#Growing & Cultivating Hydroponic Bonsai From Seed in the Southwestern US

[coyotegirl-bonsai-garden]

Growing & Cultivating Hydroponic Bonsai From Seed in the Southwestern US

Update 7

Previous update here

Disclaimer: Bonsai is an art form originating in China but largely introduced to the wider world by Japan. I haven't done scholarly reading about the history of the art form so I can't say with confidence that it's not supposed to be something sacred and precious and secret to any cultures within Japan or China. This world has a long history of violent colonialism and, in the context of Euro-American history, cultural appropriation and romanticization/mystification of Eastern Asian cultures. Asian people and cultures are treated as mysterious and strange and something to be ogled at. I am not trying to participate in Orientalism, I am not trying to take something that's not mine and act like it's magical because of where and who it came from. If I am failing in this regard, if the way I'm approaching this art form is appropriative and racist, I want to know so I can change and improve my behavior.

Meta Commentary (or, the state of this blog and series): I'm changing up the formatting of these posts, standardizing them. Every post will include, in order: 1) the cultural sensitivity disclaimer, 2) meta commentary about the blog itself if necessary, 3) a quick summary of where we left off, 4) things I've done and that have happened since then, 5) things I've learned and a general update on the state of things, and 6) my current agenda. I've also made a new blog so I can focus on the plants here rather than trying to dig through my main or personal blogs for forgotten plant posts. I'm also going to try to update weekly unless things are boring around here. Maybe monthly will be better but we'll try weekly first.

Where did we leave off? I last updated this series 16 October '24. I had a lot of C. linearis seedlings in peat pellets and seed starting soil, some in miniature greenhouses made from plastic waste and some in self-watering hydroponic planters made from glass jars. I didn't have any other plants. All of my plants were outdoors because freezing temperatures hadn't started yet.

What have I done and what's happened since? It's been 2 months. I've done a lot of things and a lot has happened.

I transferred a few plants from the greenhouses to planters. Some survived this process, some did not.

I got an LED grow lamp that can output monochromatic red light, monochromatic blue light, or both at the same time. I also got a timer switch.

I set up a shelf in my apartment that I can set the plants on during winter, and then I brought the plants in glass jars inside. I'm currently only using the blue light to try to get the plants to go into a partial dormant state.

I picked up 4 "Christmas trees:" one Norfolk Island Pine (Araucaria heterophylla) and three Ellwoodii (Chamaecyparis lawsoniana ellwoodii) (I have no idea why its common name is so weird and bland. It's a cultivar of Lawson's Cypress.)

I was given 3 Kalanchoe tomentosa succulents of the "Teddy bear" cultivar. Or, rather, a few leaves fell off my sister's and she gave them to me; apparently K. tomentosa just loves springing up from dropped leaves, so they should be easy to propagate. However, i definitely killed one by accidentally leaving it in my car overnight and then trying to grow it in a window rather than under the lamp.

I collected Arizona Cypress (Hesperocyparis arizonica) seeds from my neighbor's tree and started cold stratifying them, about half at above-freezing temperature and half at subfreezing temperature.

All of the outdoor plants died in subfreezing temps.

I'm still holding out a tiny bit of hope for those Japanese Maple seeds in the Spring but I won't be too sad if nothing happens with those.

I realized I should been changing the water in the planters weekly and that these plants need fertilizer; peat is a "soilless medium" that doesn't have any nutrients on its own. I also realized the peat pellets were restricting the roots, so I cut all of the peat pellets apart to give the roots more opportunity to grow.

The current state of affairs and things I've learned, species-by-species:

Japanese Maple (Acer palmatum): don't bother with seed starting kits, the instructions on the package are likely to be incorrect. Currently have 0 with a few seeds that might cold stratify properly outdoors over the winter.

Desert Willow: gather seeds and plant in the autumn, the seeds don't need to be cold-stratified and don't remain viable long. Planting them in high-humidity environments, y'know, the mini greenhouses, will help them germinate. They germinate well in peat pellets but quickly outgrow them. They also germinate fairly well in Kratky jars in the open air. They'll need fertilizer and regular water changes when planted in Kratky jars. Several are dead because I've been clumsy and because, despite the short shelf life of the seeds, the seedlings cannot stand winter temperatures. Currently have 4.

Norfolk Island Pine: they're tropical, they can't be outside year-round in my climate. They also don't develop and grow in a way that's conducive to typical bonsai techniques. This might never be a "true" bonsai. Currently have 1.

Ellwoodii: I don't particularly care for how they look as adults; I think I'll have to trim them quite a bit to get a look that I like. That's not going to be relevant until at least Spring but maybe not even until 2026. They should do fine in my climate so they'll be outdoors year-round after Winter. Currently have 3 but intend to give one as a gift soon.

Teddy Bear Succulent: allegedly easy to propagate from fallen leaves. Allegedly grow well in Kratky jars with leca. Tropical, ought to be indoors in winter and I think I'll keep them indoors year-round. My bathroom windowsill gets too cold for them in the winter; they have to be somewhere warmer in my apartment to survive. They also don't take well to being forgotten on a car dashboard (oops). Currently have two leaves sitting in soil in Kratky jars; I don't know whether they'll propagate.

Arizona Cypress: not much to say besides I've got a bunch of seeds chilling. Literally. You get a LOT of seeds from one single cone.

Overall: I have mold spores in my apartment. I need to do something to eliminate this so there's no mold growing on the soil of my plants. I think putting them outdoors in the Spring and giving them sunlight will kill the mold but I'm unsure and I'm worried. I'm trying to keep the humidity down in here in the meantime.

To-do: weekly water changes in the Kratky jars. Wait for Spring. Maybe try to do something about the mold? I'm worried I'll hurt the plants in the process, they're very young and small and delicate, I've killed a few by being clumsy. But I think it's just gonna be a lot of waiting, which is par for the course with bonsai and arboriculture in general.

[coyotegirl-bonsai-garden]

Growing & Cultivating Hydroponic Bonsai From Seed in the Southwestern US

Update 9

Previous update here

Disclaimer: Bonsai is an art form originating in China but largely introduced to the wider world by Japan. I haven't done scholarly reading about the history of the art form so I don't know if it's sacred and precious and secret to any cultures within Japan or China. This world has a long history of violent colonialism and, in the context of Euro-American history, cultural appropriation and romanticization/mystification of Eastern Asian cultures. Asian people and cultures are treated as mysterious and strange and something to be ogled at. I am not trying to participate in Orientalism, I am not trying to take something that's not mine and act like it's magical because of where and who it came from. If I am failing in this regard, if the way I'm approaching this art form is appropriative and racist, I want to know so I can change and improve my behavior.

Meta Commentary: I'm sticking with the weekly update schedule for now. I think it'll help me keep track of what I'm doing.

Where did we leave off? Last update was 9 Jan '25

Desert Willow: one seemed to be dead or dying. 4 live plants.

Norfolk Island Pine: just vibin', man. 1 live plant.

Ellwoodii: 2/3 were crunchy so I moved them outside to an improvised greenhouse with their roots insulated. One seemed to be doing ok. 3 live plants.

Teddy Bear Succulent: 2 leaves, each in their own PKP, hopefully propagating.

Arizona Cypress: they're seeds. They weren't doing anything.

Overall: I added fungicide to the PKPs.

What have I done and what's happened since? / The current state of affairs and things I've learned:

DW: the one I dropped is dead. Oh well. The other 3 seem ok. I also gathered some more seeds, just to see if they survived the winter. 3 live plants and a whole bunch of seeds.

NIP: just vibin', man. I took the Christmas tree lights out of it and put them away for the year. 1 live plant.

Outdoor Ellwoodii: I took the improvised greenhouse down so they would get fresh air. They don't seem crunchy anymore. They're still in the nursery pots they came with, but they're in a styrofoam cooler, surrounded by loose, dry soil. Not sure how to water them given how I insulated their roots. I'll figure something out soon. 2 live plants.

Indoor Ellwoodii: still seems to be doing good, despite all common sense saying it needs to be outdoors. 1 live plant.

TBS: Still no obvious signs of propagating. They still look green so that's a good sign at least.

Overall: I changed the water in the PKPs and watered the NIP and indoor Ellwoodii. There's still mold in the PKPs. I'm still using fungicide in the PKP water.

To-do: Figure out how to water the outdoor Ellwoodii. Clean up and organize all my materials to get ready for Spring planting. Get ready for warmer weather, when I'll have to move everything outside.

[coyotegirl-bonsai-garden]

Growing & Cultivating Hydroponic Bonsai From Seed in the Southwestern US

Update 8

Previous update here

Disclaimer: Bonsai is an art form originating in China but largely introduced to the wider world by Japan. I haven't done scholarly reading about the history of the art form so I don't know if it's sacred and precious and secret to any cultures within Japan or China. This world has a long history of violent colonialism and, in the context of Euro-American history, cultural appropriation and romanticization/mystification of Eastern Asian cultures. Asian people and cultures are treated as mysterious and strange and something to be ogled at. I am not trying to participate in Orientalism, I am not trying to take something that's not mine and act like it's magical because of where and who it came from. If I am failing in this regard, if the way I'm approaching this art form is appropriative and racist, I want to know so I can change and improve my behavior.

Meta Commentary (or, the state of this blog and series): I've decided, since I'm using a really derived form of the Kratky Hydroponics Method, that I'll refer to my jars as Pseudo Kratky Planters or PKPs. This is mostly so I don't have to type out "Kratky jars" so much. Also, gonna put everything in species-by-species bullet point lists, in chronological order of when I acquired that species of plant

Where did we leave off? Last update was 31 December '24

Japanese Maple: seeds possibly cold stratifying outdoors, possibly nonviable and wasting space I need for other things

Desert Willow: 4 seedlings indoors in PKPs

Norfolk Island Pine: 1 in a nursery pot

Ellwoodii: 3 in nursery pots with the intent to give one to someone else

Teddy Bear Succulent: 2 leafs in PKPs, hopefully propagating

Arizona Cypress: seeds cold stratifying in my fridge (some at subfreezing temps, some at above-freezing temps)

Mold growing in the PKPs

What have I done and what's happened since? / The current state of affairs and things I've learned:

Desert Willow: pretty sure the one I dropped is dead. Not completely sure though. It's still green but it doesn't look like it's gonna make it. The other 3 seem fine. 4 total live plants at time of writing

Norfolk Island Pine: no updates. It looks healthy.

Ellwoodii: I gave one to someone as a gift then I saw that there was only one left at the supermarket; I grabbed it because I might be developing an addiction (I'm mostly joking). While watering them today, I noticed that two felt crunchy. Not so crunchy as to make me think they're dead but crunchy enough to make me think they're dying or at least dehydrated or something. 3rd one seems fine though. BUT. I've been informed that they might need to go outdoors ASAP despite my original plans.

Arizona Cypress: they're seeds. They're not gonna do anything until I plant them.

Overall: I bought a fungicide and mixed it with the fertilizer then put that new mix in the PKPs when I changed the water. I also decided, to prevent microbe growth, I'm gonna stick with the weekly water-change schedule.

To-do: clean up my outdoor stuff, convert the plant stand I have outdoors into a temporary greenhouse for the Ellwoodii, put the two crunchy Ellwoodii outside with something to insulate their roots. Monitor the PKPs to see if I killed the mold, my plants, or both. But mostly just wait.

[coyotegirl-bonsai-garden]

Minor update: i changed the water in the jars and I'm not sure it needs to be done weekly. I feel like I might be wasting fertilizer if I'm doing this that frequently.

In favor of sticking with a weekly schedule:

I'm using a really concentrated dry solution that takes 1/2 tsp for an entire gallon (5ml for 3.8 liters) and then diluting that with even more water (1:1 ratio pre-mixed 5ml/3.8L fertilizer to purified water), so I'm not using much. I'm not losing much by changing it frequently.

Frequent water changes will help prevent and/or slow down unwanted microbe growth in the jars.

it gives me more reason to inspect my plants and identify and resolve problems faster.

In favor of less frequent water changes:

The water level in the Kratky jars didn't really go down this week. The plants didn't drink much water or use much fertilizer.

Fertilizer down the drain is fertilizer down the drain.

Part of the idea here is to overcome ADHD, not give myself more chores

So I'm conflicted. And i don't have enough plants to do a trial run with half of them getting weekly water changes and the other half getting water changes less frequently. Or, i don't have enough to be willing to risk killing the plants, anyway. Maybe, because it's Winter, i can get away with using less water and fertilizer. Idk.

Growing & Cultivating Hydroponic Bonsai From Seed in the Southwestern US

Update 7

Previous update here

Disclaimer: Bonsai is an art form originating in China but largely introduced to the wider world by Japan. I haven't done scholarly reading about the history of the art form so I can't say with confidence that it's not supposed to be something sacred and precious and secret to any cultures within Japan or China. This world has a long history of violent colonialism and, in the context of Euro-American history, cultural appropriation and romanticization/mystification of Eastern Asian cultures. Asian people and cultures are treated as mysterious and strange and something to be ogled at. I am not trying to participate in Orientalism, I am not trying to take something that's not mine and act like it's magical because of where and who it came from. If I am failing in this regard, if the way I'm approaching this art form is appropriative and racist, I want to know so I can change and improve my behavior.

Meta Commentary (or, the state of this blog and series): I'm changing up the formatting of these posts, standardizing them. Every post will include, in order: 1) the cultural sensitivity disclaimer, 2) meta commentary about the blog itself if necessary, 3) a quick summary of where we left off, 4) things I've done and that have happened since then, 5) things I've learned and a general update on the state of things, and 6) my current agenda. I've also made a new blog so I can focus on the plants here rather than trying to dig through my main or personal blogs for forgotten plant posts. I'm also going to try to update weekly unless things are boring around here. Maybe monthly will be better but we'll try weekly first.

Where did we leave off? I last updated this series 16 October '24. I had a lot of C. linearis seedlings in peat pellets and seed starting soil, some in miniature greenhouses made from plastic waste and some in self-watering hydroponic planters made from glass jars. I didn't have any other plants. All of my plants were outdoors because freezing temperatures hadn't started yet.

What have I done and what's happened since? It's been 2 months. I've done a lot of things and a lot has happened.

I transferred a few plants from the greenhouses to planters. Some survived this process, some did not.

I got an LED grow lamp that can output monochromatic red light, monochromatic blue light, or both at the same time. I also got a timer switch.

I set up a shelf in my apartment that I can set the plants on during winter, and then I brought the plants in glass jars inside. I'm currently only using the blue light to try to get the plants to go into a partial dormant state.

I picked up 4 "Christmas trees:" one Norfolk Island Pine (Araucaria heterophylla) and three Ellwoodii (Chamaecyparis lawsoniana ellwoodii) (I have no idea why its common name is so weird and bland. It's a cultivar of Lawson's Cypress.)

I was given 3 Kalanchoe tomentosa succulents of the "Teddy bear" cultivar. Or, rather, a few leaves fell off my sister's and she gave them to me; apparently K. tomentosa just loves springing up from dropped leaves, so they should be easy to propagate. However, i definitely killed one by accidentally leaving it in my car overnight and then trying to grow it in a window rather than under the lamp.

I collected Arizona Cypress (Hesperocyparis arizonica) seeds from my neighbor's tree and started cold stratifying them, about half at above-freezing temperature and half at subfreezing temperature.

All of the outdoor plants died in subfreezing temps.

I'm still holding out a tiny bit of hope for those Japanese Maple seeds in the Spring but I won't be too sad if nothing happens with those.

I realized I should been changing the water in the planters weekly and that these plants need fertilizer; peat is a "soilless medium" that doesn't have any nutrients on its own. I also realized the peat pellets were restricting the roots, so I cut all of the peat pellets apart to give the roots more opportunity to grow.

The current state of affairs and things I've learned, species-by-species:

Japanese Maple (Acer palmatum): don't bother with seed starting kits, the instructions on the package are likely to be incorrect. Currently have 0 with a few seeds that might cold stratify properly outdoors over the winter.

Desert Willow: gather seeds and plant in the autumn, the seeds don't need to be cold-stratified and don't remain viable long. Planting them in high-humidity environments, y'know, the mini greenhouses, will help them germinate. They germinate well in peat pellets but quickly outgrow them. They also germinate fairly well in Kratky jars in the open air. They'll need fertilizer and regular water changes when planted in Kratky jars. Several are dead because I've been clumsy and because, despite the short shelf life of the seeds, the seedlings cannot stand winter temperatures. Currently have 4.

Norfolk Island Pine: they're tropical, they can't be outside year-round in my climate. They also don't develop and grow in a way that's conducive to typical bonsai techniques. This might never be a "true" bonsai. Currently have 1.

Ellwoodii: I don't particularly care for how they look as adults; I think I'll have to trim them quite a bit to get a look that I like. That's not going to be relevant until at least Spring but maybe not even until 2026. They should do fine in my climate so they'll be outdoors year-round after Winter. Currently have 3 but intend to give one as a gift soon.

Teddy Bear Succulent: allegedly easy to propagate from fallen leaves. Allegedly grow well in Kratky jars with leca. Tropical, ought to be indoors in winter and I think I'll keep them indoors year-round. My bathroom windowsill gets too cold for them in the winter; they have to be somewhere warmer in my apartment to survive. They also don't take well to being forgotten on a car dashboard (oops). Currently have two leaves sitting in soil in Kratky jars; I don't know whether they'll propagate.

Arizona Cypress: not much to say besides I've got a bunch of seeds chilling. Literally. You get a LOT of seeds from one single cone.

Overall: I have mold spores in my apartment. I need to do something to eliminate this so there's no mold growing on the soil of my plants. I think putting them outdoors in the Spring and giving them sunlight will kill the mold but I'm unsure and I'm worried. I'm trying to keep the humidity down in here in the meantime.

To-do: weekly water changes in the Kratky jars. Wait for Spring. Maybe try to do something about the mold? I'm worried I'll hurt the plants in the process, they're very young and small and delicate, I've killed a few by being clumsy. But I think it's just gonna be a lot of waiting, which is par for the course with bonsai and arboriculture in general.