Hi, well first I'm going to say that seeds are a really slooww way to get bonsai, because it'll be years before you have anything to work on (you do want a nice woody fat trunk, and lots of foliage to fool with?). Secondly, some seeds are only good for a short time, weeks, months, years, etc. Thirdly, it's a bad time of year to be starting them unless they're for indoor tropicals (and it's still not a good time for those). You didn't say what kind of seeds you have... it would help, to say the least, to help you with them.

im not sure what kind of Bonsai but its one i bought from a lil store. the kind that just gives you a lil book with roughly laid out instructions, im not sure but the pictures it had looked like the lil pine tree's almost.

Without knowing the species you really never know what you'll get. Most of those kits have bad percentages with germination anyway. I'd say go ahead and ditch the pack you have and go to a decent website and buy some seeds there. It'll only be a couple bucks and you will know the species and probably have better luck with germination. Many places will even include detailed sowing instructions.

If you are still intent on trying them you can just sow them outside in autumn to let them stratify over the winter and hopefully they will sprout come spring. Depending on the species that may or may not work.

I will try in autum. but i dont feel like buying any seeds, if these sprout i will post next season what kind of medium should i use?

Hi, if you have what I bet are 'Juniper' seeds (the most common bonsai starters, and the ones everyone thinks of from the Karate Kid), you don't need anything but a patch of garden, in the sun, to plant them in. Plant them quite shallowly, maybe only an inch down at most, and water well when you do it, but Cipher was right, the likelihood of them sprouting is not good. Don't try to germinate them indoors because it won't work... they need to have a few mos. of cold conditions outside to sprout in the spring. Put a marker beside your planting and you should know by May or so if anything's taken (besides weeds in the same place).

so it should just grow outside? In a box? or in the actual groud? i only have two seeds, i will have to try, and yea its like a little fur looking bush, any ways Thanks, Would the way the seed looks be any help to identifying the plant? or a picture? Any thing i can help with i will do. And their is no specific medium i should use??
Thanks alot
akheadbanger

You want to grow seedlings or do you want to do bonsai? That's the bottom line in starting your first "bonsai" from seeds...The first ten years of that endevor will be spent simply letting the plants grow. You will not really learn or do actualy bonsai work on them for quite a while--if the seeds even germinate.

Sorry to be negative her, but this approach rarely keeps people interested in bonsai. A better approach might be to start reading up, join a local club and begin working with actual bonsaiable material from nurseries.

Do you know when you got them? If they're old, just pitch 'em. If they're not, try putting them in moist soil in a small pot and put them in the fridge for a couple of weeks. Then, take them out and it should shock them into spring, if you know what I mean. My friend told me about that technique. If you try it, let me know how it works.

i have cryptomeria japonica seeds, i would like to try and germinate them, i was wondering if strating them in the fridge for a month or to then planting them would help. what is the best way to grow this species from seeds i've been searching the net but havn't really found anything please help