I have 5 dwarf alberta spruce trees growing that are that are about 8 to 10 years old. two years ago i noticed two pine seedling about a foot away from one of the trees, i transplanted one of the seedling in a pot where it grew to about a foot tall before it died in the heat of the summer. The other i left alone and it is about 3 feet tall now. then this year i had 5 or 6 seedling pop up, one as far as three feet away. This one dwarf had what appered to be tiny pine cones. Is it possible for a dwarf alberta to produce cones or could they be coming from the roots. they have obviously reverted from the original pine considering how fast they grow. I don't have any other pine trees in my landscape. Does anyone have any comments on this.
They'll be some other conifer that has seeded in from elsewhere. Pine seeds can blow a long way on the wind, juniper seeds can be carried even further by birds. Can you post a photo of the seedlings, so they can be identified?
For me it proved difficult to keep potted conifers alive and healthy. So I plant them (back) in the ground as soon as possible, the only problem being of course the limited land. I suppose it takes some time for the plant to establish in a pot in the same way it does when planted in the ground, but in the pot, root is more exposed to extreme temperatures to which it's more sensitive than the foliage.
