Anyone ever try it? I had the forester out for a site visit & he recommended trying it in spots. Supposedly (and I bet it varies by species) you can spread seeds randomly on the snow at a certain time of year

There used to be a market for pine cones that were still closed , and ready to open.
Some cones , if I remember right need fire to open , while others need to freeze and thaw something like 7 times before they'll sprout.
I saw something on TV 40 years ago about how forest fires changed the forest .
There's many new plants that grow after a fire also. Different than was there for years.

Some people leave jackpine pine cones in a clear ziplock bag on their vehicle dash.
Others buy seeds.

No need down here. At least for loblolly or virginia pines as they readily reseed any open ground. If going for natural regen on a large cut leave a tree or two every few acres.
But as said some like longleaf or sand pine need fire to prepare the seedbed, bare mineral soil and to open the cones for seed release.

I don’t know about how all the seeds work, but don’t get carried away planting Jackpine. They’re an ugly tree. We are littered with them here.

Exactly

we say jack pine is proof even god had a bad day

Sacred tree to Michigan DNR....Around Roscommon thosands of acres are planted every year, and turned into chips at 5 to 6 inch diameter. All for the Kirtland Warbler.

We’ve had a lot of acreage planted by seed. They used a small helicopter that came in on a trailer to seed our high land down on the river(where Paul fishes with his Grandsons) and planted the low land using seedlings by hand. That was about 20 years ago. We just did our first thinning and should have done it 6 years ago. The lowlands are too thick to get into but with the hurricane flooding we have had I don’t think the lines survived in there. It was all cypress when it was logged in 2000 anyway.

Cedars spread by themselves by root suckers coming up I believe. They'll take over an entire pasture. Good deer cover but not good for cattle grazing.

Most recommendations suggest to plant in the fall as most northern species need to vernalize prior to sprouting. Also burying the seed up to 1/4 inch give much better results so one could use less seed and have better germination. If you have a surplus of seed then the extra work might not be worth it. A person I know has grown many from seeds but he has what he calls a nursery area to start them for 3-4 years and then transplants. Jack pines utilize heat to open cones and spread, but then I don't see a lot of value in planting jack pine when other options are available.

Bryce

Plant Red Pine and don't look back. Jack Pine is the scrub of pines. Along with Scotch Pines.

I have purchased 500 seedlings from a local county conservation for cheap. I think maybe $50.

White Pine= best, Red Pine=OK, jack pine=bad.

If your in an area that grows decent hardwoods I wouldn't waste land growing Pines.

White pines often get tip weevil and rarely get planted by people around here.

NYS Ranger School , Wanakena NY had a Nursary where they started several different kinds of trees

I think it is an unfair stretch to say they are bad. I have some on my property and even though they aren't highly prized, they offer some diversity.

I started a few spruce from seed . Very low percentage . Also started a white birch from seed (one started from a huge number of seed maybe 1000 ) A employee at state nursery I tried to get info from was a real twit ,she acted so snobby I was very sorry for her .The nursery has very fancy misting and watering system . When you get ALL the roots trees really do well . I have dug and transplanted hundreds and if you get them small so you get most of the roots they do well .I am right on the very eastern edge of the western larch habitat and I want to start some on our place so will try some seed and dig some on the forest service this fall and spring as well .I hope you do well with your project ,it is very good feeling to look on trees you planted that are 20 times bigger than when you planted them .good luck .We have awful deer damage eating them (spruce are not eaten by them so far , they will mostly not eat the lodgepole but small ponderosa will be consumed !

Thanks

When I was younger I would pick and sell the cones to the state, which they planted

I wish white pine pinecones had value. I'd be rich just from the trees in my yard.
Ps. John, thanks for filling my recent PCS order. If I get a bobcat I'll let you know
I actually saw a pair of cats the other day. Sightings are incredibly rare around here, though that doesn't mean they aren't there.