One of the first things that you learn when you dive into the bonsai world is that those cute “grow your own bonsai” kits are complete hoaxes. First off, you do not grow a bonsai. You turn a plant/tree/shrub into a bonsai through styling. Secondly, bonsai need to be years, if not decades old in order to be respectable.

I wanted to grow seeds anyway.

My thought process was that, if I continue this hobby for a long time, I think it would be so neat to be able to say, “hey, I grew that bonsai since it was a baby, a mere twinkle in the seed’s eye.” Also, with seedlings, I have immense control over shaping as they grow. No stubborn, brittle branches for these guys (side eyes hollies). And hey, it if fails, it was $7 worth of fun.

I got common privet, Monterrey cypress, Utah juniper, banyan, trident maple, Chinese holly, and sacred fig seeds. These are all good bonsai species. What I didn’t know is all of the preparation the seeds need before planting.

Most of them needed cold stratification, which is where you wrap the seeds in a damp paper towel and place them in a fridge. Some needed a month, some needed two to three. This simulates winter so that the seeds want to sprout once you plant them.

The figs did not need any pre-care, and they are doing very well. I planted a few of each seed when I first got them, no pre-treatment, just for kicks. The cypress didn’t seem to mind the lack of stratification and starting growing a few weeks after the figs did.

Today I planted the rest of the junipers and maples. The Chinese hollies require a lot of treatment and I may just call those a wash. We shall see.

Happy, cold Juniper seeds. Let’s see if they do anything. These seeds are easy to care for, and I love the daily dramatic change. I get to see new sprouts come up and tiny sprouts gain new leaves. No, they won’t be bonsais any time soon, but they are still my cute little babies.