Grow Your Own Bonsai or Houseplant From Seed - Bodhi Tree (Ficus religiosa)
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If you’ve always wanted a stunning indoor bonsai tree or are just feeling the need to add a unique new houseplant to your living room, why not try your hand at growing one from seed? Growing plants from seed is one of the most rewarding pursuits you can try when it comes to plants.
Not only do you get to be with your plant through every step of its journey in life, if you’re looking for a bonsai tree, you can influence and style its growth from infancy. This is something that can be difficult to accomplish if you buy a juvenile or mature bonsai.
In this tutorial, we’ll be looking at the steps, tools, and supplies needed to grow your very own Bodhi tree from seed. We’ll also be covering a tried and true method for getting these remarkable ficus trees started and growing strong.
Tools and Supplies for Growing a Bodhi Tree From Seed
Tools and Supplies | What to Look For and Avoid | Our Suggestion(s) |
|---|---|---|
Bodhi Tree Seeds | Look For: Seed vendors with reliable reviews and multiple payment methods accepted. Avoid: Seed vendors with copious negative reviews and or “too good to be true pricing”. | Sheffield’s Seed Company is a company we will always back. They have been in business for decades and are beyond phenomenal in terms of product quality and customer service. They are our main source of tree and shrub seeds in our shop! |
Nursery Pots | Look For: The maximum pot size for a baby Baobab should be no larger than 4in. Roughly 2.75in - 3.25in is ideal. Avoid: Any pot over 4in in diameter. This is simply too big for a baby plant and you’ll likely run into rot that will compromise your seedling. | If you want solid color pots, we recommend these. Our preference are these clear pots. They are superb for monitoring root growth and development. |
Seed Starting Media | Look For: Any soil (potting mix) will do but a soil that is listed as a “seed starter” mix is ideal. Avoid: Overly coarse media with high drainage and little water retention. Seedlings need water and a quick-draining mix is going to hinder them greatly. | Promix Organic Seed Starter mix. We like the added slow release nutrients and the addition of mycorrhiza. Both of these additions ensure your seed has the best chance to survive right from the jump! The brand is also reputable and makes excellent products. |
Seedling Heat Mat (Optional) | Look For: Most seedling heat mats are comparable. Those with a thermostat controller are ideal as they allow for better protection from heat dissipation and losses (setting the temperature higher ensures losses aren’t as impactful to root development). Avoid: Brands that are overly cheap and or have abysmal reviews. Lesser quality products may be wired poorly and lead to early fault or worse, electrical issues within your home. This is rare but why take the chance? | We’ve had great success with Vivosun Seedling Heat Mats. We’ve used them for years and they are still going. They hold heat well and are not unreasonably priced. They are also available with thermostat controllers! |
Stage I: Bodhi Tree Seed Procurement, Pretreatment, and Planting
The first steps to growing your own Bodhi Tree are to, acquire viable seed, and prepare the seed for germination, known as pretreatment.
To ensure the seeds you get are viable, make sure to always purchase seed through a reputable vendor. The seed we sell in our Etsy shop is obtained from a reputable seed vendor that has been in business for more than 50 years and that we’ve had years of success with. These seeds been tested and proved to be reliably viable.
Be cautious when shopping for plant seeds online as many vendors sell either subpar seed or sell seed that is not true to species (it’s a random species rather than the one they are claiming it is).
The next step is to prepare your seeds for planting. In order to prepare your seeds to be planted, they need to be prepared using specific measures. For Ficus religiosa, the only pretreatment needed is to soak the seeds in water for 24 hours prior to planting.
Once the seeds have been pre-treated, they are ready to be planted on the soil media.
While the seeds are soaking in water, you can prepare the pots into which the seeds will be planted. Ensure the pots are filled nearly to the top with a quality seed starting soil media. You can add mycorrhizae to the soil to give the seeds a head-start if desired. If you decide to use mycorrhizae, you can apply it as a powder or as a liquid spray solution, whichever you prefer.
Once the pots are ready for planting and the seeds have been pre-treated, they are ready to be planted in the soil media. Since Ficus religiosa seeds are extremely small, sprinkle the seeds onto the soil surface and gently press the seeds into the soil. Covering these seeds with soil is not necessary and can make it overly difficult for them to grow up through.
Alternately, you can skip soaking the seeds and plant them directly onto you soil media so long as you keep the seeds constantly moist while waiting for germination, this is much easier if your pot has a humidity dome included with it.
Stage II: Germination and Early Growth
Bodhi trees just beginning to break the surface after being sown in seed starting media.
Once the seeds have been pressed into the soil media, the next step is to wait for germination. Several factors play into the time it takes Ficus religiosa to germinate. Heat, humidity, and light are three of the most important factors. Higher heat and humidity, in the presence of adequate light, will make a dramatic difference in how long it takes your Bodhi trees to germinate.
You can increase the humidity your seeds are exposed to by using a humidity dome on your pots. This can be done by using a pot that has a form-fitting humidity dome or by putting the pot in a seed starting tray (known as a 1020 tray) and putting a humidity dome over the entire tray. Heat can be increased and maintained by using a seedling heat mat under the pot (or a 1020 tray if you have multiple pots in which you’ve planted seeds in).
Depending on the conditions you can provide to your Bodhi tree seeds, you can expect germination to occur within 1 - 3 weeks. It is possible to get germination to occur within less than a week if you can provide optimal conditions (generally, 80+ degrees Fahrenheit and 75%+ humidity).
Once the Bodhi tree seeds have begun to germinate and grow, you can use a gentle fertilizer, ideally a liquid based fertilizer, to feed them (plants are ready for fertilizer after they develop their second set of leaves). Follow the manufacturer instructions on the fertilizer for the frequency to feed the seedlings.
If they have been planted densely and need to be thinned (this is likely given the minute seed size), let them continue to grow until they are several inches tall and have filled the pot with roots before transplanting your seedlings.
Stage III: Juvenile Growth and Beyond
Bodhi tree mature growth in a natural setting.
Once you have your Bodhi tree (or several) planted in its own pot (either from the start of seed sowing or after separating your seedlings out), continue to provide ideal temperatures and humidity for your tree to thrive (65+ degrees Fahrenheit, and 50% + humidity). In addition, be sure to provide your Bodhi with bright light, these trees can tolerate full sun but they need to be acclimated to that much light first.
Bodhi trees can tolerate very dry soil conditions but prefer to have evenly moist soil (just not constantly soaking wet). A combination of granular and liquid fertilizers can be used to feed your trees as they are growing to provide them the necessary nutrients. If you’re keeping your tree in outdoor conditions (make sure to check your USDA zone, Bodhi trees are suited to zones 10 - 12), just be sure give your tree some indoor protection if the temperature drops below 60 degrees.
Bodhi trees, like some other ficus species, can become stressed due to environmental condition changes and, as a result, can drop all of their leaves. Provided the tree didn’t become too stressed, it will regrow its leaves once it has recovered. If your tree losses its leaves, continued caring for it but fertilize less often than usual.
Growing Your Own Bodhi Tree From Seed, Wrap-Up
Bodhi trees are very special trees, not only because of their spiritual significance, but also due to their robust growth and beautiful foliage. Despite these positives, Bodhi trees can be difficult to find depending on your location or finding a viable online seller. Growing your own Bodhi tree from seed offers an easy solution to add one or more Bodhi trees to your plant collection.
If you’re interested in curating a stunning bonsai specimen, Bodhi trees are ideal candidates. Growing your own bodhi tree allows you to be able to style your tree throughout its whole life. This is one of the best aspects of growing trees from seed as you can have complete control over the entire styling of the tree from seed to adult!