Here’s the start of my bonsai potato. Albert has been hibernating in the cabinet, above the sink, for the last week. He just arrived from a long trip from Idaho. He woke up, today, for some yoga and this photo-op. It looks like the dark side is trying to convert him too.
References: greatscott, potato gallery
I took these photos over the weekend. Today, I’m pronouncing the little bamboos dead. I guess they weren’t happy with their new soil environment.
It’s been almost a week and a half since I replanted the bamboo. It looks like it’s doing…hmm…fair. There were a few questionable leaves that went ahead and died on the larger shoot, but it looks like the one good leaf is remaining green/healthy. Leaves grow out from the top of the shoot, so I’ll have to wait and see if any are on the way. I’m sure our recent cold weather isn’t helping. I’ve mostly been keeping the soil moist and adding a drop of Green Green every few days. I wasn’t sure if the soil would be good. It’s not fertilizer, but just average dirt.
But more importantly, Wednesday morning I decided to check on the Kowhai bonsai seeds. A recap of the directions says to keep the seeds in the fridge for a period of 4-6 weeks. I did 5.5 because it was getting a fuzzy mold on the top. I, then, moved it to a dark upper cabinet. It says you may have to wait between 3-6 weeks after watering before shoots appear. It’s been 1 week and I already see 4 of them! One of them was pushing the lid off the top soil. The next step is to remove the lid and replace it with another dish. This dish is supposed to act as a green house. But the one, shoot is already heading sky high. After they reach ~2″, it’s off to it’s own pot and warm light. I’ll have to wait and see how many more I’ve got. I, also, hope the temperature starts to get milder, so I can move it to a sunnier area.
Here’s a photo. I actually wrote this on Wednesday. As of Friday night, there are 6 sprouts as you can see. The booklet says:
You may have to wait between 3-6 weeks after watering before seedling shoots appear - be patient.
On a few bamboo stalks, new sprouts had begun to appear at the base near the roots. Most were growing on dying stalks. The leaves and stalk dried up, but the base around the sprout remained green. I noticed them, and they’ve been growing for the last 3 months. I had been wondering how long I should let these grow? What would happen if I did? Should I try to plant these in fertilizer or keep them in water? Well, I made some last minute decisions, today.
As I checked some of the smaller stalks, I realized that one of them had been grossly neglected. The stalk had already died, but a fungus was now taking over. It engulfed the stalk and the sprout in a mucousy slime. It was like someone had blown their nose on it. Yuck City.
Since, I lost that one, I figured I should make a ruling call on the others. On two other dead stalks, I pulled/cut off the sprouts and put them in some dirt. One was really small, and I dont know if it has much of a chance. The other looked like it was starting to get moldy too and I put in some soil. I gave them a couple of drops of ‘Green Green’ to stimulate the soil. Hopefully, new roots will grow.
In other news, the Kowhai Bonsai has less than a week left in the fridge. It has some peach fuzz growing on the top of the soil. I hope this doesn’t mean I’ve over watered the seeds and they’re rotting. Plants can be so needy at times.
A few months back, Mom bought me a Bonsai kit from the MO Botanical Garden, and I started it last night. The kit includes the necessary tools to grow a New Zealand Kowhai: fertilizer, seeds, mini pot, plastic tubs. I’ve been putting it off because I want them to hopefully germinate around Spring.
Step One was to soak the seeds for 20 minutes and place them in the fridge for 4-6 weeks. Check! Though, I read the directions almost 10 different times to make sure I fully understood and was carrying them out appropriately.
The seeds came pre-planted in the soil, which is lame. I have no idea how many are in there or whether they got soaked. I’m a little concerned that they got soaked at all because the soil was packed really tight. Alternatively, the directions remind you not to give the seeds too much water, because then they could rot.
I’m going to keep them in the fridge for the full 6 weeks. I want the greatest chance of having every seed to sprout. This will give me the chance to possibly loose one and have others to fall back on. Til then, I just have to make sure that they have a little bit of water. Step Two will be to move them to a warm dark area.
Wikipedia says the Kowhai is a small woody legume tree. There are eight species. The ‘Sophora prostrata’ is sometimes called the “Little Baby” and is most typically uses as a Bonsai. The Kowhai is the national flower of New Zealand and is the Maori word for yellow.
