Posted by Thea Dye on August 10, 2003

Q: I think my parents have a couple of pine trees with youngs cones on them. We decided to try an experiment of our own because my parents love the trees, plus they have some land that they would like to plant some pine trees on. We took one of these pine cones and put it in a coffee can with some potting soil and water, and placed it outside. Are our efforts in vain? The cone is closed and green with some sticky "stuff" on the outside of it. There were a lot of cones at the top of the tree. We thought if we could get the cone to sprout a root, we may grow as many plants as we like.

Thanks in advance for all of your advice and information.

Thea

A: Be sure you read all of the material, and questions, that follows the mini-poster as there should be some material there that will help you.

The cones you found were not yet ripe. Green cones are still growing and the seeds inside are not mature. The cone itself does not get planted, it simply houses the seeds. If you select mature cones (brown and dry looking) in the winter, put them in your garage or other cold place and then plant the seeds that come out, not the cone itself, in the spring, you should be able to start some trees.

If you have further questions, please let me know.

John Wiessinger ( August 11, 2003)