I was given a Bonsai Kit about six years ago by my girlfriend (now wife)
and I let it sit because I had no place to put it. Our cats are notorious
for getting into my plants and I can only put the hardiest ones in the house
so they can survive the constant attacks by the furry beasts.
A few things happened lately. After the whole problem I'd noded in
(a little bit of sweet, a little bit of poison) I took the afternoon off
and took Stefanie to the Columbus Museum of Art. We had a nice time
and eventually wandered into the gift shop... Lo! and behold! I found a
kit that had seeds for a Gingko tree (I will be noding additions on the
Gingko someday because I love those trees). We bought it and I was
thrilled (it doesn't take much to impress me).
The next day I brought it into work and one of my co-workers (also a
plant buff) insisted that we start the process of growing the three large
seeds at work. I figured this was a great Idea because they would sit on my
desk and I could keep a watchful eye on them.
We started talking more about trees and bonsai's and so forth - we went
as far to order more gingko seeds (18 more) as well as about 500 more of
various types (Monkeybread trees, Silk Floss Trees, Japanese Red Maple
Trees, Cedar of Lebanon, even a shitload of Giant Sequoia Trees!). We
started experimenting with types and ways of getting them to germinate.
Heck, I even wrote the Los Angeles Botanical Gardens to find out the name
of the Silk Floss tree so we could find seeds. They told me that it would
not grow in our region - but I think I can bonsai it.
All of this got me thinking about the old kit I'd had sitting (unopened)
on a shelf. I decided it was time for me to see what I could or could not
do. I opened the pack and removed five seeds (labeled "Italian Stone
Pine"). I placed them in pots and watched them carefully.
When I got home from work on Tuesday I found (to my great surprise)
that one of the old, six year dormant, seeds had sprouted. I was
ecstatic. I transplanted it into the kit's shallow ceramic base,
spread out gravel and larger stones - and even added a sprig of ground
cover to the pot. It looks great, I hope it lives.