Ive been growing a 'Koto buki' for a while. It gets a cone or two every year. Those cones inevitably drop berfore maturing. This year the plant has quite a few cones developing. If any of them mature would they have viable seed? More interestingly would they express the traits of the cultivar? Thanks for your expertise folks.
Depends on what pollinated them, if anything. Likely that any seedlings would resemble the natural growth form rather than the cultivar though.
Yes, I was thinking species traits should be expected if it develops any viable seed. There is not another p.thunbergii anywhere close ~1000m. So either self pollinated or duds?
Self-pollinated are likely to be duds anyway. If pollen release happens at a suitable time, Pinus nigra, P. densiflora, P. sylvestris, and other related pines could result in hybrid seedlings, but usually pollination timings are a little different so it's unlikely - which is probably why you've not had any viable seed in the past. Pine pollen can blow a very long way though, with the wind in the exactly the right direction, pines 100 km or more away could pollinate them.
