Once considered to be lucky, the pine was thought to be a talisman against evil, so displaying one in your home protected you from evil and gave you good luck! The symbol of perpetual youth and longevity, these pretty pine cone bonsai are the perfect way to begin your new year. Read on to learn how to make your very own pine cone bonsai!
Before:
After:
Pine cone before and after images from Matome Naver
How to grow your own Pine Cone Bonsai
1. To grow your own pine cone bonsai, you will first need to find a pine cone that is young and fresh and that has not opened. This is because you need one that still has it's seeds. Once the pine cone opens up, the seeds will be gone and the pine cone will not sprout, so you want to make sure you find a closed pine cone that still has it's seeds. Also, pine cones from a Japanese Black Pine work great perfect for this project.
2. Try to find a pine cone that is on the larger size; this will help to assure that the seeds inside are of better quality. It's also best to collect a few pine cones and not just one!
3. Some folks recommend giving your pine cones a quick bath in a solution of very diluted lime-sulfur solution before starting this project. That is just an extra step that will help get rid of any pests or fungus that is living in the pine cone.
4. Next you will need to dry out your pine cones, so place them in a dry spot and watch as they begin to dry out and open up. You may see some of the seeds begin to come out. At this point, you can give the pine cones a few taps to help loosen seeds if you want to plant the seeds outside of the pine cone. The darker seeds will be of better quality.
5. If you want to grow the seeds directly from inside the pine cone you will next place your pine cone in your prepared soil. Loosely bury bottom of pine cone only, do not bury the entire pine cone! From this point you will water it sparingly and wait for it to sprout - do not over-water or it will rot. That's all there is to it!
A sprouting pine cone from Gisela Zimmerman
6. If you want to plant your collected seeds at a later date follow these directions: Place the seeds in a cool dark place until you are ready to sow them. Once you are ready, you first want to soak them in warm water for a day to help them get started and to separate the duds (those will float to the surface, the good ones will sink.) After the 24 hours, place the seeds in a baggie with a damp paper towel or a bit of moss to get them ready to plant. At this point you can place them in the fridge for a week or two.
6. Once you are ready to plant the seeds, simply sprinkle them on your soil and then cover them with a thin layer of soil. They will take between one and three weeks to sprout. You can strategically position your pine cone in the soil close to your seedlings, but not directly on top of the seedlings or you will kill the seedlings.
7. Give them plenty of sunshine but water them sparingly.
If you are interested in learning more about traditional bonsai in general, you might like these books:
Or jump right in with a bonsai grow kit:
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