When to Plant Mondale Pine Seeds

Seed Cones

• Reddish to yellow Mondell cones are oval to oblong in shape and 5 to 6 inches long. They open in the third year to release their winged seeds that are naturally dispersed by the wind. The cones grow in whorls around the tree. Most of the cones that produce pollen are on the bottom whorl, while cones on the second whorl produce the best seeds for planting.

Collecting and Preparing Seeds

• Most pine cones will open easily after they are dried in the sun, but late-maturing Mondell pine cones are more difficult to open, requiring a knife to peel back the cone scales to expose and extract the seed. After you remove the Mondell pine seeds from the cones, soak them in water from 24 to 36 hours to separate the seeds that will germinate from those that will not. Good seeds sink; bad seeds float to the top.

Planting Time and Climate

• Fall is the best time to plant Mondell pine seeds. If you plant the seeds in spring, store them in a clean, dry container in the refrigerator for at 30 days before planting. This is called cold stratification and mimics what happens in nature when seeds spend the winter outdoors. Mondell pine grows naturally in arid climatea. It will tolerate a wide range of soils and will grow in clay or alkaline soil. It likes full sun and will tolerate summer heat, wind and dry conditions, but does not like rain.

Planting Basics

• Sow Mondell pine seeds 1/4 inch deep. To test their germination, U.S. Department of Agriculture researchers sowed Mondell seeds in vermiculite and covered them with clear plastic to keep them moist. At a room temperature of 70 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit, 50 percent of the seeds germinated in 30 days. Seeds taken from the second whorl of cones on the trees had a 65 percent chance of germinating.