The Thousand-Year Seeds
Creating old-growth from old-growth
Wouldn’t it be cool to create seeds with a thousand years of history already inside them?
To make that possible, both parent trees would need to be old-growth — each at least a thousand years in the making. And that's what we're going to do.
For the last few years, I’ve been locating the largest, oldest Western Red Cedar (Thuja plicata) trees still standing in the forests of Lynn Valley. They are remote and difficult to access. Some have stood for over a millennium. I’ve taken cuttings from a select group of the most remarkable trees and successfully rooted them. These rooted cuttings aren’t seedlings or descendants — they’re clones. Genetically identical to the originals. Living extensions of the same trees.
That was step one.
This next project builds on that work, and planning begins now. Next year, when the male cones appear on the clone trees, I’ll collect pollen and begin the process of hand-pollinating female cones. The idea is to pollinate female cones on other old-growth clones and, in doing so, create seeds that are the product of two ancient trees. That’s the project. Old-growth genetics on both sides. A new generation that carries centuries of adaptation and resilience inside its shell.
Precautions will be necessary. Western Red Cedars (Thuja plicata) are wind-pollinated. That means I have to isolate the cones I’m pollinating to avoid contamination from nearby forest pollen. I'll need to use mesh pollination bags. Also: the timing. Female cones are only receptive for a short window, and I missed it this year.
But that’s fine. I’ve gained a full season to prepare.
Next spring, I’ll bag the cones early. I’ll collect pollen from the male cones on clones like Pillar of the Mountain, Wicked, and The Jesus Tree. I’ll match each pollen donor with a specific female host tree, apply the pollen by hand, and seal the cones again. Then I wait. If all goes well, I’ll collect mature cones in late summer or fall, and inside them: seeds. Real seeds. From two trees that are each estimated to be over a thousand years old.
It might take me a couple of years to get the timing right, but when I'm done those seeds will germinate into the first generation of trees created entirely from ancient parents (as far as I'm aware, anyway).
Important Dates
These seasonal markers are based on local climate conditions where I live:
Late March to Mid-April — Male pollen cones begin to mature and shed pollen
Mid-April to Early May — Female cones become receptive (bag before this)
Early May to Mid-May — Ideal hand-pollination window
Late May to August — Cone development and seed formation (leave cones bagged or tagged)
Late August to October — Mature cones can be harvested for seed collection
Timing can shift depending on the weather each year, but this gives me a clear planning window for 2026.
I’ll share more when there’s more to share.