Propagating pines

[Kharetore]

How do you grow pines.
There are many growing wild and look like they would make great bonsai stock.
I don't know how to grow them.
I have collected seeds from the pine cones what should I do to increase my chances of them growing?
Can you grow them from cuttings, if so what is the method?
Cheers

[KIRKY]

You can grow Pines from seed. Like most seed cold stratification helps seeds germinate. You can also dig them up if they are growing wild by the road side. I have never tried growing them as a cutting. I do not believe they will grow from cuttings. You can also airlayer Pines but this takes a while. Sounds like you need to do some research and or join a club.
Cheers
Kirky

[Daluke]

Hi,

For Japanese black pine ive had no success with cuttings. They grow rather quickly so if you can get your hands on some seedlings they will fatten up with heavy feeding and watering.

I have limited experience with white pines -

Mugo pines I've found easy to grow by seed and airlayering.

Do you know what type of pine you are after?

[shibui]

Daluke has hinted that there are many different pines and there are many differences between them.
in general pine seed will germinate without any treatment. Just rub off any wings and sow the seed in good potting mix. If the seed is viable it will grow. I found that seeds with hard shells - white pine and stone pine - germinate better if the shell is cracked to allow moisture to contact the actual seed.

I have grown Black pines, red pines and white pines from cuttings. Success is not very high but it can be done. Success is far better if you use juvenile shoots - either from very young seedlings or from the juvenile shoots produced after cutting a pine back really hard. I have also grown mugho pine as cuttings taken late winter in the past but recent attempts have failed You may be able to locate some threads about growing pines from cuttings here on Ausbonsai. I have also done a couple of posts on the Shibui Bonsai site.

Most pines are relatively easy to layer and they also transplant quite well so if you have access to wild seedlings it will be quicker to collect material.