There are some advantages to living on the East Coast. Namely, trees. Had I wanted pinecones in San Diego, my choices were to either drive an hour out of town to collect them au natural or spend $5/bag to purchase some at a craft store. Here, I just walk to the grove of trees at the end of my street and take what I want. And of course I have my little helper spot the winners.
You may think a quick brush off and they’re good to go, but I would highly recommend a thorough cleaning if you plan to use them in your home. Let’s just say that what appeared to be fairly clean pinecones were actually harboring two baby crickets, several tiny spiders and a hand full of worm thingys. Gross.
Begin by filling a bowl or sink with warm water and a cup of white vinegar. Soak the pinecones for 30 minutes.
Rinse off and let them air dry in the sun if you can. I also cleaned some funky seed pods we found this way.
You’ll notice that even the pinecones that were full when you collected them will close up. This is because moisture and cool air causes the scales to contract.
If you want them closed, then you’re golden. But if not, line a cookie sheet with tin foil and space them out. The tin foil is important because you don’t want any leaking sap to ruin your pan.
Bake the pinecones at 200° for an hour. This removes the moisture and pulls the scales back open. It also kills anything that may have survived the vinegar bath!
If after an hour they aren’t totally open, don’t fret. Take them out and allow them to dry at room temp for a day or so. They will eventually become full, lovely pinecones ready for you to glitter, glue or do with as you please!
I made made some pinecone roses and painted them. They closed up. Can i heat them to make them open up? I painted them with acrylic paint. Thanks Jan
Hi Jan. I honestly have never tried heating pine cones after they’re painted. Certainly wouldn’t hurt to try. Just be sure you line your pan with tin foil and keep a close eye on them. If you’re patient, and the ambient air isn’t too humid, they should eventually open up even without additional heating once they dry thoroughly on their own.
Those funky little seed pods are from a Sweet Gum tree. Haha,
Sweet Gum balls are the Legos of Nature/Woods, Haha.
Living w/ one in our front yard while growing up taught us real fast to put our shoes on! Hahahahahhaha
I’m in NC, born & raised, and you are so right about the multitudes of Pine Trees! It IS so nice to have all the Pine cones you’d ever want, right outside your door! I went out today and got a bag full (reason I am looking for ways to clean them, haha) and when I was walking through the yard, I was looking at ALL the Sweet Gum balls that are covering our yard (what we call them here) thinking about ways I could use them in some kind of crafts. To be sure they’d look good in something??
Thank you for this post!! I am gonna try your method either tonight or in the morning!! ☺️
*Here’s a tip I meant to include w/ my comment. If you’ve got any dips or holes in your yard or driveway, Sweet Gum balls work awesome!!!
My concern with placing them in the oven after being cleaned is the possibility that a creepy-crawly escapes. The process is also to kill whatever else may be inside of the cones. I fear it getting in my oven or Gid forbid several running out
God forbid ( I meant)
I found that thoroughly washing them and allowing them to soak brought out all of the creepers. In my experience I didn’t have any dead crawlers or anything on my oven pan. That would be gross though!