Posted by Gail Struble on September 26, 2005

Q: I have several crafts using pine cones. Is it possible to dry the cones in the oven? They are all open and have alot of pitch. How long does it take using a hair dryer? I live in Pennsylvania.

A: I see no reason why you can't dry cones in the oven as long as the temp is kept low enough so you don't scorch them. I'm assuming that you're using "mature" cones for this? Immature cones will be much harder to dry out. It takes 2 years for pine cones to mature - from flower to seed - and after the first year, the cones will be greenish, not brown. Do keep in mind that as the cones dry out, they'll open (the bracts or scales will curl back and allow the seeds to fall out). I'm not sure there is any way to avoid this. I wouldn't use a hair dryer as that will take forever, I should think. If you have a wood stove, I'd put my cones near that and in a few days, the cones should be reasonably dry. It's really hard to get the pitch dry enough not to be sticky so you may have a bit of stickiness no matter how long you dry the cones.

Oh, one more thing; you called these "pine cones" so I gave you info for pines. Don't confuse pines with spruces! Spruce cones mature in one year and are usually smaller in size. In Pennsylvania, the most common pine is the White Pine so you may want to google it and see exactly what their cones look like for a certain ID. Hope this helps. Good luck with your crafts.

John Wiessinger ( September 26, 2005)