Tag Archives: Pinus sylvestris

Pine flowering

The only pine tree in the garden, Scots or Norwegian Pine (Pinus sylvestris)  is in full flower at the moment!  I posted a couple of films of siskins feeding on the cones the other week.
This tree was probably not much taller than me when we moved here in 1984. 35 years on and it’s approaching the height of the mature birch trees nearby.
Pictures below of the small red female flowers at the tips of shoots and the more obvious clusters of male flowers  which are laden with pollen. Good news for the siskins!

Eurasian siskins on pine

There’s one Norwegian pine tree in the garden (Pinus sylvestris) which has grown slowly over the years since we moved here and is now approaching the height of the birch trees. It now regularly produces cones, but this is the first time that I’ve seen siskins feeding on the nuts. Coniferous tree seeds are the main food of the siskin in spring.