I recently snatched up ten seeds on eBay, and I really don’t wanna mess up with this rare species. They seem to be from a frost-free area, so I don’t anticipate they’d benefit from stratification. Does anyone have any advice on preparation and planting, to better my chances of success?
Also, I’ve never seen pine-nuts in shell, but they seem big. I was told to look at their cotyledons on sprouting. Do they look legit?
They look legit. They are hardy in the warmer parts of zone 8 so they may benefit from some stratification. I have sprouted them after 60 days of cold.
So can I just put that same baggie in the refrigerator, or do they need a moist paper towel (and how moist?)? I’ve been told they’re susceptible to damping off, but that’s post-germination.
They need moisture. I would take one paper towel, soak it, and then wring out all the excess water, and place that in the bag.
I counted 23 cotyledons on one seedling. Are they legitimate?
Also, it seems we’re going through a rainy season… am I gonna have to place them under a roof? I’ve heard they’re sensitive to too much moisture (they’re current soil is a blend of pro mix and cactus soil).
Pine trees are not flowering plants; so, they don’t have cotyledons. It’s interesting how flat the initial seed leaves are. They’re not like the leaves on pines that I’m familiar with, but Google images show them like that.
Are you growing them for the nuts? And how do they taste compared to Pinus pinea? How long before they seed? Finally what hardiness zones does it need?
With Pinus pinea, the shell is hard, so I would think scarification, not stratification would be of help
I can’t answer the other questions, but in my experience, it’ll take at least 10 years. These are pretty slow growing trees. I planted a 1-2 year seedling at my parents’ in southern California in 2015 and it is only about 4 feet tall. Adult foliage didn’t appear until 2018, and it still has juvenile needles on the lower branches. It doesn’t get any irrigation, however, and it is much cooler in summer than in its native habitat, so it may grow faster in different conditions.
2015
They’ve continued sprouting. I think I counted six last time I checked.
I’m growing them for the nuts. Ironically… I’ve never tastes any pine nut, so I can’t give a comparison. I’m not sure about hardiness either; most of what I’ve seen is speculation that they wouldn’t handle much due to being from a frost-free climate.
It stopped raining, so I’ve left them on the roof.
Though the rains have since stopped, I placed them back on the porch just before another rainy period. I did lose a smaller one to rot at one point, but the rest seem to be doing well, and I water very sparingly (it’s been about a week or two now). When should I separate them?
I’m not quite sure how I landed here, but rare trees always intrigue me. How are these coming along?
There appear to be some similarities to Coulter Pine, so I’ve got to wonder if they might readily cross and improve potentials for both.
Or even with other pinyons to produce larger nuts in lower grow zones.
Foliage is very attractive, Grapenut’s pic from 2016 
