I like winter as it is a rest period for us and our trees. It give us time to read our backlog of bonsai books and browse the web more activly. However, this season seems to be a bit too long to my taste. I expect one more month of cold temperature and snow here in my region of the world. Im anxious to smell the fresh air of spring and see some green texture on the soil and in the trees.

Last fall, I sowed some japanese maple seeds of different species and cultivars. Im expecting some great results. I did sow with 2 mthods. The first are tree seeds individually attributed in a pot, and I also dispersed seeds on the soil in a grow box. I will compare the germination results. I expected better results with seeds dispersed on the soil. Will see then.

Last year, I had a problem with field mices who had eaten all the bark on most of my trees even if my winter protection box was well isolated. I most have lost 100 2-3 years old seedlings. I also lost some more mature bonsai potential tree. Because of the massive snow, they had reach the top of the box and made their way in. This year, I hope I wont have another surprise.

We have renew our stocks for the following species:

• Zelkova serrata (Japanese grey bark elm)
• Schefflera Arboricola (Umbrella Plant)
• Ficus Religiosa (Bo Tree Fig)
• Murraya Paniculata (Orange Jasmine)

As you can see, these are mostly tropical tree species. We are trying to find a reliable source for tropical tree seeds to expand our collection.