looking for seeds

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drdna
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looking for seeds

Post by drdna »

I've been to California 4 time so far but it seems I was never there at the right time for one hobby of mine: gardening...I'm a tree lover and everytime i go, i try to gather some seeds to plant here in my Québec home. So far i've managed to grow Ponderosa and Jeffrey pine, Sugar pine, Douglas fir, Red and Concolor fir to name a few. I was never able though to get my hands on the elusive foxtail pine seeds (Pinus balfouriana) even if I went up Mt Whitney twice..the timing for seeds just wasn't right. So there I am, just wondering if anyone of you Sierra lovers would happen to be able to get me some seeds as it is quite hard for me to go back there again in the next few years. These things are next to impossible to get on the net, seed companies don't seem to carry this rare species in their inventory. I'm also looking for huckleberry oak acorns (Quercus vaccinifolia). If anyone can help me, it would be greatly appreciated

Dan
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rlown
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Re: looking for seeds

Post by rlown »

Hi Dan,

Welcome to the HST.

First I have to ask you if it's legal to import these seeds. I'm guessing they would be considered non-native species?

As it's slow around here, I did a search and found this: http://www.agrireseau.qc.ca/argeneral/d ... ersion.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

So, I was just wondering if these seeds would violate any acts on the Canadian books.

Russ
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RooPhillip
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Re: looking for seeds

Post by RooPhillip »

Hi Dan,

I'll see if I can find any for you next time I'm in Foxtail Pine country. Do you live at a higher elevation? It's my understanding Foxtail Pines only grow naturally at about 7,500' and above, so I'm curious how they would do at lower elevations.
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rlown
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Re: looking for seeds

Post by rlown »

More to the point here. The foxtail pine is a Near Threatened species.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinus_balfouriana" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Not sure you're even allowed to gather seeds. Looking at the trees are nice though.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:I ... ed_species" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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dave54
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Re: looking for seeds

Post by dave54 »

http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/plan ... l/all.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


Interestingly, The reference Silvics of North America does not list it as a separate species.
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freestone
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Re: looking for seeds

Post by freestone »

Next time you are in California, there are several nice stands Huckleberry Oak on the northwest shore of Lake Edison, right on the trail. I collected some seeds several years ago because I was so impressed with the beauty and compactness of this small oak, but had no luck in coastal Santa Barbara. The link below has good availability of the plant and may sell the acorns as well. Good luck.




http://www.sevenoaksnativenursery.com/a ... ccinifolia" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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drdna
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Re: looking for seeds

Post by drdna »

thank you all for your answers. I'm not too worried about régulations as I have often ordered either seeds or trees from various companies in the States without any problems although for the trees, I had an import permit and phytosanitary certificate but you don't need these for pine seed, Also, they are not considered invasive and anyway, it's not even sure if they will survive in our harsh winter climate.
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drdna
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Re: looking for seeds

Post by drdna »

i grow its cousin Pinus aristata here, without any trouble, so you never know...as for huckleberry oak, maybe under a good blanket of snow it would do nicely. we have many shrubs rated at hardiness zone 6 which survive easily our winter because they are protected by snowpack.
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Re: looking for seeds

Post by SSSdave »

Foxtail pines along with junipers are my favorite Sierra tree species because those inhabiting windy sites as at ridgelines are sometimes most impressive. Last summer walked below some impressive foxtails on the ridge west of Bullfrog Lake.

Probably the only place one might drive a vehicle high enough in the Southern Sierra for foxtail pines is Horseshoe Meadow at 10k feet on the Horseshoe Meadow Road open in summer that is accessible from Lone Pine onto the Whitney Portal Road. Otherwise one would need to backpack. Fortunately there it is a popular trailhead that numbers of members of this board coming up from Southern California use.

Generally I've found the majority of hikers and backpackers don't have much interest identifying tree species beyond basics. Like a pine, a fir, an oak, a sequoia, or a juniper. Thus only a minority would be able to id different pine species though some here are quite knowledgeable. Asked to get foxtail pine cones and lacking direction, you might end up growing a whitebark pine or lodgepole pine. :D

Image

But up at Horseshoe Meadow most trees are likely the foxtails. The trickier issue is getting someone to collect mature viable female cones that are ready to open. Lest you are likely to receive dried brown fallen cones haha most people associate with cones and not the green usually sticky ones. And suspect you know all about that and will educate whomever? I didn't actually know when seeds open but found that info here:

http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/plan ... l/all.html

snippet:

Pollen dispersal and pollination of new foxtail pine cones occurs in July and August. Mature cones open and disperse seed in September and October.

Thus won't have to worry about collecting the male pollen clusters. So best come back then ask later this summer if any members are planning on driving up there.
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