So I got a dozen seeds online, which I planted in a total of four pots about two weeks ago (after one day of soaking and two weeks in the fridge). Yesterday I noticed sprouts in three of the four pots.

This post was edited by StGuaposFire on Tue, Nov 4, 14 at 10:06

congrats ...

sylvestrus... seed falls to my beach like sand... and germinate.. and fry there all hot summer long.. with little or no water .... from me ...

i would presume.. a lot of pines do not need a lot of water ...

i am suggesting ... your biggest hurdle... will be allowing them to dry in between a little sip of water ...

if you keep the media wet... things will happen.. that probably arent good ...

thinking ahead for you ....

what are you doing for light.. or are they outdoors????

ken

I have them on a south-facing windowsill in my office. They get sunlight from about 10am until sunset this time of year. Right now I've been watering them about twice a week.

but how do you determine when they need water????

i wouldnt really care if the surface was dry ... its all about down where we want the roots to grow ...

and of course.. its tricky in sun.. on a windowsill .... you need the light.. but you might cook the pot ...

just playing devils advocate ... talking about various variables ....

ken

I've been keeping the soil moist but not wet, and I chose the green plastic pots because they seem to not get nearly as warm as the black ones in the sunlight. I'm going to try to take a photo once a week or so for a little while and will upload it here to show how it is going. If it doesn't work I'm out $2.99 for the seeds.

I would think keeping the seedlings cool enough during the winter in your heated office would be a problem. They're liable to get tall and weak.
As Mr. Adrian pointed out, timely watering is going to be your main concern.
My Bungeana got thrashed by an elk this Fall. It will live.....with character.
Mr. Botann

FWIW this species is one with a recognized issue concerning genetic quality. Most people advise buying known vigorous clones grafted onto suitable rootstock.

This post was edited by davidrt28 on Wed, Nov 5, 14 at 12:00

Actually I just saw that Sheffield's has it, and the seed is allegedly from China.
Well, that's still no guarantee it isn't inbred, but probably a little more encouraging than getting them off of a tree in a US botanical garden that is self-pollinated or out-crossed with another species...something that would result in a healthier tree that didn't look right. I might order a packet myself.

I bought seed from Sheffield's a few years ago...my tallest P. bungeana is now 9'. It's vigorous enough...best year of growth was 16". It is the only pine I have that has multinodal growth with the summer flush almost equalling the spring flush in height.

That's good to know smivies. Sounds like they are getting their seed from vigorous native stands.

update.

Good success!

It's not the normal time of year for growing seedlings - you might want to consider giving it supplementary light to extend its 'daylight' hours, from the current natural to about 14 or 15 hours/day.

You're doing right to keep it just moist, not wet. They are very susceptible to fungal root diseases in wet soil ("damping-off"), and keeping it on the dryish side is the best way to avoid that.

Resin