collecting cedrus deodara cones

I had the chance to collect a few more cones from a fairly young Deodar Cedar tree that is already begining to bear quite large numbers of cones. In contrast to the Blue Atlantic Cedar cones that I had collected the day before, these were already begining to break up. I had to take care to stop them falling apart before I could place them in my collecting bag.

It didn't take me long after my return home to start opening up the cones to extract the seed. Unfortunatly most of the seeds contained within the cones were empty. However within each cone were around 15-20 good seeds of around about 50% were already germinating within the cone. Some of the root radicles were at least 5mm long and required considerable care to extract them without breakage. This was a real surprise and I have sown the germinated seeds immediatly to give them the best chance of survival. The seeds have been able to germinate because the loosening of the cone scales prior to natural seed dispersal has allowed rainwater to get inside. This followed by our recent mild weather has allowed germination to occur.
Thanks again,
Michael