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livingnthesun

Pine Trees Cuttings

livingnthesun
12 years ago

Hello, I have a pine tree that never produces pine cones and I would like to know if there is anyway to use a cutting to get one to grow. Has anyone had any luck with this or know if this is even possible? I know the quick answer is find one with pine cones and plant the seed but this is a living christmas tree that I bought years ago and would like to plant my own just for fun to see if I could do this.

Also I love the pines from up north in the Flagstaff area, the Ponderosa Pines, does anyone know how to get one of those to grow in my zone (9)?

Comments (14)

  • ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
    12 years ago

    there is a conifer forum .. if you wish to learn about conifers... otherwise who cares where you post ...

    i would say.. your odds of rooting pine.. are.. zip.. zero.. nada ... no chance at all ...

    since sexual maturity is requisite to cone production.. starting a young one.. will not speed up such ... and in fact.. if it did root.. just start you back at the decade count ...

    the only possibility... is that it is not really a pine.. as a lot of indoor xmas tree plants arent really pine .... posting a pic in the conifer forum .. might get you a true ID ... some of the indoor xmas tree plants are actually very rootable.. but not being pine.. will never have a pine cone ...

    ken

  • brandon7 TN_zone7
    12 years ago

    Chances of propagating pines by rooting cuttings is not zero. It's definitely doable and is even practiced by some commercial propagators. The difficulty is much greater than with many plants, but that doesn't correspond to no chance.

    One easier way to propagate a pine would be grafting. You'd probably have much better luck with that.

  • ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
    12 years ago

    ok brandon.. with heat mats.. sand boxes.. a greenhouse with perfect humidity and watering ... and the proper hormone usage ... it is possible ...

    but geez.. i presumed the OP is not a professional with a couple million invested in proprietary industrial equipment ...

    i will stand by and qualify my response ... the neophyte homeowner gardener is not going to root a pine ... but for shear beginners luck ...

    i am still wondering about the ID ....

    ken

  • gary77788
    12 years ago

    A christmas tree is a spruce not a pine-and spruces are even more difficlt to root from cuttings than pine.Certainly in my experience anyway.Christmas trees are either grown from seed or if you want an exact copy of the mother plant you'l need to graft.

  • rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
    12 years ago

    Golly, Gary...that's interesting that only spruces are used for Christmas trees in the UK. No firs?

  • albert_135   39.17°N 119.76°W 4695ft.
    12 years ago

    When I was a student taking an In vitro propagation course graduate students were propagating conifers. I don't know what genera. I do know it can be done. I cannot imagine doing it outside a laboratory.

  • ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
    12 years ago

    there are quite a few conifers that can be rooted.. like chamacyparis, picea glauca, juniper, microbiota .. which adds up to a lot of the ground cover ones ...

    with not much more than some bottom heat.. rooting hormone.. and humidity.. and a lot of time ....

    but those are not pines ...

    ken

  • flora_uk
    12 years ago

    Hi, rhizo - just to answer your query about Christmas trees. The traditional Christmas tree here is Picea abies, Norway spruce. This is being ousted by Nordmann fir, Picea nordmanniana because it holds its needles better, although it is more expensive. Other conifers are sometimes used but are much rarer. The link mentions Scots pine, for example, but I've never seen one used as a Christmas tree. So, most are spruces but not all.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Christmas trees in the UK

  • gary77788
    12 years ago

    I didnt say all christmas trees were spruces!I was simply trying to point out that it wasnt a pine.Ill remember to be far more exacting in my comments from now on!!!

  • brandon7 TN_zone7
    12 years ago

    gary77788,

    What are you basing that statement on? If the original poster says it is a pine and we have absolutely nothing to contradict that, how is it reasonable to say it's not a pine?

  • ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
    12 years ago

    i said:

    is that it is not really a pine.. as a lot of indoor xmas tree plants arent really pine ....

    ====>>>
    so you guys are going off tangent based on my comment ...

    i hate when the OP never comes back ... i brought up the issue.. to find out if the OP actually knows what she has ... if she has some indoor .. gift.. potted xmas/holiday tree.. odds are.. it is NOT A PINE .. and will never have pine cones .. EVER ... its not a pine ...

    but .. the indoor GIFT xmas tres.. are the type of conifer that might be rooted.. and that is why they are so cheap and offered for indoor growth ... then maybe it can be rooted ...

    but you can not root a true pine ...

    so.. as always.. we need to properly ID what plant we are discussing.. or somehow or another.. we end up debating the ramification of cut xmas trees ...

    let me clarify: no one is talking about xmas tree production...

    i was talking about holiday potted plants sold at xmas.. that are called charley brown xmas trees.. and they are NOT usually PINE TREES ...

    well.. this is a few minutes of my life i wont get back.. lol .. but its been entertaining, fer sure ...

    ken

  • gary77788
    12 years ago

    Actualy ken its brandons comments that offended me.Not yours.
    To start with brandon he states its a christmas tree!Which narrows it down to a spruce or fir....not a pine!Did i state that all christmas trees were spruces?...no. Just that it wasnt a pine.So your last two posts are null and void.
    Incidentally i do know of a way to get pine cuttings to root readily!

  • brandon7 TN_zone7
    12 years ago

    "...it(')s a christmas tree...which narrows it down to a spruce or fir..."

    Gary77788, once again, you are making an assumption which is totally untrue and not based on fact.