There were once 4 large pine trees behind our fence line. There are now two, but last fall they literally rained down pine cones. We have lived in our house for 50 years and I have never seen so many pine cones. There were hundreds of cones in our yard and ten times that many directly beneath the huge trees.
I played golf at Greene Hills last week and noticed that the fairways and the edges of the rough were also loaded with pine cones. It was a bumper year, for sure. Which made me curious. What are pine cones exactly and what is their purpose?
Pine cones are produced to protect developing pine cone seeds. The trees themselves decide whether or not to make the cones. It takes a lot of energy ((photosynthate) to do so.
According to Dr. Lew Feldman, Garden Director of the US Botanical Garden, the signal for the small cone to enlarge is pollination and fertilization. When the cone is new, and the tree has not yet put much energy into making it, the scales on the small cone open, and pollen which has been shed by other trees is carried by the wind to the small cones and enters through the slightly separated scales. The pollen then sifts down to the egg (the female portion) where fertilization occurs. It is the process of fertilization and the onset of seed development that is the signal for the cone to enlarge. After pollination/fertilization the scales close tightly, thereby protecting the internally developing seed.
In pines, and in many other cone bearing plants, it may take several years for the seed to mature following pollination. At the time of seed maturation, the cone scales open and the seeds are dispersed by wind.
Therefore, pine cones are nature’s way of “scattering seeds” to continue the species. I figure my backyard pine trees thought it was time to grow some more.
Did you know, by the way, that you can plant pine cones in a pot?
Set your potted pine cone in a warm place that gets some sunlight. Water a little daily, but do not drench the pinecone and let it remain soaking wet or it will rot. Using a mister bottle works well. In 1 to 3 weeks’ time, your seedlings will begin to sprout, then you can plant them.
In about 50 years, you may have a mess of pine cones in your own back yard.