Doesn't Look Good...

Unfortunately it seems that the sun has been a bit much for the little Black Locust Tree seedlings. Has been very warm in London over the last few weeks but they look so sun-bleached. Moved them into the shade now, and hope they recover but those hopes are not high...

And Here Are Some Pics....

The Black Locust Tree seeds have sprouted as I mentioned a few days ago... Finally managed to get some pics to upload, been a bit busy being back at work, being introduced to hundreds of people and generally getting back into the flow of waking up at 5:30-6 in the morning (fortunately avoiding the morning rush hour). But enough about me, and more about the sprouts!

Only 3 so far so still hoping on a couple more, but that'll do for now... Will wait until they have grown another set of leaves or two before repotting into something larger... Guess I now need to wait for a few years before doing anything with these guys. Still, most success I've ever had with seeds other than chillis. Let's hope they continue to develop nicely...

Planting Diagram...

And here it is, the two seed trays:

The key is below:

C - Cedar of Lebanon (Cedrus Libani)

E - European Hornbeam (Carpinus Betulus)

H - Hinoki Cypress (Chamaecyparis Obtusa)

W - White Chinese Wisteria (Wisteria Sinensis Alba)

J - Blue Jacaranda (Jacaranda Mimosifolia)

B - Black Locust Tree (Robinia Pseudoacacia)

O - Orange Jasmin (Murraya Paniculata)

R - Coast Redwood (Sequoia Sepervirens)

(Latin names are 'fun' to type - please not the sarcasm)

Last Week...

The first of the seedlings sprouted! I haven't been able to get any photos yet, but I can tell you it's the Black Locust Tree... Pics coming soon and a diagram of the plantings coming in a bit!

Common Larch (Larix Decidua)

My last set of seeds, 2 months in the fridge for these guys, so in they go... beautiful autumn colours on these from what I can tell, but only time will show...

Cedar of Lebanon (Cedrus Libani)

No stratification or scarification required, they just go straight in the ground...

Only 5 seeds so if all come out might make a nice group planting, 4 a group of 3 and an upright (apparently the aesthetic properties of even numbered groups are limited). If 3 maybe just uprights and a multiple trunk, those are just amazing...

Mango Tree (Mangifera Indica)

I've recently seen some great pics of Mango Bonsai (as well as the wonderful tree below, any idea what the species is?), the leaves are fairly large so I guess the tree would have to be fairly large, but the root structure seems to have a huge amount of potential...

But the Mango trees...

 And...

What do you think of the roots?

Hinoki Cypress (Chamaecyparis Obtusa)

This is one tree that appears to be much more impressive as a Bonsai than it does in the wild... Cold Stratification is recommended, but I'm avoiding it due to impatience and partial stupidity... Already planted these guys out.

Can grow fairly large and has beautiful leaf and bark texture...

Whilst in bonsai form it can be just stunning:

Japanese Flowering Cherry (Prunus Serrulata)

Have 2 little bags of these, the firm I ordered from threw in another one as a freebie:

24 hours in water, followed by 90 days in the fridge. Might wait for the spring before planting these out (at least half of them, don't want to lose the trees).


Such beautiful trees in spring:

And such delicate flowers:

And such Bonsai potential:

Black Locust Tree (Robinia Pseudoacacia)

Now this is an interesting one, haven't been able to find any stunning examples of Bonsai versions of this. Leaf structure is very interesting and the pods/flowers are quite delicate and beautiful.

No stratification required so already planted them out.


A 24 hour soak in hot water, they bloat nicely once they're "ready", probably the most visible change of any of the seeds I've seen so far...


Unfortunately forgot to take any photos once they bloated, got a bit carried away with the plantings and other distractions...

The trees are interesting, though Bonsai photos have been hard to find...

Though the adult versions are much more interesting, maybe something i'll be able to replicate (especially the bark):

Red Maple (Acer Rubrum)

Ahh, the Red Maple. Honestly cannot wait for my first autumn with the leaves changing colour (or color for those of the American persuasion) and tumbling to the ground...

These trees are just stunning, in raft or forest style especially...

Very long stratification though - 120 days! Still, can't wait...

The foliage is just stunning:

And can be made to look so beautiful and natural in Bonsai form, whilst green:

Or red:

Just to re-itterate, I. Cannot. Wait.

Coast Redwood (Sequoia Sepervirens)

Really majestic trunks on these ones, look to me like the perfect opportunity for a forest (though a Silver Birch one is a longer term dream if anyone can recommend somewhere to get seeds... Might try some cuttings over the coming weeks).

Though formal uprights seem to look great with them as well...

Again, just a soak and then in the soil they go, hope something germinates soon...

 

Russian Olive (Elaeagnus Angustifolia)

This was a bit of a punt, given that I'm of Russian origins I decided to order some Russian Olive seeds...

Probably the best looking seeds of the lot, fairly large and nicely patterned. 6 Hour soak then 90 days in the fridge, bring it on!


Resulting tree should be quite interesting with beautiful, and unusual, foliage and interesting fruit if I'm lucky...

Here's hoping...

European Hornbeam (Carpinus Betulus)

Some more seeds that don't need any scarification/stratification! Planted these straight out, but 3-4 months to germinate seems a bit long... Hope they get established enough to survive the winter, could always bring them indoors I guess...

Nice chunky seeds too...

Seem to grow quite nicely in informal upright, thats not a decision to make anytime soon in any case.

Chinese Elm (Ulmus Parvifolia)

And wanted to grow the classic from some seeds, got some cousins for my existing tree...

These guys need 2 months in the fridge after soaking for 24-48 hours...

Quite a few seeds here, so if I'm lucky and most of them germinate I would like to grow them in various sizes and styles... A versatile species so should be interesting...

Anyway, they're in the fridge now, first stratification I've attempted... Wish me luck...

White Chinese Wisteria (Wisteria Sinensis Alba)

After a bit of research I'm going to have to think quite deeply about this one... Apparently it doesn't flower for around 10 years after planting, so should be able to get the trunk and branches nicely developed over that time. Thinking of a few interesting, if somewhat unconventional styles for this - Tree around rock (rather than root-over-rock, that could produce some stunning views when flowering...

Nice chunky seeds...

Only needed a 2 hour soak so planted these out quite early yesterday...

The flowers look amazing, but i guess the tree would have to be rather large to allow a heavy bloom...

It will take many years before anything flower-like is seen...

Seed Trays - Mini-Greenhouse

For the planting of the seeds I used a "Windowsill Greenhouse" as shown below. Each has 30 mini-pots so keeping track of where different seeds are planted will be a hell of a lot easier...

The cover will keep in warmth and also allow for watering at longer intervals, since I don't live where the seeds are to germinate... Definitely happy with this solution...

Blue Jacaranda (Jacaranda Mimosifolia)

This one was a great surprise, wasn't expecting the plant to be anywhere near as stunning, was just taken in by the name when ordering without looking at any photos...

The full grown trees look stunning and hopefully, with a lot of patience and a fair bit of luck, I'll be able to achieve a similar result with the Bonsai...

Don't know how well they do as Bonsai, if anyone has any pictures, would be very much appreciated...

The seeds needed a soak overnight, and were planted out yesterday afternoon... Have mini-greenhouse-type things so should keep them quite warm in the day... Hopefully will germinate in 3-4 weeks as stated on the lable but I guess it all depends on the weather...

Finally Home...

And able to post a few posts... Don't have any way to link up cameras/phones to computers at my parents place so though the plantings were done there, the posts had to wait until now.

So below are the seeds in all their potential glory...

And a bit more zoomed in...

 

 and 

 More detailed plant by plant posts to follow...