Pinus patula

Description

Mexican Weeping Pine, Mexican Yellow Pine, Jelicote Pine

The Mexican weeping pine is a large evergreen conifer that can reach 50 m (164 ft) tall. The trunk diameter can exceed 2 m. The needles are bundled in sets of four and grow in a drooping fashion to a length of 12 cm. Needle color varies from light green to dark green. The bark is thin and scaled on juvenile trees, becoming thick and cracked on mature trees. The bark is dark brown with hints of grey. The cones are 20 cm long and start out a medium green color, maturing to a medium brown when ripe. Cones take 24 months to ripen.

Sowing Instructions: Sow at any time of the year. Mix equal parts of good quality seed compost with vermiculite, perlite, or horticultural grit and water until just moist. Sow seeds very thinly on the surface, then just cover them with a layer of vermiculite, perlite, or grit. Seal inside a polythene bag and place in the fridge for 6 weeks, checking them weekly to ensure the compost is still moist. [ If sowing a large quantity, mix seeds with the compost/vermiculite and place in a resealable bag in the fridge, then sow into trays or directly outdoors in a nursery bed.] After this, move to a propagator or other warm place and maintain an optimum temperature of 13-15C. Germination should take place in 1-2 months. Note: Germination can be very erratic, so sow thinly and prick out the seedlings as they become large enough to handle disturbing the rest of the compost as little as possible.
An alternative method is to sow in pots as above during late summer to early winter then place in a cold frame and let nature take its course as the seasons change with the seedlings emerging the next spring.