This week's episode is about the secret life of pinecones and cones- the fascinating fruits of conifers. We chat about the ingenious design of the encasement of woody cones and how they pollinate and protect seeds.
Then wrap up with a reflection on native Rhododendrons (Rhododendron maximum) we came upon on our way to Blue Mountain Lake, part of the Delaware Water Gap Recreational Area.
And, a personal note about Jolee, our rescue dog, and kind passersby who expressed concern seeing me walking without her, demonstrating the difference we can make by recognizing when something or someone is not the same.
Link to Related Stories:
The Hidden Life of Pinecones
Native Rhododendrons
Flora & Reflections from Blue Mountain
Repurposing Christmas Trees – including using them to feed the birds.
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I'd love to hear about your garden and nature stories. And your thoughts about topics for future podcast episodes. You can email me at AskMaryStone@gmail.com. Thanks so much for tuning in :^)
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Thank you for sharing the garden of life,
Mary Stone, Columnist & Garden Designer
AskMaryStone.com
More about the Podcast and Column:
Welcome to Garden Dilemmas, Delights, and Discoveries.
It's not only about gardens; it's about nature's inspirations, about grasping the glories of the world around us, gathering what we learned from mother nature, and carrying these lessons into our garden of life. So, let's jump in in the spirit of learning from each other. We have lots to talk about.
Thanks for tuning in, Mary Stone
Garden Dilemmas? AskMaryStone.com
Direct Link to Podcast Page
Ep 92. The Secret Life of Pinecones
Sat, Jan 21, 2023 7:18PM • 11:06
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
seeds, pinecones, cones, native, rhododendron, tree, garden, bird, woodpeckers, conifers, pine, cones, dilemmas, pollinate, feed, love, bird feeder, geese, grow, grove, mary stone, garden, nature, inspiration
SPEAKERS
Mary Stone
Mary Stone 00:00
Hello, fellow lovers of all things green. I'm Mary Stone, and welcome to garden dilemmas, delights and discoveries. It's not only about gardens, it's about nature's inspirations, about grasping the glories of the world around us, gathering what we learned from mother nature, and carrying these lessons into our garden of life. So let's jump in in the spirit of learning from each other. We have lots to talk about.
Mary Stone 00:26
Hello, there; it's Mary Stone once again on the screen porch. Thanks so much for joining me and thanks to those that reached back about our last chat. Many adore Canadian geese and snow geese despite what others think of them. And that warms my heart. There's a bit of an update I wanted to share. And that is that Ken Roberts, my singing buddy, who's a retired Airlines pilot, although he rarely talks about it. He filled me on the plane that he mentioned. It was two whistling swans, not snow geese that took down the passenger plane in 1962. They are also known as Tundra Swans, and they look much like snow geese. Although they're larger with black bills rather than pink. They both nest in the Arctic tundra and migrate to the United States in winter.
Mary Stone 01:13
So anyway, it was a full house on Friday, and one of the patients loves birds. She had a New Jersey Audubon magazine with a cover photo of a redheaded bird with black and white feathers. One of her favorites, she said. They're about 10 inches long. And they're called Red-bellied woodpeckers common in the eastern woodlands and forests. And they come out of the woods and they love to feed on bird feeders, so they're commonly seen, but I just thought it was so odd that this redheaded bird is named red-bellied. I mean, really? Why is that? Shouldn't it be a red-headed woodpecker? Anyway, one of the things I shared with her was asking, "Are you a gardener? Because most bird lovers are," and she had the most beautiful reply. She said, "Yes, I love birds and dirt," her beautiful blue eyes smiling under her purple knit cap, warmed our hearts.
Mary Stone 02:06
So today's topic is about the fascinating fruits of pine trees and other conifers. And we'll talk a little bit about the native Rhododendron I came across over the weekend. And it starts like this.
Mary Stone 02:18
Hello fellow listeners and readers. We ventured to Blue Mountain Lake over the weekend, part of a Delaware Water Gap Recreational Area. We hadn't visited there since May. You may recall we spoke about the Flora and Reflections from Blue Mountain Lake in Episode 58, which you may wish to bounce back to. In the wintertime, evergreens take center stage, and it was fun to notice all the young white pines and hemlocks below their mama trees, along with the spent pine cones and cones below them - The fascinating fruits that protect their seeds. Pinecones on pine trees aren't seeds but merely the vessel or the fruit by which the seeds are protected. Other conifers, such as Hemlock, have similar fruit called cones. The tiny seeds are inside the female cones, with two seeds in each scale that spiral around the cone. Male pine cones are smaller, short-lived, and soft. They often go on notice and are typically on the lower branches in the spring. It's a clever system mother nature created. That way, the pollen from the male cones won't fall and pollinate the female cones on the same tree. Instead, the wind will carry the pollen to an adjacent tree.
Mary Stone 03:33
It's miraculous how a tree knows when to open its male and female pine cones at different times so they can pollinate neighboring trees and not themselves, assuring genetic integrity. A pollinated pine seed typically takes two or three years to grow, which is remarkable to me. I had no idea until I was researching this. Then they fall to the ground or fly in the wind. And pine cones can stay on a tree for ten or more years, depending on the species, before they drop to the ground. And when they do, the fertilized seeds are gone. I'm kind of giggling because do you recall as a kid bringing in pine cones and putting them in your closet? Well, I put them in my closet, forgetting about them until a bunch of insects hatched for them. Note to self - if you're bringing in decorative pine cones, put them in your oven for you know, a low temperature for 15 minutes or so just to make sure there are no critters that will hatch; just saying.
Mary Stone 04:29
Anyway, another ingenious design of the encasement of woody cones is that they're not palatable to most creatures, but a few, such as squirrels and woodpeckers, and crossbill birds, feed on them. Pinecones date back to the dinosaur age, a favorite of the Parasaurolophus dinosaur. Unlike many plants that rely on pollinators such as bees, butterflies, and ants to pollinate seeds, conifers primarily depend upon the wind. Although water and fire have a role in it. Pinecones can float merrily downstream, and the tiny seeds inside with wings fly in the wind for as far as a mile. Jack Pines, also known as Scrub Pine, that grace of viewpoint coined Indian Rocks at Blue Mountain Lake, live in north central and northeastern United States and have serotonin cones. Meaning- the cones have a thick resin that protects the seeds for years while on the tree and requires the heat of a fire to melt the resin and disperse the seeds—a fascinating assurance of survival.
Mary Stone 05:30
Typically dry conditions in late summer and fall trigger cones to ripen. They become entirely brown and open to disperse their seeds. When cones fall to the ground, they are called spent pine cones, those that have done their job, although there could be a few viable seeds within them. We enjoy pinecone seeds and cookies, and pesto sauce. Pinolili nuts are expensive due to how long they take to mature and the effort to gather them. Depending on the tree species, seeds can take one to several years to ripen. But they certainly are delicious and worth the weight and the expense.
Mary Stone 06:07
Folks think if you plant a pinecone, you can get a tree which isn't the case. Conifer seeds are designed to germinate on the surface or with no more than, say, a quarter inch of soil or decaying plant debris. By digging them into the earth, you're prohibiting the opportunity to sprout a baby tree.
Mary Stone 06:26
We cut down two hemlocks, Much to my sadness, but a large branch had fallen between the umbrella pine and the house during a northeastern one of the trifecta a few years back. The fallen trees opened an opportunity for baby hemlocks to germinate. And now I have a fistful of bouncing baby hemlocks to transplant once they grow to about a foot. I'll likely keep one or two of them in the garden to replace the mother trees. But don't tell Curt. Garden dilemmas, asked Mary stone.com.
Mary Stone 06:58
On the way to Blue Mountain Lake, I marveled over the dense groves of native Rhododendrons on Millbrook Road. I often suggest them to folks as a deer-resistant alternative to the beloved Rhododendron hybrids that are sold at nurseries. Rhododendron maximum can grow 20 feet tall, sometimes 30 when they're exceedingly happy, which they are on Millbrook Road. And they have the most gorgeous dark green, leathery leaves. Come June, in this neck of the woods, they bloom a beautiful white, and others bloom pink or light purple. They're not always easy to find in the nursery, but they're becoming more popular. I think because more are asking for them. The only thing is, outside of this area, I've noticed they aren't always deer resistant. So it's a matter of deer preferences and communities, which is always changing, isn't it? Follow the bouncing ball.
Mary Stone 07:47
Seeing the gorgeous Rhododendron reminds me of the grove I came upon two years ago while taking a road walk with Miss Ellie Mae, who was declining then. So I took a different route that day and came upon that beautiful grove. I've shared before how I often begin our weekly chats by dictating to you from a morning walk. This time Jolee was not with me. She was having headshake seizures she's had before, but it's been over a year since the last one. It's the second anniversary of her arrival as a rescue from the streets of Biloxi. Walking without Jolie reminded me of when I walked without Ellie. A kind passerby named Kenny asked me where my dog was, I explained the story, and he wished us well. And then, a second couple pulled over with their red pickup truck and rolled down their window. They were kind of in a rush, so I didn't ask their names, but I recognized them from town. Their kindness lifted my heart, an example of how we can all be of service in small ways. Maybe a lesson to stop and cherish every day with those we love. And we can make a difference when recognizing something or someone is not the same. Stop and ask and extend kindness. Thank you, kind passersby. So, of course, we took Jolee to the veterinarian, and she confirmed that her idiopathic seizures are common and four of the 13 breeds that she apparently is mixed up of. And they'll likely disappear as she grows older. So that gave us reassurance that all would be fine.
Mary Stone 09:22
It makes me think of the plaque that Curt's Mom gave us at Christmas, which says - you can't buy love, but you can rescue it. And we can share love like those folks did, who took the time to stop and ask me about Jolee. It was so kind.
Mary Stone 09:38
It seems I should circle back and wrap up with a bit more about birds. And that is an idea for a nifty bird feeder that you can make using a pinecone. Just paint it with some peanut butter and use some birdseed. You know, roll it in the birdseed and hang it on a tree outside. And if you still have your Christmas tree outside, hopefully, you left it In the stand, or even if you didn't, you can put the nifty pinecone bird feeder on it and watch the dance and feed the wildlife during winter. They will appreciate it so much. And I appreciate you visiting with me. I so enjoy each week and look forward to next time.
Meanwhile, if you would be so kind, if you haven't done so already, please subscribe to the podcast so it magically appears in your feed and share it with others so more can join us and learning and growing in the garden of life. It means so much. Have a great day.
Mary Stone 10:36
You can follow garden dilemmas on Facebook or online at Garden dilemmas.com and on Instagram and hashtag Mary Elaine Stone. Garden dilemmas, delights, and discoveries is produced by Alex Bartling. Thanks for coming by. I look forward to chatting again from my screen porch. And always remember to embrace the unexpected in this garden of life. Have a great day.
