Pine Seedlings and Juvenile Growth

Is it normal for pines to have juvenile growth when young? I got these from someone that grows from seed and digs up little adventurous seeds. Wasn’t sure what these were but I’m pretty sure it came from an Eldarica Pine or an Aleppo Pine.

Edit: She said they were 4 to 5 years old. Also if this is abnormal, any way to keep the spruce-like look on these?




Wow! It looks like graft on the first pic :slight_smile:
This is how is my seedling turning to adulthood but it might be true it depends on species. Would do a research on it.

You made me curious and I found this Italian stone pine when googled ab juvenile turning mature.
Also I read some time ago if you keep prunning regularly older branches you can keep it sprucey looking like as all new shoots will have juvenile foliage. Again I would do further research on this esp per specie and whether this would work while developing primary/secondary branching as they turn to mature in 3rd to 5th year.

I found this on new world encyclopedia:

" Foliage

Pines have four types of leaves. Seedlings begin with a whorl of 4-20 seed leaves (cotyledons), followed immediately by juvenile leaves on young plants, two to six centimeters (one to two inches) long, single, green or often blue-green, and arranged spirally on the shoot. These are replaced after six months to five years by scale leaves , similar to bud scales, small, brown and non-photosynthetic and are arranged like the juvenile leaves. The adult leaves or needles are green, bundled in clusters ( fascicles ) of (one to six) needles together, each fascicle produced from a small bud on a dwarf shoot in the axil of a scale leaf. These bud scales often remain on the fascicle as a basal sheath. The needles persist for between one and 40 years, depending on species. If a shoot is damaged (e.g. eaten by an animal), the needle fascicles just below the damage will generate a bud, which can then replace the lost growth."

I guess it’ll eventually change?

What is weird to me is that the top was the first to change to mature. If age is the factor it seems like the lower branches that have been there longer would be the first to change, but maybe being the most photosynthetic has something to do with it. Any clarification @ryan could give?