A place for all things Bonsai

35 readers

1 users here now

Probably not super active unless the site grows, but always good to have a place to post

founded 2 years ago

Made a bunch of seedling cuttings today - Was wondering, what substrate others use for germinating pine? Sifted sand was a success this year. (media.kbin.social)

submitted 2 years ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

9 comments fedilink hide all child comments

top 7 comments

sorted by: hot top controversial new old

[–] sevan 3 points 2 years ago

I think I used perlite and vermiculite last year for some Japanese Black Pines, maybe coco coir also. This year I noticed I have loblolly pine seedlings growing happily in absolutely everything in my yard. These are all self-seeded from trees in my yard, so it doesn't seem like they care very much if they have fancy soil or not.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Here's the end result

Placed them directly in perlite and coco (80%ish perlite)

[–] sevan 1 points 2 years ago

Looking good, great work!

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Don't have much experience germinating pine. That mix looks very coarse. Is it just sifted sand and aggregate?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Yes sir, just regular masonry/construction sand where all the smaller stuff is sifted out. I've been experimenting with different stuff over the years, this worked the best so far. I think it has something to do with how much air is in the mix.

I've already taken a lot of seedling cuttings from the tray, but a month ago it was absolutely full of trees.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Brilliant. They look very healthy. I'll have to give it a go this coming spring (I'm in Western Australia). Do you collect your seed?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

I wish I could, but I don't have access to any good pines near me sadly. I usually just order online, plant a few 100 and keep the ones that thrive.

Mostly Japanese black pine and Scots pines, Mugo pine. I'm sure JBP would grow great in Australia. I'm in Scandinavia so I tend to stick to the more hardy pines.

load more comments