Product Description

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #651219 in Books
• Published on: 2001-02-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 40 pages

Customer Reviews

Shouldn't be used alone
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.

Mini Bonzai was a bit of a disappointment
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.

No sprouts yet
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.