Pine seeds collected in Spring still viable?

[TCEvan]

My in-laws have a Japanese white pine (I'm fairly certain, at least) that had a single cone from last year still attached quite high up that I managed to grab today when I was at their house. I shelled it when I got home and it still had about 15-20 seeds inside it. Any chance these seeds are still good? I've put them in some water, and I'm going to plant them to see what happens because it costs nothing but a few minutes. Guess I'm just wondering if I should expect nothing at all, or if there's any chance.

Planning to also grab some fresh cones this year before they open for better chances.

 

[Gabler]

My in-laws have a Japanese white pine (I'm fairly certain, at least) that had a single cone from last year still attached quite high up that I managed to grab today when I was at their house. I shelled it when I got home and it still had about 15-20 seeds inside it. Any chance these seeds are still good? I've put them in some water, and I'm going to plant them to see what happens because it costs nothing but a few minutes. Guess I'm just wondering if I should expect nothing at all, or if there's any chance.

Planning to also grab some fresh cones this year before they open for better chances.

I would have sown them in the fall. Without cold stratification, the germination rate might be low, or you might not get any at all.

A quick search will yield some more information on stratification requirements. For example:

Japanese White Pine Seed Germination Technique

Hi All, I have been reading a lot on the best way to germinate Pine Seeds, specifically Japanese white pine seeds. A lot of these reading materials and online forums talk about seed soaking, seed scarification, and seed stratification. I purchased some white pine seeds in 2013 and tried to...

www.bonsainut.com

 

[Glaucus]

Pine seeds are viable up to 18 years of age under normal conditions and even germinate at a very low rate at 28 years of age:
Sources:
https://depts.washington.edu/propplnt/Plants/plant_data_sheet_Pinus_ponderosa.htm

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Anu-Hopia/publication/12159580_Aging_in_Pinus_sylvestris_L_seeds_Changes_in_viability_and_lipids/links/56a71dcb08ae860e0254eb70/Aging-in-Pinus-sylvestris-L-seeds-Changes-in-viability-and-lipids.pdf

Of course, fresh seed is best.

There is this concept of a 'seed bank'. So seeds try to stay alive in the soil and wait for their moment to germinate. Which may be years later than when they fell into the soil:

Canopy seed bank - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

The ideal moment for seeds to germinate may be years after the parent tree has died. Imagine forest fire. Or even worse, a meteor impact on earth making photosynthesis impossible for at least a year.

Of course, using fresh seeds is always the best. Getting 99% or 100% germination is ideal. But if all you have is 15-20 year old seeds that are free, and you want seedlings, no reason not to try.

 

[TCEvan]

I would have sown them in the fall. Without cold stratification, the germination rate might be low, or you might not get any at all.

Yeah, I'm hoping to get some unopened cones this year to do a proper stratification on, these ones I didn't have access to until just today unfortunately, so I figured there's no harm in seeing what happens.

I haven't germinated pine seeds before, but had read that thread and a couple others a bit ago and it seems like a lot of good info for next fall when I can hopefully grab more cones and have better and more seeds.

Do you know if stratification must occur when the seeds are damp? Or did the winter they spent in the cone give them the same effect?

 

[Shibui]

I've noted that the most fertile seeds drop when the cones first open. Older cones often retain unviable seeds. Maybe JWP retains some good seed? Definitely worth a shot.
This cone is likely only a year old so any seed in it is still quite fresh compared to anything you can purchase.
Last time I germinated JWP the best results was the seeds I cracked before sowing. JWP has a thick shell so I guess it's hard for water to penetrate. Maybe stratification helps to open the shells? By cracking some you can check to see how good the actual seed is. That will give a better idea if these are healthy as well as giving them a start.

Stratification relies on the seeds being damp so spending a winter in a nice cosy pinecone is NOT the same thing, even if it did get cold enough.