Customer Reviews

Mini Bonsai Kit

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

What you should know before buying this kit is that no one experienced with bonsai trees seems to be growing Jack Pine Trees. So, it can be difficult to find supplementary information. Also, I planted all six seeds and only got one to sprout. Now that I've done more research, I am a little surprised that I got even one. Most trees that need cold stratified stay in the refrigerator for 90 days, not one week.

However, I did get my one tree from this kit, and he seems relatively happy. He's nothing like a tree yet even though he's more than a year old. He looks more like a pom-pom on a little twig and doesn't have any real branches yet. This leads me to think that this is not the best species of tree for a beginner. There are so many things that can go wrong, and having a tree that takes forever to mature makes it even more stressful.

This book tries to make the process sound easy and short when it's actually a fairly long process. Some of the shortcuts in its directions probably greatly reduce your chances of getting a good tree established.

A better place to start would be: http://seedrack.com/bonsai.html. All of their seed packs cost less than $5 and come with ten to fifty seeds and documentation specific to the kind of seeds with step by step directions. You'll be just as good starting there if you want to start growing a bonsai tree from a seed.

The Mini Bonsai kit caught my eye at a local bookstore because I've always wanted a bonsai, but I'm very good at killing plants. I figured I'd pick this one up and take a look at it. While it's rather neat, it's still a bit of a disappointment. My first complaint is with the box, it says it contains everything needed to grow a bonsai garden. The kit contains everything needed to grow a bonsai tree, but not a garden. Small difference, but still somewhat puzzling.

I'm having the same problem with this book that I'm having with the mini Zen Gardening Kit. When you open it fairly flat, you can see where it has been sewn, which make me worry that I'm going to destroy the book by reading it. The instructions for getting your bonsai tree started are very clear and are explained pretty well. It takes eight days to get the bonsai up and going, but at least you're told that in the first 2 instructions. The book also goes through caring for a bonsai, and the science and art behind it.

The rest of the kit is pretty straightforward and decent. More than one jack pine seed is included, so you're not out of luck if one doesn't sprout. The pot is some kind of non-plastic, non-metal pot, standing about an inch tall and about 2 inches across. There's a peat pellet included so you don't have to go buy soil or dig up your neighbour's yard, and there is a set of miniature scissors included as well. The scissors are little plastic cheap scissors, but they cut paper, so they will probably work in pruning a bonsai.

I also purchased this when it caught my eye at a bookstore.

I cold stratified the seeds for 1 week, planted them on 9/12/04, and 2 weeks later, I have yet to see any results.

It would have been nice if the book would have given a hint about how long I should wait to see sprouts. All that's in the book is "when the plants have grown".

Maybe some companies just make their money on impulse shoppers. After one product is sold, they move on to the next one.

A lot of people claim that their bonsai hasn't grown because of the instructions, but I've also noticed that a lot of amateur bonsai enthusiasts go against the instructions in the tiny book by way of cold stratifying beyond suggested time, using techniques too advanced for this particular kit, et cetera. However, it's been a couple of months and my bonsai is thriving. Call it luck, but I planted it during a less than forgiving summer (rather than spring), watered it with tap water, kept it indoors for weeks at a time, and yet it's becoming a little masterpiece on my desktop.

I have actually owned this kit twice; the first being when I was just 11 years old. The first time I threw away the instructions by mistake and planted the seeds without cold stratifying, and it sprouted shortly before wilting to death due to my childhood apathy of growing stuff. Today my desk is graced with the company of a maple bonsai I found (bonsai are everywhere, even if the kit were to fail), and the included pine that, currently, vaguely resembles the unknown variety of pine in my yard.

The kit itself doesn't come with everything for a beginner, however. There are many more tools used in the delicate art of bonsai other than the tiny scissors. Perhaps this the one essential that should have been added would have to be training wire.

I'm an outdoor hobbyist that lives in the extreme heat of Las Vegas, so I figured it would be nice to have a bonsai since it is difficult to cultivate outdoor plants in the extreme heat with water regulations. I bought this kit around the same time I bought a four year old juniper bonsai and my bonsai collection started.

There are several things any bonsai beginner should know:

1.) Any tree acquired through a seed will not become a full fledged bonsai for at least 2-3 years. This meaning, you won't trim it, though it may be easier to train into a desired design.

2.) Conifers, which the Jack Pine is, need to be outdoors to grow properly. This applies even to bonsai.

3.) Pines are not the best beginner bonsai, nor are seedlings. Don't feel discouraged at buying one from a store, many bonsai sensei never grow their own bonsai from seed. I bought a money tree bonsai at the 99 cent store and have been growing it mainly for cuttings for friends to start their own bonsai fetish: money tree bonsai are fairly easy to tend to and are indoor bonsai.

Bonsai Boy is a good place to look for good beginner trees, for semi-cheap prices. In any case do a bit a research into bonsai before deciding; Jack Pines live for a couple hundred years.

For anyone who has purchased this kit, I suggest leaving the seeds in the refrigerator, but changing the paper towel weekly until the seeds have sprouted and become tangled in the towel, then gently place all the seeds about 1/2 inch in the bonsai pot. When the following spring comes and it is time to repot it might be best to repot ALL the seeds either in the same pot separated areas or in separate pots entirely. I suggest this because its nice to experiment with different styles of bonsai. When, in time, pruning is needed forget the scissors- gently pinch/pull off new buds to encourage more compact growth needed for bonsai.

Good luck, may your soil stay moist, but not rot the roots.

My sister received this as a gift, and she in turn passed it on to me. The seeds do not seem viable; I have not gotten a single sprout. The information in the book is not very helpful in terms of getting the seeds to grow. It would have been nice if they had selected a better variety for beginners.

Yes, I followed all of the directions carefully. The problem is that there's really no telling how old the seeds are inside the package, and no commitment from the manufacturer to replace bad seeds.

These kits are a waste of time and money. Please don't be tricked by the charlatan peddlers of these "bonsai" kits. If you want to start with bonsai, buy a beginning bonsai insruction book, such as harry tomlinson's, and then purchase some potted shrubs from your local nursery.

IT was pretty easy. I followed all the rules except i put it in the fridge for two weeks and put them between 2 wet paper towels in a plastic ziploc bag and sealed it half way and within a week all of them sprouted and had a root that was half an inch then i pressed the sprouted seed on the soil. I only kept two and they are both doing great

I was bored one day and spotted this in a bookstore at the mall, and figured I'd try it. After purchasing, I've realized there is little to no research on Jack Pine bonsai, because they really don't make great bonsai. Growing a tree from a seed is very difficult, but I have patience and hope it will work. First bit of advice--cold stratify the seeds longer than a week. Remember that this process is supposed to simulate winter, and 7 days is not enough to "trick" the seeds. I left all five seeds that came with the kit in the fridge for about a month, and 3 more weeks or so after planting them in the peat pellet, I have two sprouts. They are only about half an inch tall so far, but it is encouraging. We'll see how it goes.

While the kit came with several seeds, none of mine sprouted, and one of them came broken.

It wasn't really worth it in my opinion.