Gardening: Excessive pine cones are trees’ response to drought conditions

Recently a reader contacted me asking why there were so many ponderosa pine cones this year. He has been picking them up by the bagful and a friend has taken multiple pickup truck loads to the transfer station. My editor chimed in that a snow shovel would be useful for scooping cones out of her driveway. Me? I am more than tired of rolling my ankle on these pesky land mines.

The answer is that the trees are reacting to the droughts we have been experiencing in the last few years. The trees are under serious water stress, and their defense is to produce more cones, and thus seeds, to preserve their species.

We’ve been seeing high cone production for several years. Last year, my yard was full of tiny baby pine trees along with more than the usual amount of spent cones I had to clean up. Pine trees produce cones on a two-year cycle. The first year, the cones form on the trees and are pollinated by the male flowers. Remember that yellow haze that tends to cover everything this time of year, that’s pine pollen. The cones drop their winged seed in the fall and then the spent cones fall to the ground during the winter and spring.

Beyond these drought-induced cone dumps, ponderosa pines also have cycles of increased cone production as part of their life cycle. We are likely caught in a combination of events. Happy scooping!

Now on to the beautiful displays of spring bulbs we’ve enjoyed this year. The early spring and its cool weather brought the daffodils, tulips, snow glories and snow drops out to perfection. Now it’s time to make sure that the bulbs are taken care of so they will bloom again next spring.

First, don’t remove the leaves until they begin to turn yellow. The leaves are collecting energy for the bulbs to replenish the nutrients that were used to produce this year’s blooms. Do remove the spent flowers to force the plant to send energy to the bulb instead of the seed head.

Fertilize the plants with a balanced fertilizer to help restore energy in the bulbs. Once the foliage dies, it can be removed. The bulbs will remain dormant until next spring. Interestingly, most spring bulbs don’t like a lot of water when they are dormant, so don’t be overzealous with water around them.

Many people find that tulips don’t come back the following spring like daffodils do. This is partly the result of the way the tulips were bred. Breeders want to emphasize the color at the expense of the strength of the bulb. As a result, tulips are often treated as annuals that need regular replanting.

Vegetable planting season is in full swing. I think it’s safe to plant even the most tender things like squash, melons, beans and cucumbers along with tomatoes and peppers. However, Mother Nature is still in charge, so I’d keep an eye on the forecasts and keep the tarps handy.