pitch and loblolly from seed inspired by JBP contest

[*tree*]

I have spent a lot of time reading in the JBP from seed contest and I learned a lot, so I sowed seeds, but since I already put my hands on pitch and loblolly pine last year, I sowed a new batch of these. The species should be somewhat similar to JBP.

So far they have been growing happily. I didn't seedling cut them, which was a mistake loblolly has extremely long stems.

The tallest pitch pine is 15-16 cm tall without the needles:



And loblolly:

 

[*tree*]

Don't blame your climate (too much).

The trees are not much smaller than @Ryceman's.

 

[Gabler]

I have a handful of loblolly pines that I'm growing out myself as an experiment. They're more vigorous than Japanese black pine, but they also have much coarser growth. I wouldn't even bother with shohin. Go big or go home.

 

[*tree*]

The trees are now pushing second flush, but the first frost may come in like 3 weeks, what are the chances of hardening of in time?

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

Hardening in time? Not going to happen. But that doesn't mean they can't resist the cold.
I have a pine that flushes continuously and it's not bothered by any frosts.
Pine resin contains a lot of antifreeze components, since a lot of the resin is filled with hydrocarbons instead of just plain water and sugar.

The antifreeze component in your windshield wiper fluid is originally based off of plant based glycerole.

 

[InstilledChaos]

Nice project! Where did you get pitch pine seeds? I’ve been looking for them with no luck for a few years.

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

Nice project! Where did you get pitch pine seeds? I’ve been looking for them with no luck for a few years.

RJG2 is a solid collector of pinus rigida seeds. I got a bunch from him, with decent germination rates after two years in the freezer too.
@RJG2

 

[*tree*]

Nice project! Where did you get pitch pine seeds? I’ve been looking for them with no luck for a few years.

I got these in an arboretum here, but last years batch is from seeds from here: https://organicseeds.top/shop/3667/desc/organic-pitch-pine-seeds-pinus-rigida. These had 85-90% germination rate.

 

[RJG2]

RJG2 is a solid collector of pinus rigida seeds. I got a bunch from him, with decent germination rates after two years in the freezer too.
@RJG2

@InstilledChaos there are some decent mature trees around here - PM me and I can grab some cones for you.

I did a decent batch this year, and a small batch a couple yours ago (but only kept a few, gave away the rest).

 

[*tree*]

After a 100-year flood, I could finally move the trees from apartment to the garden. We had almost 2 meters of water here and averything is covered with a thin layer of dry mud.
I cold be looking forever at the contrast between the fresh green needles and the wasteland.
But it doesn't look as appealing on the photo:

 

[*tree*]

Juvenile needles are falling, which shouldn't be a bad sign.