ASK THE TREE DOCTOR.

Please welcome our new volunteer Tree Doctor, Howard Burnett. A 31-year veteran of the U.S. Forest Service, Burnett served in the National Forest System area and in State and Private Forestry. After retiring in 1986, he worked part-time for AMERICAN FORESTS, the National Association of State Foresters, and the Conservation Communications Association. Burnett joins our own crack Tree Doctor Cheryl Kollin, director of the Urban Forest Center, and other AMERICAN FORESTS staff.

Q: I have some seeds off a cedar tree cone. I'd like to turn them into seedlings and then plant them. How do I get the little seeds to start growing? Do they need to be cooked or frozen first? Does the brown part of the seed need to be peeled off or does a squirrel have to eat them?

Ben and Gail Carlson, via e-mail

A: You have seeds from a cedar (genus cedrus), which is not native to the United States but has been planted ornamentally. USDA Handbook No. 450, Seeds of Woody Plants in the United States, warns that cedrus seed has a fairly high percentage of non-viable seed, about half, so don't get too discouraged. Try drying the seeds, and de-wing them. Put them in a jar in your refrigerator for two weeks to hasten germination. Cedrus seed can be sown in the fall or spring. After taking the seeds from the refrigerator, soak in room temperature water for two to three hours, then plant about 1/4 inch deep. Mulch the seedbed or otherwise keep them from freezing/thawing cycles, and keep moist. In a warm area you may get germination quite soon; in colder climes, it may be next spring. After germination, protect from freezing. Again, be aware that germination percentages as low as 9 percent have been recorded at test nurseries, although some batches reached 80 percent. Check your local garden shop for advice on nursery plants.

Q: I live in an area where trees are being cleared for new housing tracts. I am writing the city council to express my concerns. Can you provide me with an example of a tree removal and renewal policy I could share with them?

J. Hammer, via e-mail

A: Many communities have tree removal policies, so no one standard exists. The International Society of Arboriculture helps communities write their own ordinances: www.isa-arbor.com/treeord/ordintro.htm. Also a new ordinance from Lexington, Kentucky, at www.lfucg.com, deals with preserving percentage tree canopy rather than exchanging planted for cut trees.