My Stone pines are now about 7 years old, the largest about 2 metres high. Last year they produced cones but all fell off. This year there are cones again but so far no sign of pollen. Is the pollen produced from the little vertical branchlets which grow past the cones. If so, should there be pollen in the same year as the first cones. Any advice on pollination. I haven't got a forest of stone pines but only 8 trees about 3m apart in two rows. William
Here's what the pollen cones look like (this is actually Maritime Pine, but Stone Pine is very similar): http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pinus_pinaster_male_cone.jpg It is fairly common for pines to start producing cones of one sex only, and only produce both sexes when they're a little older. Getting any cones at all at 7 years is good going, normally, Stone Pines don't produce anything until they're 10-15 or even 20 years old. So you're doing well.
