Germination temperature
About 20-25 °C (68-77 °F); chir pine germinated well at 25 °C (77 °F).
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Chir pine and most other Himalayan pines germinate readily from fresh seed sown in spring, while nut pines such as Siberian stone pine need months of preparation. Check which type you have, then sow shallowly in a well-drained mix.
About 20-25 °C (68-77 °F); chir pine germinated well at 25 °C (77 °F).
About 1 cm (0.4 in) for chir pine; pines range from 3 to 19 mm by seed size.
Chir pine: mostly within 3-4 weeks. Stone pines: several months to a year.
Seed is lightly covered; seedlings need full sun once established.
Chir pine: none needed. Siberian stone pine: months of warm, then cold, moist stratification.
Sow in a nursery bed or deep containers; move seedlings when young.
Pine seed is orthodox. Store it dry in a sealed container in the refrigerator, at 0.5-5 °C (33-41 °F), where it keeps for 2-3 years. Once seed has been chilled or stratified, sow it within days: it deteriorates quickly if left at room temperature. Chir pine seed is heavy, about 10.6 g per 100 seeds, and keeps its wing attached.
Not needed for chir pine. Swiss stone pine seed has an impermeable coat, yet long moist stratification works much better than scarifying it, and the same approach is used for Siberian stone pine.
Chir pine has no dormancy and needs none. Himalayan blue pine and other dormant lots benefit from soaking followed by a short chill at 0-1 °C (32-34 °F). Siberian stone pine often has an immature embryo: give several months of warm, moist stratification followed by several months of cold, moist stratification; related Swiss stone pine needs 6-9 months of moist chilling.
Useful. Soak air-dried seed in water at 20-25 °C (68-77 °F) for 36-40 hours, or until it sinks, before chilling or sowing. In one Indian trial, a 24-hour soak of chir pine seed in 1% hydrogen peroxide raised germination from 72.5% to 89.8% and shortened germination by about 10 days.
Standard pine tests use a constant 20 °C (68 °F) or 30 °C (86 °F) days with 20 °C (68 °F) nights; most Central Himalayan conifers in one study germinated best at 25 °C (77 °F), and chir pine germinated well at that temperature in another. In the hills sow in spring; on the plains sow chir pine in the cool season.
Cover chir pine with about 1 cm (0.4 in) of fine soil. The USDA manual gives 3-19 mm (1/8-3/4 in) for pines depending on seed size, with large seeds up to about 13 mm (1/2 in). Do not sow deeper; autumn sowings go slightly deeper than spring ones.
A clean, free-draining sandy mix or nursery bed soil. Deep containers give the roots room.
Keep evenly moist but never waterlogged, especially while seedlings emerge.
Germination takes place under the thin cover, though some pine seed tests use light. Give seedlings bright light; shade them only from harsh sun in the first weeks.
Most pine seed tests are clear within 2 weeks and finish within 3-4 weeks. Dormant stone-pine seed can take several months to a year after sowing.
If sown in trays, pot seedlings into deep individual containers while they are still small, keeping the root ball intact.
Nurseries raise pines at about 160-800 seedlings per m2; survival is higher at medium and lower densities, so sow thinly.
Move seedlings into full sun once the stems have hardened. Plant out in well-drained soil while plants are still young, before the taproot becomes large.
Cause: damping-off, which is common in pine nurseries. Fix: use clean mix, sow thinly, water in the morning and treat with a suitable fungicide during and after emergence if needed.
Cause: deep dormancy and an immature embryo. Fix: give several months of warm then cold moist stratification, or sow in autumn and wait; germination may come in the second year.
Cause: birds and rodents, especially in autumn sowings. Fix: cover beds with fine mesh until seedlings are established.
Cause: chilled seed was left at room temperature before sowing. Fix: sow within a few days of taking seed out of the cold.
Chir pine is native to the Himalaya from Pakistan to Bangladesh and Tibet. Blue pine is also Himalayan, while Siberian stone pine comes from Siberia; follow the seed instructions for your species rather than treating all pines alike.
Chir pine seed from different Indian regions produces trees that differ in growth, wood quality and resin yield, so local seed is a sensible choice for forestry planting.
Siberian stone pine starts to bear cones only at about 25-30 years, so plant it as a long-term tree.
Pines are light-demanding trees. Plant them in open, sunny positions with good drainage, away from buildings.
Sow chir pine seeds fresh in spring, or start stone-pine seeds months ahead with warm and cold stratification.
It depends on the species. Chir pine has no dormancy and germinates without it. Siberian stone pine needs several months of warm, then several months of cold, moist stratification.
No. 'Siberian cedar' is Siberian stone pine, Pinus sibirica, a nut pine. True cedars such as deodar (Cedrus deodara) have their own guide.
Chir pine usually germinates within three to four weeks. Stone-pine seed can take several months to a year after sowing.