What caused a bumper crop of pine cones this year/2023? - Ask Extension
I live in the Oxford/Lake Orion area, and several of us have experienced a huge amount of large, beautiful pinecones all over our yards. Personally, I...
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What caused a bumper crop of pine cones this year/2023? #855233
Asked November 13, 2023, 8:22 PM EST
I live in the Oxford/Lake Orion area, and several of us have experienced a huge amount of large, beautiful pinecones all over our yards. Personally, I’ve lived in this area for 30 years, and I’ve never seen so many pinecones, and others have observed this as well. It seems to be a phenomenon this year. Why is this?
Oakland County Michigan
Expert Response
Hi Susan,
These look like cones from the eastern white pine, which take two years to mature. So, the tree produced these cones last year, and held onto them for summer of 2022, and dropped them in the fall of 2023. All cone bearing trees as well as oak trees have "mast" years, where cone or nut production is increased. One theory is that the abundance of seed production overwhelms predators (squirrels, birds) ensuring that most of the seeds will grow into trees.
Another theory is that when trees are temporarily stressed, they produce more seeds. You'll have to think back to end of summer and fall in 2021and spring of 2022 to track down what might have stressed the trees (drought?) and caused them to produce an abundant cone crop in the spring of 2022. It's actually an amazing strategy trees have developed!
Below is an article that explains "mast" years.
https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/cones-and-acorns-appear-in-copious-quantities-this-fall
If you are interested in weather, you can search past weather trends at the National Weather Service website.
https://www.weather.gov/
Click on your region, then choose climate and past weather data to generate past precipitation, temperatures, and the like.
If you have any questions along the way, please feel free to reach out!
Enjoy the journey,
-Julie
These look like cones from the eastern white pine, which take two years to mature. So, the tree produced these cones last year, and held onto them for summer of 2022, and dropped them in the fall of 2023. All cone bearing trees as well as oak trees have "mast" years, where cone or nut production is increased. One theory is that the abundance of seed production overwhelms predators (squirrels, birds) ensuring that most of the seeds will grow into trees.
Another theory is that when trees are temporarily stressed, they produce more seeds. You'll have to think back to end of summer and fall in 2021and spring of 2022 to track down what might have stressed the trees (drought?) and caused them to produce an abundant cone crop in the spring of 2022. It's actually an amazing strategy trees have developed!
Below is an article that explains "mast" years.
https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/cones-and-acorns-appear-in-copious-quantities-this-fall
If you are interested in weather, you can search past weather trends at the National Weather Service website.
https://www.weather.gov/
Click on your region, then choose climate and past weather data to generate past precipitation, temperatures, and the like.
If you have any questions along the way, please feel free to reach out!
Enjoy the journey,
-Julie
