Mini Bonsai From Seeds OF Rain Tree - Part 1

Tree Species : Rain Tree (Albizia Saman / Monkey Pod Tree / Vilayati Siris)
Sprouted On : May 15, 2016

This is Part 1. Read Part 2, Part 3, Part 4

Here is a story of germinating rain tree seeds for mini (mame) bonsai, using the beautiful Steller app :

Birth Of A Rain Tree
 (best watched on mobile)

I soaked around 15 seeds in water for 2 weeks and got just 1 to sprout. The rest of the seeds soaked in water for another 2 weeks and still had no sign of any change. Then I saw a YouTube video on scarifying the seeds and nipped the tip of my seeds with a nail cutter. That was enough for water to penetrate the seed and within 12 hrs, they had swollen up and cracked at the end where it sprouts.

I then planted the seeds into tiny plastic containers and they germinated the next day.

 UPDATE - July 23, 2016

 

The water roots touching the floor were pruned, to encourage side branching and they did that,  just 1 day after pruning. The thermocol balls are to block light from top, to prevent algae growth. 

Light from the sides of the jar are blocked by a newspaper roll. Click the link to see the full story (for best experience, see it on your mobile, not desktop / laptop) - Birth Of A Rain Tree

Steller app's specialty is creating beautiful stories in vertical format for the mobile screens. Hence, my suggestion to watch it on mobile.

UPDATE - Sept 3, 2016

The trunk of this seedling is now unusually thick, compared to my other seedlings that do not have water roots. See the video for trunk thickness comparison.
 

Watch On YouTube

Why do all this crazy stuff ?

It is primarily a fun experiment. Besides that, I like to see the beautiful roots and this experiment, along with few others of mine, proves wrong the advice I come across online that trees don't like wet roots ! Just google "tree roots in water drain sewer pipes" and educate yourself.