Doesn't matter use what you got. I think the most important thing with new trees, especially planted in spring, is keep the hose handy and give them extra water for the first year. I don't know your area well, but a pinyon pine woodland is probably fairly dry. Set something up so its easy to water them for years to come. Im sure they will be beautiful in time. Any pictures of the plants?

it would help.. if the mulch itself held some moisture... a buffer between air and soil ...

pine cones dont ...

but ... anything is better than nothing ... at least a cone will keep the sun off the soil directly ... so it would have some cooling effect ... and last forever ..

the only downside of the needles... is they dont last too long.. barely one season...

as noted.. anything is better than nothing.. and free is best ... lol

there would be no reason to spend money..

i sent you that link of foresters doing it.. they dont mulch... so anything is OK

ken

Pines typically come up on bare, burned ground or other raw sites - I wouldn't mulch these with anything unless the soil is very droughty or some other particular problem with keeping them moist is presenting itself.

I think you know your conditions best and if your gut tells you to mulch, do it. Pine mulch last for years here.

Since you've planted 10, why not try mulching half of them and see if you notice a difference between mulched and unmulched?

The fact that pine seedlings CAN naturally grow on disturbed sites doesnt mean that these non native seedlings wouldn't grow better in the comfort of cultivation. Mulch prevents soil from losing moisture, it prevents soil from eroding, it moderates soil temperatures, and it discourages competition from grasses and weeds. I doubt there is any data to suggest there is a benefit to not mulching newly planted trees. I doubt these Austrian pines are going to find his arid California landscape too wet. Worst advice ever. Contrarian gibberish.

Bare is best for natural germination, but after that a mulch is beneficial as far as I know. Same for Sequoiadendrons and a few others.
Mike

To mulch or not to mulch.

Thanks everyone for all the valuable feedback and advice. Here are a few photos that should give a better idea of the soil/terrain and the thick natural pine mulch undisturbed under the oldest pinyon trees that I could easily use unless someone has a better idea for these trees.

Jeff

PS....can you upload more than one photo per post? No FAQ on that question here.

Photo 2

Photo 3

Photo 4

Photo 4

{{!gwi}}

Is that last pine (the one you may borrow mulch from) a pinyon? Which species? It's a nice sized tree, larger than our native pinyons. The Austrian pines look nice. I planted an 'Oregon green' here in texas. Hope we both have success. Maybe instead of un-mulching the old tree for the new, just buy some bark compost, and maybe some composted manure. Mix up the two and water them well. Dont mulch the trunk. nothing touches the trunk. Water periodically and deeply the first year.

Winterfell,

It is an ancient pinyon.- Pinus monophylla. They grow (very slowly) around here in the 5-6K elevations along with Jeffery. Other pine species and firs at higher elevations @ 7-9K. I have about 80 pinyons in the 30+ foot range. The Oregon Green Austrian Pine is more open, nice tree (post a photo here). I also have some Prairie Gold aspens coming in from Nebraska that the owner of the nursery is as eager as I am to test out here. I'll post results here.

Thanks for the advice. Have a great weekend.