Where can I get pine seeds?
Of course, seeds are essential for growing your own. There are two options for procurement:
- Acquisition from the nursery
- independent collection of pine cones
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- Interesting facts about pine seeds
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Tips
Pine cones ripen in late August. It's best to go looking for it on a dry autumn day. Since the fruits only open when it is dry and warm, you should then put your harvest directly in the sun to get to the seeds.
Separating wheat from chaff
Unfortunately, not all pine seeds germinate reliably. To find out which seeds are suitable for planting in the soil, do the following test:
- fill a large glass with lukewarm water
- put the seeds inside
- the usable seeds sink to the bottom, the empty seeds float on the surface of the water
- make a test by cutting open some apparently empty seeds
- if they are still full, wait a while until all the full seeds have sunk to the bottom
Stratify pine seeds
You can actually put your pine seeds in the ground right away. Stratification is recommended, however, to speed up the germination process. How to proceed:
- Find out about the stratification time of the pine species you have chosen
- moisten a cloth
- pound the seeds in it
- put the cloth in a plastic bag
- keep this in the refrigerator at 5 ° C
- a straw in a plastic bag ensures a sufficient supply of oxygen to the seeds
Characteristics of the onset of germination
If you have followed the instructions carefully up to this point, the seeds will soon begin to germinate. Check the progress regularly. You can tell that your work is bearing fruit by the following characteristics:
- the seed rips open
- the approach of a root becomes clear
If there are no results after several weeks, you can try again to germinate the seed by drying it and repeating the procedure. You can finally put germinating seeds in the soil.