Question
Hello! Mr.Hyland, I have a couple questions for you. I live in Southern California in the city of Pinon Hills Ca. I am about ten minutes away from Wrightwood(also the mountains) Is it Illegal to take baby pine trees from the mountains and plant them in my yard? Also lets say I aquire some pine tree seeds, how long would it take for the pine tree seeds to germinate? Thank you for your time Sir.

Answer
In most states it is illegal to dig trees from or enter lands of another without permission. I would say in Calif. that would also be the case. You can check with the local office of the Cali. Forestry agency and ask one of their Foresters. OR just call the landowner and ask permission to dig up some of the trees. I am sure they would be ok with that.
If you do move some trees here is the method that works best:

Evergreen trees may be planted either in the spring or the fall. Deciduous plants may be moved in the spring as soon as the frost is out of the ground, up until the time when new foliage is partly unfurled. In the fall, they may be planted once the leaves start to turn colour up until the ground freezes. Evergreens should be moved earlier in the fall than deciduous plants so they have time to form new roots. They need at least 6 weeks before the ground freezes. In the spring, Evergreens can be planted up to 4 weeks after deciduous trees have opened their leaves, providing that the newly planted trees receive adequate water.

When you want to dig up a tree or shrub for transplanting, retain as much of the root system as possible. Deciduous trees that are only 3-4 years old may be moved with their roots bare.

All ages of evergreens, can be successfully moved only if a ball of soil is left around the roots. The exposed roots should be protected with moist burlap or newspaper or with polyethylene sheeting. Every effort should be made to reduce root exposure to wind and sun, keeping the ball as moist as possible. It's best to prepare the hole before digging up the tree you wish to move.

Size of the root ball and size of the hole:

For deciduous trees and shrubs the soil ball should be:

Width = 9-12 in. in diameter/every 1 in. of tree diameter
Depth = 6 in./every 1 in. of tree diameter

For example: A tree trunk 2 inches wide would need a soil ball of 18-24 inches wide and 12 inches deep.

When you dig the new holes make them twice the size of the rootball and as deep and fill with top soil and mulch around the tree with not more than 3 inches deep of organic mulch (pine straw) not piled up on the trunk.

Growing from seed--some seed are not viable so you may need a few to get many trees. The general germination rate is about 75-80%.
Get a tray that is suitable to plant your pine cone seeds in and fill it with a good seed starter soil. Then take the pine cone seeds you have gathered and polk the seeds into the soil so they are about an inch apart. Water the seeds well and cover the tray with some plastic so the seeds stay moist. Keep the tray of pine cone seeds in a warm preferably sunny spot. Keep the seeds moist until the seeds spout into little plants. Then you can take the plastic off of the tray and make sure the tray is in a sunny location. Keep the little pine tree seedlings watered.

After the seedlings are about an inch or two high you can transfer them into a pot of there own. Use good potting soil for the pine trees and gently transfer them into their own pot. At this point you can give these little pine tree seedlings to friends and relatives or you can continue to care for them until they are big enough to plant outside. They should be between six inches tall to a foot tall before they are planted outside. After they are planted outside they will need the weeds cut around them for a few years until they can take off on their own. When the pine trees grow to be taller then the weeds around them then they can pretty much take care of themselves.