Kept hearing how difficult it is to germinate Korean pine nuts. These guys just shot up after direct sowing two months ago, zone 7, without any fridge stratification.

Seeds arrived unstratified. I taste tested one and found it a bit rancid, so I do not believe these seeds were particularly fresh

Per online instructions, I soaked the seeds in (initially) warm water for 24 hours, then sowed directly into tall tree pots filled with a mix of compost, coco coir, and cheap top soil. That was in early October.

Fall in NYC is a mix of bitter cold and tshirt weather, and it’s becoming more and more inconsistent with climate change. I dont think these seeds have had anywhere near 60 cold days, especially if you subtract the warm days (and many seeds to subtract warm days with their stratification clock).

Anyway just surprised at how well these germinated! Hope people struggling to grow Korean pine can find some useful clues in the method I stumbled on. Not sure where the low germination reputation comes from… I’m certainly no pro, maybe just lucky!

Not sure if they will survive the winter with this untimely sprouting, so if you have any ideas for how to protect these (that do not involve bringing them indoors) I would very much appreciate that!