Japanese Maple Seed Soil Starter

Hello Bonsai Enthusiasts!

I am new to Bonsai and need some help. I have both Japanese Red and Trident Maple seeds, but no idea what soil to place them in. All of my research leads me to believe I should not place them in mixed soil like Espoma. From what I have read in books (at least 3 now) these brands aren't truly organic and can kill the seed. Any assistance would be appreciated.

Thanks !

I have been successful using a core of coarse sand and fine particles of bonsai soil mix around it. Both JRP and JBP sprouted with no issues.

Do you have a direct link you can share to this soil?

I use my regular substrate: www.growingbonsai.net/characteristics-of-good-bonsai-substrate/

But any substrate that is not waterlogged and has air in it will work. Regular seed-started substrate from a decent garden centre will do the trick. There is no magic here.

From what I have read, the substrate is supposed to be used for saplings and more mature trees. Will using substrate to grow a seed really work? Growing a seed in anything but soil seems counterintuitive because the seeds (in this case for deciduous species) require lots of moisture and nutrients in order to grow. The type of soil the seeds germinate in will determine the health of the bonsai in terms of trunk diameter, branch thickness, health of leaves etc. It seems like a critical part of growing a bonsai to make sure this beginning of the process is done correctly.

Please excuse my ignorance but since, I've never done this before, I want to make sure this process is began correctly.

These are some options I am considering, please let me know your thoughts:

amzn.to/3lvkBv2 - Bonsai soil
amzn.to/3gC831i - Deciduous Bonsai soil mix
amzn.to/3lws0Ku - Bonsai tree soil: Deciduous blend

You did ask for advice, which is very good.
You insist in buying "bonsai soil" from Amazon, which is not so good.
Buy option 3 and please show us the results later.

imalittlebonsaishortandstout wrote: From what I have read, the substrate is supposed to be used for saplings and more mature trees. Will using substrate to grow a seed really work?

It does for me.

imalittlebonsaishortandstout wrote: Growing a seed in anything but soil seems counterintuitive because the seeds (in this case for deciduous species) require lots of moisture and nutrients in order to grow. The type of soil the seeds germinate in will determine the health of the bonsai in terms of trunk diameter, branch thickness, health of leaves etc. It seems like a critical part of growing a bonsai to make sure this beginning of the process is done correctly.

Nope. Once they have germinated, you can fertilize whichever way you want. Trunk diameter etc is not set by the soil the seed germinates in. Seeds need air, water to germinate. You can germinate seeds in pure sphagnu moss if you wanted to.

Clicio wrote: You did ask for advice, which is very good.
You insist in buying "bonsai soil" from Amazon, which is not so good.
Buy option 3 and please show us the results later.

Where would you recommend purchasing soil from?