Saflax - Bonsai - Stone Pine - Pinus pinea - 6 seeds - Spicy fragrance of the dark green needles / Cold house Bonsai. A nice gift for good friends - or for yourself. A small gift box (10 x 10 x 10 cm) with a pot, a dome lid made of biodegradable PLA for the ideal greenhouse climate, germ-free dried growing substrate and of course the seeds you have selected. Worth knowing: Holidaymakers of the Mediterranean region know all too well the feeling of resting in the shade of a pine tree and taking in the harsh spicy fragrance of the soft, dark-green needles. You may not be able to sit under your bonsai, but you can enjoy the mediterranean scent in your home. Because of its eatable seeds, the pine kernels, the Stone Pine is being cultivated since ancient times. A single tree can produce up to 60 kg of seeds.. Natural Place: The natural habitat of the Stone Pine is the northern Mediterranean region from the Iberian Peninsula to Anatolia. Cultivation: Seed propagation indoors is possible throughout the year. To increase the germinability, you can place the seeds for 24 hours in warm water for priming. Then, plant the seeds about 1 cm deep into moist potting compost and cover the seed container with clear film to prevent the earth from drying out. Don’t forget to make some holes in the clear film and take it every second or third day completely off for about 2 hours. That way you avoid mold formation on your potting compost. Place the seed container somewhere bright and warm with a temperature between 20°C and 25°C and keep the earth moist, but not wet. Usually it will only take one or two weeks until germination. Place: The Stone Pine likes to be kept in a full sunny spot. From May until September it can also be placed outdoors. Care: Even though the Stone Pine tolerates dry periods, a consistent watering without waterlogging is advisable. From April until October you can provide your plant with fluid fertilizer for bonsai plants every four weeks. You can enhance the development of the typical crown formation by trimming one or two of the lowest rows of branches during autumn. In spring you may also cut two thirds of the fresh sprouts back, even before they develop needles, and from June until September, the regularly pinching of the new shoots is advisable. The Stone Pine prefers standard bonsai earth for cultivation, ideally mixed with one third of coarse sand or expanded clay. Keep the bonsai plant in a rather tall pot right away since it develops tap roots, and shift pots every two years. During Winter: During winter you should not fertilize your bonsai plant and water only sparsely. The Stone Pine still wants to be kept in a bright place, but somewhat cooler with temperatures between 5° and 14° Celsius. In warmer places, it is necessary to spray the needles of the plant from time to time and provide a light air circulation. Bonsai: Yes Picture credits: Because of technical limitations links are shown as text. 54918-pinus-pinea-seed-package-front-german.jpg - © Cliff from Arlington - CC-BY-2.0 - creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0 14918-pinus-pinea-cultivation-instruction-german.jpg - Frank Laue - © Saflax - saflax.de/copyright 14918-31-Pinus-pinea.jpg - Cliff from Arlington - CC-BY-2.0 - creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -