What Is The Best Time Of Year To Start Growing Seeds For Bonsai?

Starting a bonsai from seed is a lot of fun, but knowing when to actually start is something a lot of people are unsure about.

Really it will depend on what you are trying to grow and also where you have gotten your seeds from, but for the vast majority of situations you can start growing your bonsai from seed at any time of the year, so if you want to get started today, you can.   

You Can Starts Seeds At Any Time

If we look at nature, you will see that seeds are ready in autumn, they fall off the tree and then lie on the ground all winter longer, then germinate in spring.

Ideally you want to start your seeds as soon as you get them, especially if they are fresh and you are collecting them in autumn.

However, you can also dry seeds, to save them for later, which technically means you can start seeds at any time of the year.

How well this works really depends on a few things which I will cover below, but basically we can start seeds inside at any point of the year. Although, the longer you wait, the higher the chance is that they will not germinate.

You will also find that sometimes starting them at “any time” can put them out of sync with nature, but this is something we can work around for the first few months and then get the tree back into a natural rhythm.

Just don’t put your seeds in a drawer and leave them for 5 years …so long as you start them pretty soon after getting them, it will be fine, regardless of what time of year it is.

It Will Depend On What Species You Are Growing

The species you are growing can make a difference to when you should grow your seeds, but this really only matters if the seeds are fresh, or you are planning to grow them outside.

As I’ve already mentioned, trees will naturally produce their seeds in autumn, so if you are out collecting them around this time, its best to get them started then, so they can have exposure to a winter period and then can be ready to germinate in spring.

These are of course going to be species that grow naturally in your environment and require the winter cold. If you are growing these types of species from a dried seed, and you want to do it outside, then you need to plant these in the autumn too, so they can get that cold exposure and germinate in the spring.

However, if you are dealing with a tropical species, then the time of year doesn’t really matter, you can start these at any time, inside, as they will not need a cold period.

Of course you can actually use the dried seeds inside at any time too, since you can replicate a cold winter by using the fridge.

It Depends Where You Get The Seeds From

A large consideration for when is going to be the best time of year to start your seeds really depends on where you got them from.

If you have bought them from a shop, well it doesn’t matter. The seeds can be started at any point and you will see the packet usually has some sort of vague “use by date” too, but I wouldn’t worry too much about that, just use them as soon as you can and it will be fine.

However, if you have been out walking in autumn and stumbled upon some seeds on the ground …well you need to start them now. These seeds are fresh and the fact they have fallen from a tree means they are ready to begin their journey.

The truth is that you can also dry these seeds out too …that is the only difference between a seed you find on the ground and a seed you buy. Seeds in packets will usually have been dried out and is why they can be planted at any time.

You can collect seeds in autumn and dry them out yourself to be planted in the future, but I have always struggled with this and get better results starting them right away, since they are fresh.

(You can read more about – Where Can You Buy Bonsai Seeds?)

It Depends Where You Are Planting Them

I have kind of touched on this already, but it’s good to be clear.

If you are planning on growing your seeds inside, you can do this at any time of the year. You can replicate nature and give the tree any conditions it needs to get started. You can replicate winter by using a fridge and then of course it’s easy to give them the warmth they need, regardless of what time of year it is.

You can basically trick the seed into growing as you have full control of their conditions.

You will of course need to eventually move the seeds outside, which you can easily do when the conditions are right. If you have started you seeds and it is getting close to winter, just keep them inside and put them out in spring.

They may have a slightly long “growing season” than normal when you do this, but eventually they will get an autumn and winter and then they will be back in sync with nature as such.

Why Do We Put Seeds In The Fridge?

I get a lot of questions around why we might put seeds in a fridge and often the questions are “can we skip this”.

The purpose of the fridge is pretty simple, it replicates winter.

Seeds will be ready in autumn, but it would kill them to start growing right away. They would pop up and instantly get smashed by frost. They would be too young and delicate to survive a winter.

This is not very beneficial for the tree, so it is pretty clever and works around this. The seeds needs to go through a cold period before they will start growing, which really means, they know that winter is coming and they will wait for that to pass until they start growing.

After winter comes spring, so the seeds can pop up and can be safe from frost…and they actually have all summer long to put on growth and get strong, so they can prepare for the next winter. This time they will be ready for it and will be able to handle it. 

How this works is beyond me, but we will just put it down to the miracle of life.

So, can you skip the fridge? No, because you need to give the tree that winter period and then when you take it out, it thinks spring has arrived and does its business and starts growing.

Planting Seeds Outside

If you are planning on planting your seeds outside, then you need to do this in autumn. This will then give the seeds a natural winter, then in spring they will grow.

Planting your seeds outside is very much letting nature have full control of things, such as the temperature and humidity, but this is where seeds grow, so it will work.

Of course this depends on the species, if you are growing a tropical seed, it will not need a winter period, so you would actually have to wait until spring to plant these outside, where they should sprout and grow, …that is so long as the temperatures are what it needs. You would also have to bring them inside in autumn to protect them from the incoming winter, so I would argue that you should just start any sort of tropical seeds inside, at any time of the year, you will just be able to give them a better environment.

However, for native species or ones that can handle your climate, starting them outside is totally okay and a very natural way of doing things.    

Conclusion

Hopefully now it is a little clearer as to when you should start your seeds, basically you can do it at any point of the year, inside.

You can control the conditions that the seed needs to start growing so it doesn’t matter when you start them, then when the time is right, you can move them outside and let them continue to grow naturally.

(You can read more about – Starting A Bonsai From Seed – A Guide For Years 1 To 5)