I have recently procured a set of seeds for starting from scratch with Bonsai.

The seeds I have are as follows:

Italian Cypress
Judas
Red Maple
Japanese Cedar
Mountain Pine

I have completed the following stages of all

Stratification
Submergence

I am in the process of propagation, I have some good progress on the Italian Cypress and the Mountain Pine, both have shoots growing. The next stage tells me to into the refrigerator for 4-6 weeks.

My questions are: Do I put the trees that have growth into the fridge too? Or just the ones that have not sprouted?

Regards,

Chris.

All ready to go outside in their new pots

Typically, stratification or 'putting them in the fridge for a bit' is to simulate a winter so that the seeds germinate. If the seeds have already germinated ie. you have shoots, or a root, then there is no need to stratify.

Gently pot them up taking care not to snap the new shoot or root, then leave them to mature.

Brilliant, thank you for the guidance. I’ve potted three of them to go outside. Coming into winter here in Scotland though but I’ll keep an eye on them

Only just seen this.

As you've got seedlings at this time of year, I assumed you were based in the southern hemisphere. Naturally, seeds tend to germinate in the spring, with increased temperature and increasing daylight hours. This is usually the best time to germinate seeds as it allows seedlings to strengthen to survive through winter.

You''re in luck though, there's a few tricks to coax things through winter. If you're thinking about putting seedlings outside at this time of year put them somewhere really sheltered (Ie. it won't get below 0 all winter near a wall, under a piece of plastic etc), or cover them with something to protect them from the frost, especially since you're based in scotland.

Alternatively, you can leave them on a windowsill all winter, then harden them off in spring. I currently have Oak seedlings on my sunny kitchen windowsill (I'm NW England) that I germinated in October.

Autumn isn't an ideal time to germinate seeds but it's nice to watch these things grow.

Hope this helps.

If you have any questions, just ask.

Thanks for the reply and guidance, I have been bringing them in at night and putting them out during the day.

If the temperature is not too low I leave them out.

I have some others in the fridge just now for another few weeks.

Hoping to take them out and have them take shape on the window sill.

Trees are evolved to cope with natural flucuations in temperature. That means higher in the day than in the night. Your care regime, putting them inside during the night makes it the other way around and will not benefit the seedlings in the long run.

Keeping them outside just now until it starts getting frosty.

Just checked this morning and the weather has turned a bit here. Very wet.

Will the shoots be okay or will they be over watered due to this?

They should not be standing in water the way the saucers underneath have them. Can you get them out of the saucers? The water wicks up into the soil and promotes root rot.