an acacia. You see there is an acacia treed in the garden of the apartments building.
So, I can feel your excitement because I have felt the same with my seedling, even if I believe that grow from seed is too time consuming for my age, of course

Well, if it is a pine, when should I expect to see needles? I suppose I will be able to tell if it is a pine, elm, or pomegranate when it develops needles/leaves.... Time to wait.

Briddell, what you need to do is both to get your googling fingers into motion and also get a basic horticultural textbook - in the UK there are plenty that accompany horticultural college courses so I would assume there is similar in the US. I cannot remember what you told us of your current level of study but bonsai is simply good horticultural knowledge & practice applied using a particular set of techniques. Your enthusiasm is greatly to be commended but what you have just asked is a basic horticultural question and I'd be slightly concerned that your seedlings wont get far without the underpinning knowledge. But well done for asking - that's a good start point.

You need to very quickly acquaint yourself with the basic growing stages of trees - seedlings, whips etc. Familiarise yourself with the differencs between broadleaves and conifers. To put it at its most basic, seedlings have "seed leaves" - usually the first two leaves that appear. Conifer needles are leaves by another name and conifer seedlings have distinct needles from the outset. If you google both images of red pine seedlings and images of pomegranate seedlings you will clearly see this. See if you cant find the forestinfo website image of the 50-day old red pine seedlings and you can see what your little fella will look like fairly soon. If it is a pomegranate the two "broad" seed leaves should be visible soon.

Hopefully that will explain what I meant earlier about getting familiar with horti practices - you will need this knowledge and understanding to progress your seedlings to the next growth stages. You seem a clever young fella so I have no doubt you will learn quickly. It's well worth it. Trust me - I'm a teacher.

After checking Google images I found that it is a Japanese Red Pine. It is definitely a red pine, no doubt. So, yay? What should I know about Jap. red pines?

Briddell

briddell wrote:After checking Google images I found that it is a Japanese Red Pine. It is definitely a red pine, no doubt. So, yay? What should I know about Jap. red pines?

Briddell

I wouldn't be too certain about it being a Red, it could be a Black, unless the seed kit you bought did not include JBP. You'll have to wait for it to grow a bit more to be able to tell.

briddell wrote:After checking Google images I found that it is a Japanese Red Pine. It is definitely a red pine, no doubt. So, yay? What should I know about Jap. red pines?

Briddell

I have sent you a PM regarding this latest question. Please make sure you read it.

Ryan wrote: I wouldn't be too certain about it being a Red, it could be a Black, unless the seed kit you bought did not include JBP. You'll have to wait for it to grow a bit more to be able to tell.

Ryan, he told us in an earlier post that he'd bought Japanese Red Pine, Chinese Elm, Coast Redwood Sequoia and dwarf Pomegranate seeds so I think we can safely assume it's a red pine.

fiona wrote:

Ryan wrote: I wouldn't be too certain about it being a Red, it could be a Black, unless the seed kit you bought did not include JBP. You'll have to wait for it to grow a bit more to be able to tell.

Ryan, he told us in an earlier post that he'd bought Japanese Red Pine, Chinese Elm, Coast Redwood Sequoia and dwarf Pomegranate seeds so I think we can safely assume it's a red pine.

Ah thanks, guess I missed that post. Thanks Fiona.