We have a gorgeous Deodora on the corner of our house. In the 22 yrs we've had it, the event that is currently ubnfolding has never happened before, and if anyone can explain it I would appreciate the explanation. They get a really nice cone, but this year they are bursting apart and dropping these chips everywhere. I mean the are thousands of them. M My guess is the cones are dropping the chips as seeds, but since this has never happened before I have no idea what's happening. Can anyone explain this for us, or is the tree dying? If they are seeds, can the be germinated? Mike
It's OK, it's normal. Cedrus cones disintegrate when mature. The seeds are contained between the 'chips' and will fall separately as each scale falls off. Firs (Abies) have cones that do the same thing. The seeds can be germinated if you can find them on the ground....they'll need some stratification first though. Simon
Artificial winter. Cold climate seeds have a dormancy, so they don't sprout at the wrong time and die.
I've had Deodar Cedar cones explode when they dry out at maturity - the top of the cone shot off a couple of metres across the room it was in, with the scales and seeds showering all over. Spellcheck: deodara
