The cause pg 1 4-8-10
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- Category: Past Issues
Pinecones, pinecones
everywhere!
By Linda Lemmon
Town Crier Editor
Suddenly the forest floor got much bumpier.
Three years ago the pine trees put seed production into overdrive. The result, this spring, is beyond a bumper crop of pinecones.
Extension service experts said that pine trees and some oak trees produce different amounts of seeds from year to year. The irregular schedule of heavy vs. light seed setting throws off pests and helps safeguard the trees reproduction.
In the autumn of 2007 a heavy number of pinecones were formed and then were pollinated in the spring of 2008. They've been growing since then.
This spring, with the flow of sap into the branches, the twigs expand and push the pinecones off.
Forest floors, driveways, roads, trails, sidewalks, yards. You name it, they are covered with crunchy cones. Take heart, it's an irregular cycle and extension service experts say we won't see such a carpet of crunch for several years to come.