JWP cones and pollen- what to do?

[Gilad]

While being very happy that my surviving JWP is thriving, it has full blown pollen cones and now I think it's pushing a real cones . It came from the nursery with two big cones which I left on, fearing the JWP retribution. Should I take them (pollens/cones) off? When? How?

 

[Dav4]

Rub off the pollen cones...break or twist off the seed cones.

 

[JudyB]

Can you post some photos? Most times they are all pollen cones. They can leave long open necks if they are very prevalent. I twist mine off as soon as I can, although if you are not very careful, you can damage the shoot. But taking them off early seems to make the open neck smaller.

 

[Djtommy]

Does someone has an idea what makes the tree have pollen or not?
1 of my white pine was also full of this pollen, i took it all off when they start to get purple and easier to take off but some shoots got open neck from about 2~3cm...
My other didnt have any pollen..
Grtz

 

[JudyB]

From what I've been told, no one really knows what causes them to be abundant or not year to year. But most people believe that the weather has an effect on it. I take mine off as early as I can get them to pop off, before they turn. I was warned that this can cause damage, and to let them mature before removal. I've left them before, and as they swell, it makes the gap bigger. I am just very careful when I take them now, and haven't seen any problems with taking them early.

 

[Potawatomi13]

I am of the school that believes that if we want our flowering trees to flower and our fruiting trees to bear fruit that I WANT my coniferous trees to grow cones. Randy Knight told me not to remove the flower cones as it can damage the tree as well. I also know this from bad experience. Wait till they dry up and can be brushed off harmlessly. I've seen some very nice miniature Ponderosa and Douglas Fir cones on Ryan Neils trees so why shouldn't mine look just as good and natural. It's also a sign that the tree is mature and healthy.

 

[JudyB]

It's not the actual pine cones that we (or at least I) am discussing here. It's the pollen cones. I agree that you can damage the shoot if you are not super super careful. But I find that if I do remove them when they are small, it keeps the "neck" created smaller. I have a few actual pine cones now on my JWP, and plan to leave them. They come out later than the pollen cones, and are centered on the growing tip, the pollen cones are formed on the sides of the shoot.