Seeding; Natural Stratification... hopefully

Soil components:

1. 75 % Moler
2. 10% Crushed Leca
3. 10% Vermiculite
4. 3% Sifted Pine Bark
5. 2% Spaghnum Moss

Now the game is waiting... There are between 15 and 30 seeds of each species sown, so lets hope for some traditional Norwegian weather the nest weeks.

Sowing to ripe; Scarification

Five new species imported from Misho Bonsai webshop. As the label reads they have different germination specifics for stratification, but there is still minus degrees here in Norway. So after the 48 hours of scarification, they are headed for small pots and heading outside. Read more about these strange words of horticulture on wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germination

Pruning and wiring

After researching Pine-Bonsai from both books and the internet i decided to not wait longer for this pine to grow before initial pruning. I have taken of 3/4 of all the brances and also thinned out the canopy to distribute new energy to the lower branches. The needles are still way to long to show off, so the main issue here will be backbudding to new branches and getting more dence branches. I also need some new wire, something in between the two thicknesses I have for now. The wire used may be too tight so i will watch this closely the next months. Since I have a limitid space for my trees it will also get a more decent pot this spring for it to grow in.

Future Fagus Forest

Sometime during this year, i will harvest quite a few of these sticks to make a beech forest bonsai. These small specimens will be perfect targets for some late night pruning bonanza.