Growing a bonsai from seed to bonsai tree can be one of the most rewarding experiences in life.  It will take years to achieve this, but the result is stunning.  You will end up with a bonsai tree that you can say you grew from the ground up, literally.  Before you purchase the seed, you need to know what species you intend to grow.  You can go through our indoor and outdoor bonsai guides to decide what is best for your lifestyle and aesthetic requirements.  Once you decide what tree species you intend to grow, and you have read How to Grow a Bonsai from Seed, you can start your own bonsai experience..

Purchasing the seeds

When purchasing a seed that you intend to train for bonsai, it is important to note the name of the seeds.  Many sellers attempt to sell special bonsai tree seeds for a significantly higher than normal price.  Don’t fall for this trick; remember that bonsai are grown from normal seeds that should not cost more than usual.  We buy our seeds from Bonsaiofnewyork.com, where they are listed as bonsai tree seeds but are not overpriced.

Get ready to plant

While you are waiting to receive your seeds, you can gather your seed starting materials.  These materials can vary greatly depending on how many seeds you intend to grow, and what your expectations are.

Soil

The first thing you will need is the most important ingredient to grow a plant: dirt.  This can be obtained by going out behind your house with a shovel.  If you are looking for better results, picking up some seed starting soil from your local gardening store will increase success.  Seeds are susceptible to diseases that are found regularly in outdoor soil.  Seed starting soil has been baked at a high temperature to become a sterile soil, without the added bacteria.  If you are growing a small amount of seeds, backyard dirt is fine.  A few of the seeds are likely to survive regardless of what soil you use.

Tray

Next, you will need somewhere to put that soil.  Depending on the amount of seeds you intend to grow, you can use anything from a generic plastic cup with holes poked in the bottom to a divided seed tray.  Anything that will hold the soil in place and allow excess water to escape will do the trick.  Use of a humidity dome is recommended if you use a seedling tray; this will help the seedlings absorb water, since their root systems have not fully developed.

Location

After you have the supplies ready, you will need to pick a good location to plant your seeds.  Whether you are growing an indoor or outdoor tree, we recommend that you plant the seeds indoors.  This will let you fully control the environment while the trees are still developing.  Make sure this location gets a good amount of sunlight.

Planting the seeds

Once you have your soil in a tray or pot, you can plant your seeds in the soil.  Plant your seeds at the recommended depth on the package.  Each tree variety does best if grown at a different depth, so ensure that you pay attention to the package.  After you have placed the seeds in the dirt and covered them up, water the seeds and place them in the location your choice.

Water and wait…

Keep an eye on your seeds to ensure that the soil does not dry out.  When you see the top of the soil start to look dry, it’s time to water.  Depending on the species you chose, it could take days or weeks for the seeds to sprout.  After they sprout, keep watering as normal until you see the first set of true leaves.  The first leaves that seedlings produce are not “true leaves.” These are just leaves that are in the shape of the seed that held nutrients for the tree to begin its life.  The true leaves will be the first set of leaves that are the correct shape for the species.  After you see these, transplant the plant into a pot or cup if they are not already in one.  Continue to water the trees and fertilize in accordance with species recommendations until winter.

First winter (if outside)

Your seedlings should be overwintered for the first winter.  Overwintering is the process of protecting the tree from its first winter.  This will give it a better chance to survive without any issues.  Bury your pot into the soil, with mulch up to the first branch.  This will give your tree the best chance of survival by keeping the roots warm.  You should never leave your bonsai tree outdoors during the winter without the bottom of the pot in the ground, as this will allow the roots to freeze and kill the tree.  If possible, protect the tree from the cold wind as well.  Another possibility is to keep your tree in an unheated shed or garage.

Let it Grow

Keep watering, feeding, and winterizing your tree until you have a pre-bonsai.  This is when you get to decide what shape and style you want your bonsai to be.

There are many ways to start a bonsai that all end with the same result.  In reality, you have the option to buy a bonsai tree in different stages. A tree starts out as a tree seed that you can purchase online.  Many people market bonsai tree seeds, but they are just ordinary seeds of trees commonly used for bonsai.  After the tree has sprouted, it is known as a tree seedling.  From this stage, they are watered, fertilized, and cared for over the course of a few years.  After the tree has grown with minimal bonsai training for some time, they are sold as “pre-bonsai.”  These are trees that have been kept compact for bonsai training, but have not been trained for a specific shape or style.  These trees are for buyers that want to experience the training aspects but don’t want to wait for the seed to grow.  After the bonsai have been trained into a shape and style, they are then sold as a bonsai.  These trees require mostly maintenance pruning to help them maintain size.  After the tree has been aged well as a bonsai, they are commonly sold as “specimen bonsai.”  These are gorgeous bonsai that are very old and well trained, but buying these trees typically comes at a steep price.

Bonsai Tree Seeds

As I mentioned before, these are just ordinary tree seeds marketed to bonsai growers.  Growing bonsai from seeds is the longest route to having your own bonsai.  We believe that it is also the most rewarding, because you get to see every step of the way.  When growing a bonsai from seed, you need to consider what species you want to grow.  If you choose an outdoor tree, then you need to consider “stratification time.”  If the species you pick requires a winter period to be dormant, then the seed will need this in order to sprout.  This process, where we typically place the seed in soil or sphagnum moss in the fridge to simulate winter, is called stratifying the seed.  You can also plant the seeds outdoors during the fall and let them be, but you will have a much lower success rate this way.   After this process, the seed can be planted in soil for growth.  Allow the recommended time for seed to sprout, watering as needed without going overboard.  Water when the top of the soil looks dry, and use a humidity dome if possible.  Once your seed sprouts, we recommend that you spray it with some antifungal spray to increase survival odds.  Continue to water and transplant to a larger container after you see your first set of “true leaves.”  Let your bonsai grow as normal, following our basic guide for your species, until it becomes a pre-bonsai.  For more information on growing your tree from seeds, take a look at our our guide here.

Pre-bonsai

You can grow your seeds into pre-bonsai, or skip that step and purchase a tree at this stage.  This is where training and pruning techniques will come into effect.  At this stage, you will need to look at your trees natural progression and decide what style you want to train your bonsai.  Use our guide, with pictures, to see what guide best suits the way your tree is already growing.  From here, your will need to trim the leaves and branches to achieve the desired style.  You may also need to learn how to wire a bonsai.  All this information can be found in our bonsai styling guide.  The key is to remember that your bonsai is not complete when you get to the step with a pair of scissors.  This process might take more than one growing season to achieve correctly, and without harming the plant.  Some trees take heavy pruning well, but others need to be pruned in steps.  After this long process, your will have a full bonsai tree.

Bonsai

This is how most people come across a bonsai tree.  At this stage, the tree is almost fully trained and already has a basic bonsai style.  We will still need to trim this tree as new growth appears to maintain its shape.  Pruning back large growth will force new smaller branches and leaves to grow in close to the tree.  This can help improve the tapered appearance of your tree over time.  The key to this stage of your bonsai’s existence is to keep it alive and maintain its appearance.  If your tree becomes very old, it could be considered a specimen bonsai.  Specimen bonsai are frequently bought and sold for large amounts of money.

Specimen Bonsai

Specimen bonsai are bonsai that have been aged and trained well.  These are the bonsai trees that you see in exhibits and books.  It takes many years to get a bonsai to this stage, but the experience is worth the ride.  Bonsai at all stages of life can be found on our partner’s website.