How to grow Scots Pine
Scots pine is one of the easier conifers to grow from seed. A few weeks of cold is generally enough to get it moving, and beyond that it’s a fairly forgiving species for a first attempt at growing from seed.
At a glance
- Scientific name
- Pinus sylvestris
- Family
- Pine (Pinaceae)
- Can seed be stored
- Yes, dries and stores
- Type of dormancy
- Shallow dormancy
- Pretreatment
- Cold, a few weeks
Quick links
Seasonal calendar
Year 1
Year 2
- a Collect: Cones green to brown, begin to open
- b Store: Store through winter
- c Store: Store through winter
- d Treat: Optional 4 week chill - can improve germination
- e Grow: Grown on until November, traditionally the start of the lifting and planting season, though this window has been shifting and shortening with a changing climate.
| Stage | Year | Month range | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Collect | Year 1 | September to December | Cones green to brown, begin to open |
| Store | Year 1 | September to December | Store through winter |
| Store | Year 2 | January to March | Store through winter |
| Treat | Year 2 | March to March | Optional 4 week chill - can improve germination |
| Sow | Year 2 | March to April | |
| Grow | Year 2 | April to November | Grown on until November, traditionally the start of the lifting and planting season, though this window has been shifting and shortening with a changing climate. |
Picking
Scots pine generally only produce cones high up in the canopy, so collecting can be difficult. To avoid climbing (which we don’t recommended!) it may be necessary to collect seed from the ground, but they are often carried far away on the wind.
Good quality Scottish seed can be bought from seed merchants in the UK. You may be lucky and find cones below the tree still with seeds inside.
Extraction and storage
The cones can be laid out somewhere warm to slowly open and release their seeds. Place them in a biscuit tin in the airing cupboard or above a radiator to speed up the process.
Pretreatment
Quite often, Scots pine seed does not benefit from pretreatment although four weeks in a fridge, mixed with moist sand loosely sealed in a plastic bag, sometimes improves germination. This should be started four weeks before the planned sowing date (in March for an April sowing).
Sowing
Sow the seeds thinly onto prepared seedbeds or trays, cover with a thin (5mm) layer of horticultural grit or sand, firm and keep moist.
Growing
Leave the young plants until the autumn and repot them if they are in containers. If they are in seedbeds, leave them for two years, until they are big enough to move to final positions.
Keep moist at all times.
Planting your new tree(s)
When your Scots Pine is tall enough, it can be planted into its new home. Prepare the site well by clearing away any weeds or grass and make a hole big enough to accommodate the root ball. Plant carefully in the hole, to the same depth as it was in the pot or ground, and firm back the soil. More tree planting details here.
