Pinaceae (Pinus)
Pinus (monticola)
Pinaceae
Pine Family
Pinus
monticola
Douglas ex. D. Donn.
Western white pine
PINMON
Northern Idaho
Western white pine is found from British Columbia to California and west to Nevada and Montana. It reaches its greatest size and best stand and commercial development in northern Idaho and adjacent parts of Montana, Washington, and British Columbia. In northern Idaho, the best development is attained between 610 to 2,135 m (2,000 to 7,000 ft) on rich porous soils in moist valleys and middle and upper slopes and flats on northern exposures.
plants
seed
Container (plug)
66 ml (4 cu. in) Ray Leach "Cone-tainers"
0
Height = 12 cm Root-collar diameter = 3.2 mm Firm root plug
Ovulate cones mature in 2 years, and are upright, shiny nut-brown, ovoid to oblong, 8 to 15 cm (3 to 6 in) long and are borne singly or in groups, and bear winged seeds with a body length of 3 to 4 mm (0.11 to 0.15 in) and wing length of up to 15 mm (0.6 in). Trees start bearing cones at 7 to 20 years and produce a good seed crop every 4 to 5 years in the Pacific Northwest.
Cones ripen in August and September in the interior and in September elsewhere. Cones can be collected by using ladders, hydraulic lifts, or by climbing trees, usually just before cones open. Cones should be dried quickly after harvest to prevent internal heating, mold development and rapid seed deterioration. After initial drying, cones can be temporarily stored in burlap bags, as long as adequate air circulation is provided around the sacks. Cones can be opened without the use of a kiln by spreading them on a tarp in a warm, well ventilated greenhouse or drying shed for 4 to 12 days. Cones can be opened by placing in a warm drying shed for several days or by placing them in a kiln at 43ø C (109ø F) for 15 to 20 hours. Kiln temperatures above 54ø C (130ø F) are generally not recommended. Seeds/kg = 22,000 to 34,000 (10,000 to 15,454 seeds/lb). Seeds are dried to 7% seed moisture content prior to freezer storage.
We bleach treat seeds prior to stratification. Seeds are placed into fine mesh bags and soaked in a 40% bleach solution (2 parts laundry bleach [5.25% sodium hypochlorite] to 3 parts tap water) for 10 minutes with hand agitation. Agitation is important to ensure complete sterilization. Seeds are thoroughly rinsed to remove all bleach residue and soaked in running tap water for 48 hours to ensure imbibition. Mesh bags are placed into plastic bags and seeds are stratified (cold, moist) for 120 days at 1 to 2øC (34 to 36øF). After stratification, seeds are soaked 24 hours in running tap water. Based on cumulative germination at 14 days in a germination test, the total amount of seeds needed for the crop is determined to ensure 90% to 95% of the cells have at least one seedling.
Seedlings are grown in 2 fully-controlled greenhouses. Photoperiod is extended by 300 watt incandescent lamps (15 min on/off cycles) at an intensity of 500 lux. Irrigation is applied by an overhead traveling boom system, with nozzles spaced every 40 cm. Fertilizers are injected into irrigation water with a 1:100 injector. Containers are filled with a 1:1 (v:v) Sphagnum peat moss and vermiculite medium having a pH of 4.2. Seeds are sown in late March and are immediately covered with a shallow layer of white grit or Forestry sand (6 mm deep) and immediately irrigated (acidified to a pH around 6.0) until themedium is saturated. Using a medium with low pH, irrigating with acidified water, using grit to allow air circulation around the root collar, keeping relative humidity low, and using underbench air circulation and heating reduces damping-off disease. Day-time greenhouse temperatures are maintained at 24 to 27øC (75 to 80øF), and night-time temperatures are maintained at 18øC (65øF).
Once seedcoats begin to fall off germinating seedlings, seedlings are thinned to 1 seedling per container. Germination is usually complete within 10 to 14 days and seedcoats are shed within 21 days. Photoperiod lights remain activated. Nutrients are supplied about twice a week. During the establishment phase, seedlings are fertilized with Peters Professional Conifer Starter (7N:40P2O5:17K2O; The Scotts Company, Marysville, Ohio) and CAN-17 (liquid ammonium calcium nitrate [17N]) to supply 65 and 23 ppm N, respectively, along with micronutrients (Fe, B, MgSO4). Phosphoric acid is used to keep pH of irrigation water around 6.0. Seedlings are irrigated when blocks weigh 80% to 85% of saturated weight. At the end of week 6, medium is leached with irrigation water to remove salt build-up. Day greenhouse temperatures are maintained at 24 to 27øC (75 to 80øF) and night temperatures around 18øC (65øF).
6 weeks
Western white pine grows slowly and has the tendency to set bud before desired heights are reached. High levels of nitrogen are necessary to force seedlings to remain growing until target heights are reached. During the active growth phase, photoperiod control is continued and nutrients are supplied about twice a week using Peters Professional Conifer Grower (20N:7P2O5:19K2O; The Scotts Company, Marysville, Ohio) and calcium nitrate (15.5:0:0:10) to supply 192 and 186 ppm N, respectively, along with micros (Fe, B, MgSO4). Containers are irrigated when blocks weigh 80% to 85% of saturated weight, but this is slowly decreased so that by the time growers wish to initiate buds, containers are irrigated at about 70% saturated weight. Seedling heights are compared to those on a target growth curve, and if growth exceeds targets, nitrogen is reduced by decreasing the amount of calcium nitrate to 93 ppm N. Seedlings generally reach desired heights by week 16, and medium is leached with copious amounts of irrigation water. Medium is then allowed to dry down until it is just barely moist.
10 weeks
When irrigation is necessary, Peters Professional Conifer Finisher (4N:25P2O5:35K2O; The Scotts Company, Marysville, Ohio) is applied every other irrigation. Micronutrients (Fe, B, MgSO4) and phosphoric acid are supplied every irrigation. Photoperiodic lighting is discontinued. Temperatures are allowed to go to ambient, but preferably under 27øC (80øF) during the day. However, minimum greenhouse temperature allowed is -2øC (28øF). Seedlings are ready to be packed in January. From mid-September until pack-out, day temperatures are kept cool as possible and we prevent night temperatures from dropping below -2øC (28øF). Seedlings are hardened for 18 to 22 weeks.
13 weeks
Seedlings are extracted for storage in late November through December. Seedlings are well-watered before removal but foliage should be dry before packing. Seedlings are placed within plastic bags inside waxed boxes or plastic tubs and stored at 0.5øC (33 to 34øF). Seedlings are monitored for storage mold problems. Storage molds can be reduced by packing disease-free stock, storing them for the shortest possible duration, inspecting the crop for on-set of mold, shipping seedlings with minor mold occurrence first, and keeping temperatures below freezing.
4 to 5 months
Between crops, containers should be sterilized. We submerge RayLeach "Cone-tainers" in hot water (75 to 85øC [167 to 185øF]) for 15 to 30 seconds to remove pathogens.
Applying nutrients at exponentially increasing rates to match plant demand requires about half the fertilizer used in conventional fertilization regimes without affecting seedling quality. Improved nutrient uptake efficiency in seedlings thereby reduces quantities of nutrients discharged in forest tree nursery production systems. Seedlings grown under an exponential fertilization regime exceeded the minimum quality standards at the end of culture but received 45% less fertilizer than their conventional cohorts.
This protocol was originally developed in the mid-1980s when David L. Wenny was Director of the nursery and published as Idaho Forest, Wildlife and Range Experiment Station Bulletin 44.
Dumroese RK, Wenny DL. 1987. Sowing sized seed of western white pine in a containerized nursery. Western Journal of Applied Forestry 2:128-130.
Dumroese RK, Wenny DL. 1997. Fertilizer regimes for container-grown conifers of the Intermountain West. In: Haase DL, Rose R, coordinators and editors. Symposium proceedings, forest seedling nutrition from the nursery to the field; 1997 Oct 28-29; Corvallis, OR. Corvallis (OR): Oregon State University, Nursery Technology Cooperative. p 17-26.
Dumroese RK, James RL, Wenny DL. 2002. Hot water and copper coatings in reused containers decrease inoculum of Fusarium and Cylindrocarpon and increase Douglas-fir seedling growth. HortScience 37:943-947.
Dumroese RK, Page-Dumroese DS, Salifu KF, and Jacobs DF. 2005. Exponential fertilization of Pinus monticola seedlings: nutrient uptake efficiency, leaching fractions, and early outplanting performance. Canadian Journal of Forest Research. 35: 2961-2967.
Dumroese RK, James RL. 2005. Root diseases in bareroot and container nurseries of the Pacific Northwest: epidemiology, management, and effects on outplanting performance. New Forests 30:185-202.
Wenny DL, Dumroese RK. 1994. Nursery production: growing western white pine and western redcedar in greenhouses. In: Baumgartner DM, Lotan JE, Tonn JR, editors. Interior cedar-hemlock-white pine forests: ecology and management-symposium proceedings; 1993 Mar 2-4; Spokane, Washington. Pullman (WA): Washington State University Cooperative Extension. p 261-266.
Wenny DL, Dumroese RK. 1987. A growing regime for containerized western white pine seedlings. Moscow (ID): University of Idaho, Idaho Forest, Wildlife and Range Experiment Station. Bulletin 44. 9 p.
Wenny DL, Dumroese RK. 1987. Germination of conifer seeds surface sterilized with bleach. Tree Planters' Notes 38(3):18-21.
Dumroese, Kasten. 2009. Propagation protocol for production of Container (plug) Pinus monticola Douglas ex. D. Donn. plants 66 ml (4 cu. in) Ray Leach "Cone-tainers"; USDA Forest Service, Southern Research Station Moscow, Idaho. In: Native Plant Network. URL: https://NativePlantNetwork.org (accessed 2024/05/02). US Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, National Center for Reforestation, Nurseries, and Genetic Resources.
