How to get seeds from a bonsai plant?

I have a Juniper Bonsai, and it was my grandmother's. It's 25 years old, and getting close to wilting. It was given to me by her in her will, but i don't really know anything about Bonsai Care. I don't want grandma's plant to die, but I know it will. So my solution was to take the seeds from it and start my own plant. Kind of letting gram's plant live on. Is there anyway I can do this?|||It may need repotting - new soil and a root trim; there are plenty of Bonsai Care sites that can help with this. I've detailed how to go about propagating it, both from seed and from cuttings - cuttings will be the only way you could proceed though, as you don't have the other half of the sexual team needed to produce seeds.





The juniper plants are dioecious by nature having male and female organs in separate plants and if seeds are required one needs to grow both the male and female plants close to each other as it would facilitate pollination. Although it is possible to propagate juniper from its seeds, usually sown during the fall, the seeds take exceptionally longer periods to germinate. Hence, it is much easy to grow the plant of this species from cuttings. The cuttings need to be planted either during the fall or spring.





If you are propagating juniper by its seeds, then the seeds will require a stage of cold stratification. The germination process of juniper seeds is extremely sluggish basically owing to the hard seed covering. Hence, the cold stratification period should be followed by a warm phase and subsequently another period of cold stratification. Each of these cold and warm processes should continue for two to three months at a stretch. In addition, if the seeds are drenched in boiling water for about three to six minutes, it will facilitate the germination process. It is best to sow the juniper seeds in a cold frame soon after they are ripened. While some of the seeds sowed will possibly germinate during the next spring, the remaining will usually take another year to germinate.





Alternately, the seeds may be collected when they are still green - at a stage when the embryo of the seeds has been completely formed, but the seed covering has not toughened. When these seeds are sown in a cold stratification, they germinate relatively faster. When the seedlings have grown sufficiently enough, they should be picked up separately and planted in individual pots till they have grown large enough to be handled. Once they have grown to the desired height, prick them and plant them in their permanent positions outdoors during the early part of summer. If the juniper seeds are stored in a dried condition, they continue to be feasible for germination for quite a few years.





While propagating juniper from cuttings, ensure that the cuttings are from mature wood of the shrub and be approximately 5 cm to 10 cm long having a heel (the base of a cutting or tuber removed from a plant for use in the propagation). The cuttings should be preferably done during September and October and put in a cold frame. After new shoots emerge and grow sufficiently, plant them in their permanent positions outdoors during the next autumn. The layering should be undertaken in September or October and it usually takes about a year for the new plants to grow.





You might call a local garden center and see if someone on the staff would be interested in helping/teaching you.