Some more pics - above are the pinus nigra - most 2-4 inches right now. Here are some of the picea pungens also 2-4 inches with several side branches growing as well.

More pics

More pics - Here are some of the metasequoia growing up to 12 inches in the first three months.

sequoia and Pseudotsuga taxifolia viridis which I forgot to mention in my original post. The biggest sequoia is over 5 inches and the douglas fir is over 6 inches. I have had a lot more success than I did in my "rookie" year last year.....

man thats some nice set up, coach ...

last pic.. is that algae on the side of the container??? ... you need to think about that .. but!!! .. consider before you do anything... its not yet a problem ... i said think.. not act ...

it could be many things.. a media not draining enough ... not drying enough... perhaps because they are so low in the pan ...??? .. over watering.. etc ...

do you have any kind of air movement in the set up??

now listen close.. on blind luck.. i usually win on the first try .. then next time.. i start changing all the variables.. because now i know more [or so i delude myself.. lol] ... you know what that leads to??? .. failure ...so.. as i said.. think about it ... but as billy joel said.. dont go changing ... or messing with it.. until you have some ACTUAL problem ...

isnt it nice.. to have some greenery .. and damp media to smell .. in your warm house.. during the bitter months of winter???

Gods work.. keep at it .... and happy new year ....

ken

Wow, cool stuff...look forward to the results of your experiment, but aside from that, congrats on so many successful seedlings. This is my "rookie" year for growing conifers from seed. I had good success last year with Acer, so I'm trying 100 tsuga chinesis, diversifolia, Picea Abies and pungens. Attempting to root juniper and cryptomeria.

Yes Ken - it is algae on the side. It is only on the side of the Sequoia container. It happened last winter as well. There were no ill effects that I noticed. The three seedlings I kept are all about 9-10 inches tall and the foliage looks great on them.

Most of my issue last winter came from me over watering and basically just not letting nature do its work. I have been using a more hands off approach this time and so far so good. My seedlings this year so far are all bigger than the ones from last winter except the sequoias. I have some better lights this time around as well but still fairly cheap compared to some of the crazy set ups I have seen.

I hope to give my son the tree bug when he is old enough to understand what is going on. He is 2 years old now and I let him water the seedlings once a week. He looks forward to it every Sunday!

have been using a more hands off approach this time and so far so good

==>>> my favorite saying .. is dont kill them with too much love ... and you are learning why ...

I hope to give my son the tree bug when he is old enough to understand what is going on.

==>>> yeah.. good luck with that.. of the thousand or so trees.. conifers.. shrubs.. etc.. that i planted 15 years ago.. my 16 yo daughter [who was about 1.5 back then].. had to sit in every single freakin hole i dug.. has absolutely no interest in the garden ...

to plant one plant.. i had to dig 3 holes ... the first.. which she would claim ...lol ... the second ... she would move into.. and then i would go dig the third.. and plant the first ... etc .. lol ... i always had to have one hole open ... then i would finish for the day.. when she went down for her afternoon nap ... not really wanting to plant.. in the heat of the day.. nor dig holes ...

happy new year ... oh.. what about air movement????

ken

That's pretty sweet man.

Do yourself (a favor) and start seed outside in-ground that's been tilled with horse manure added the fall prior - after all danger of frost and compare to what the sun can do! You'll be blown away!

Really neat idea regardless and the best seedlings I've seen grown under artificial light. I had no idea what "professional grow lights" could accomplish. No wonder several members who are grafters here, also have great-results...

Dax

LOL Ken. My son likes to pet the seedlings now. He says they are fuzzy like my beard.

Dax - I will plant a batch of of seeds in the Spring. I have collected enough picea abies seed to cover the State of New York!!! I am looking forward to seeing them grow under real sunlight.

Hi Coach,

Can you give us the info on your lighting system,,Sources, etc...looks nice!

Johnny

I attached the link below. My main light is 50x25 inches ad has 8 bulbs. I have another one that is half the size with 8 bulbs as well.

Here is a link that might be useful: Light link

12" in 3 months sounds about right for Metasequoia.

I grew a couple dozen last year (only have 2 left, no room for the rest so I gave them away). I started them outdoors in April (in containers) and they still made it to 18-25" tall.

I'd be curious if they just keep growing through the whole summer until the days shorten in Fall 2015, and end up 3" or so, or if they'll harden off early (June-July) due to being started so early. I believe they're semi-indeterminate and will just keep pushing until either the days shorten to a certain point or the temps get too cold. Mine seemed to set terminal buds around mid August to early October (each tree was a bit off from it's siblings in that regard. I'm thinking once the nights are about 11-12 hours they slow down but I could be wrong.

Keep us posted!

As Ken and others like to point out (correctly!) the "best" way is to plant in the ground and let nature do it.

However, we can give "perfect" conditions in other ways (sometimes TOO perfect, leading to failure).

And sometimes, we just do it inside or in containers, BECAUSE WE CAN and we're bored. I do that all the time. Sometimes they live, sometimes they do even better than in the ground. Sometimes, I kill them.

the "best" way is to plant in the ground and let nature do it.

==>> to be clear .... and thx for the atta boy ...

there is a whole world of difference between some novice trying to grow trees indoors ..

and peeps with knowledge and experience.. stretching the limits of reality.. in the search for wisdom and knowledge ...

its not like coach bought a 12 inch conifer at wallyworld as an apartment xmas tree.. and wants to grow it there forever ... in the dark.. over teh heat vent ...

i think the lights could be done cheaper ... but his success screams .. DONT CHANGE IT NOW ... LOL... its the only way the group learns ...

i grew some cuttings under 4 ... four foot .. common shop lights ... so it can be done with less ...

ken

Thanks Ken - I have regular shop lights as well. The main reason I got the two new lights was that it allowed me to consolidate my seedlings into a smaller area with good light coverage for every container. The wifey loves that a few less square feet are taken up in the basement which helps her deal with my hobby/obsession lol. I have the shop lights in the garage with about 50 1st and 2nd year grafts that I will be planting either in a holding bed or in there final locations in the spring.