Korean Cedar Seeds (Pinus koraiensis)

Korean cedar (Pinus koraiensis, family Pinaceae) is a tall conifer that reaches 40–50 m and carries large cones full of nuts. A tree grown from seed starts to bear at 20–30 years in cultivation and good light; in the wild it takes 60–120 years. The packet holds 15 or 30 seeds.

Also known as: Korean pine, Manchurian cedar, Korean cedar pine, Кедр корейский (Russian).

Plan for a long wait before fruit

Under cultivation in good light a tree begins to bear from 20–30 years, and in natural stands from 60–120 years. Heavy seed crops come every three to four years. The tree usually lives 350–400 years, and 500-year-old specimens are common.

What the seed and cone look like

• Seeds are obovate, 14–18 mm long and 8–10 mm wide, with a thick woody shell and no wing.
• Cones are up to 17 cm long and 8 cm wide, and they do not open when ripe; they fall with the seeds in autumn or early winter.
• An average cone holds 130–150 nuts, and one tree can produce about 500 cones.
• Young trees give larger cones and seeds than old ones, but fewer cones.

Site and tree habit

The tree is wind-resistant and becomes light-loving with age. It wants fresh, fertile soil that does not stay waterlogged. The root system has a weak taproot and many lateral roots that lie no deeper than 1 m.

Telling it apart

Needles are bluish-green, triangular and grow in bundles of five; they stay on the branch for two to four years. Young shoots are thin and densely covered with red hairs. The bark is brown-grey with a reddish tinge and flakes. The tree is monoecious: yellow male flowers and reddish-purple female cones appear in May to early June, and the cones ripen from late August to October of the following year.

What you get

15 or 30 seeds of Pinus koraiensis, depending on the option you choose. We have no sowing, stratification or germination figures on record for this lot, so we state none.

FAQ

How soon will a tree fruit?

From 20–30 years in cultivation and good light; in the wild 60–120 years.

Do I need two trees?

No separate male and female trees are needed: the species is monoecious, with both kinds of flowers on the same tree.

Do the cones open on the tree?

No. Ripe cones stay closed and fall with the seeds in autumn or early winter.