Would putting them in bigger pots help at this point? I just read shit like; "put seeds in styrofoam cups, prune taproot but keep the little roots that form (the white ones)". Then again at that point everything sounded logical to me so I just went ahead and did it.

Bumping because I'd like to know too. Can you skip the training step?

What does that mean, skip the training step? If you are growing seedlings in pots with the ultimate goal of a bonsai tree, typically you would be potting up every year or two until you have them in multi-gallon tubs. Once the trunk is thick, potting down into shallower and shallower pots, while selectively pruning and growing branches, and ramifying them. The training step is about 95% of bonsai, so maybe I am missing your point.

ez

I see, thank you.. New to bonsai and most articles I've found don't explain how to start one from a seedling. They often just explain pruning and root cutting but they don't mention that you have to grow it out first.

I suppose my question is, what happens if you don't pot them up and keep them in small pots from the start.

Solu: If you keep the plant in a small pot for a long time, it will initially grow and then sort of stop growing much further. In fact, the plant will start suffering from congestion and poor drainage. The act of pruning roots and shoots sort of kick-starts the growing process again. You could possibly repot every year or two in the same pot but it will become harder and harder to accommodate the plant in a small pot.

From seedling to a even sort of bonsai is a long process. So most people find it easier to buy nursery stock or collect from the wild. Does not mean you should not try though.

Funny I'm trying this too, but I'd never call them bonsai. It's a good learning experience because if you kill any of them it's not like decades of work lost, and hopefully you learn about the proper care needed to slowly mature the saplings. It really tests your patience. I figure if you can handle those first fragile years then you will have an easier time with a bigger oak that you may aquire in the future which will not be as sensitive as the seedlings are.

Not too many advantages that I can think of growing from seed, other than bragging rights or a sense of pride (if you and the trees live long enough). Some say you have more control over the growth process but it's not like I have some specific grand vision other than "make it grow".

I've also experimented with elms which keep popping up in my yard (so I have no shortage of material to try different techniques on). I'm more used to evergreens so I wanted to know what it takes to winter a potted deciduous tree and how they compare in terms of growth rates in my zone.

I find with a small container it does stagger their growth, the leaves are tiny. Over a few years you can fuse the little trees to eachother or some larger chunk of wood. I've carved an upward spiral channel in one thick wooden branch and wound the elms around it. Can't really do that with an older specimen.

Anyway, all this experimenting has taught me is that you really want a pretty big old tree to work with because all my Franken-elms and Franken-oaks are not very impressive. My best one isn't even grown from seed, I pulled it out during a rainstorm on a hike last year. It's only about 6 or 7 years old, but lightyears ahead of the acorns I've been growing.

Since you have so many you might decide to go totally different directions with each to see what results.

My recommendation is to do all you can to grow those acorns as big and fast as possible. Use a big container only if you can compensate for drainage. Obviously don't cut the roots, leaves, or branches (unless you're going for some kind of micro bonsai). You'll know when it's time to prune when they start growing out of control which probably won't be in the next 3 years.

Update us some time with photos so we know if any of it was worthwhile. I can't think of anything that requires more dedication than a bonsai from seed!

If you get joy from starting seedlings, go for it. You can also buy/collect some trees that are more advanced, then have multiple levels of work to keep you busy and learning.