Huon Pine seedlings

[Michael T]

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I had some discovery that amazed me just about 2 hours ago. When I came back from shopping, I went to check on my bonsai plants. When I passed the huon pine which I had about 5 or 6 years ago and still far from looking nice, I noticed some huon pine short branches( from half to 2 cm long ) on the mulch in the pot. On closer examination, I noticed that they were seedllings!!! I did not expect this at all as I thought that the huon pines in Australia i.e. Tasmania are all males. That means that the plant I have must be a female or one that has both male and female flowers in order to form fertile seeds and germinate. I then checked the internet and from the Tasmanian Parks and Wildlife Service are the following:

'Huon pines produce pollen and seeds from small cones that are about 3 mm long. Male and female cones are produced on separate trees. A small number of trees produce both male and female cones, though this is quite rare.'

Well, I suppose we learn new things everyday of our lives. I took some photos before it got dark (winter time) and they did not come out too badly. The seedlings have 2 cotyledons and the germination is epigeal. I noticed the new seedlings have just first 'leaves' while some have the new stem elongated to approximately 2 cm. The plant is in a garden pot all these years and I am pretty excited about this unexpected 'discovery'. I supposed it isn't much as I found out that many have grown huon pines from seed before and even sending them out of Tassie, but to find it happening to me is amazing.

I am enclosing some photos of this happening. I do not know how long it takes the seeds to germinate. It is very cold at night in ACT. We have temperatures ranging from 0 to -6.3 degree Celsius since the middle of June this year. I am sure for those who wish to grow huon pine seed, they need to be placed in the refrigerator for a couple of months. This is the first year that I have noticed the seedlings. They might have been there before, but I did not notice them or might have thought that they were pieces of branches from the mother plant.

I am posting 4 photos and hope that they may enlighten those of you who have never seen a huon pine seedling before and what to expect when your seeds start growing.