How To Prepare & Preserve Pine Cones

Gathering your own pine cones in the Fall is a great way to save some money on Christmas crafts, plus the activity outdoors gives you a little exercise and fresh air while collecting them. You’ve got a nice basketful ready to go, now what to do with them all?

If hoping to use these found treasures for DIY projects like pinecone wreaths and ornaments, you first need to prepare the little guys so they’ll be fully dried, de-sapped and de-bugged.

The last thing you want is a little critter crawling out of a handmade gift ornament!

Although you can purchase new pine cones online (cleaned and ready to use) or at the local craft store, the process isn’t difficult to do yourself and large amounts can be prepped at once (so feel free to collect all you want).

No special items are needed which keeps the costs minimal but you will want to prep them a few days ahead of time to ensure they’re able to fully dry before being used (especially important if sealing with a varnish or spray so they are preserved).

I’ve listed step-by-step instructions below to help get you to the fun stuff in no time. You’ll also find a few quick tips and resources added at the bottom of the page. Have fun!

How To Prepare, Clean & Preserve Pine Cones

Wearing rubber gloves while handling the cones during whichever process you go with is a good idea. This will protect your hands from getting grubby and sticky (which can be quite a feat to get rid of…tips for this at the bottom of the page).

Brushing dirty parts first to get rid of surface debris is beneficial. If you have an old paintbrush on hand (at least 1″ wide), it will come in useful here. Otherwise a regular small bristle brush will do the trick nicely.

Drying & Opening

Also known as “baking pine cones”, this technique is ideal for getting rid of all things seen and unseen. Although a curing period is still advised, they are ready sooner for crafting than the water soaking method (which is listed next).

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 200°F.
  • If they are especially “gunky”, crank the heat up to 230°F – 250°F.
• Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spread the cones across the top in a single layer without being too close to each other.
  • Allow some space between each piece so there’s good air flow.
  • If preferred, parchment paper could be used instead.
• Place in the oven for 30 minutes (middle rack) or until the scales are fully opened and the sap has melted.
  • Sometimes they stubbornly stay closed and may take an hour or two to open.
  • Do not leave the oven unsupervised during this time, be alert for smoke or fire.
• Remove from heat, let them cool and rest a couple days before cutting or using in projects.

This drying process will kill any bugs and melt the sap due to the heat. There will be a natural sheen or gloss from the melted sap which can be really quite lovely.

Washing Method

Instead of oven drying, you could wash them. This is the way to go if you can’t hang around in the kitchen waiting while they bake in the oven.

Here’s how to clean them:

• Wash the pine cones in a sink full of very warm water with 1/2 cup to 1 cup of vinegar.
  • Alternatively, a large 5 gallon bucket can be used.
• Let them soak 20 to 30 minutes to ensure all the sap has been lifted and cleaned off.
  • To keep them fully submerged, use a heavy plate or lid to hold them down in the water.
  • Agitating the water about every 10 minutes will help loosen grit.
  • This washing process will debug the pieces as well.
• Next, prepare the workspace by laying down two or three layers of newspapers, this is where the cones will be left to dry.
• After soaking, rinse well in fresh water then lay them on the newspapers in a single layer. Allow to dry for 3 or 4 days.
• Each day sweep the pile with your hands then arrange in a single layer again.
  • This will move them around a bit so there’s no stubborn wet spots hiding.

They should be fully opened once completely dried. There will be no sheen to these since the sap has been washed away rather than melted into the cones.

How To Bleach Them White

Sometimes you may want some bleached pine cones for a home decoration or ornament arrangement, this is super easy to achieve! Here’s how:

• Mix a 50/50 batch of water and chlorine bleach in a plastic bucket.
  • The amount depends on how much you need, just make enough to fully submerge the cones by an inch or so.
• Soak them in the bleach solution for 8 to 9 hours.
• Remove from pail, rinse off in fresh water then lay them out in a single layer to dry in the sun.

This bleaching technique will also effectively kill any bugs present.

Preservation Steps

The best way to keep a pine cone in good condition for years is to give it a finishing spray that seals its surface. This is done before they are arranged in a craft piece.

• After they have been fully dried, de-bugged and opened, apply an even coat of clear acrylic spray, polyurethane or spray varnish.
• One coat is sufficient and a heavy application isn’t necessary, but make sure the piece is fully and evenly covered (don’t miss the bottom).

More Quick Tips

• Did You Know: The job of the scales is to stay closed during cooler weather to protect the seeds and then open up to release the seeds during hot weather (when they have a better chance to germinate). That’s why the oven method works so well opening them up.
• If the plan is to use them for outdoor projects such as bird feeders and firestarters, cleaning or prepping first isn’t necessary.
• When making homemade potpourri, clean them well but not preserving with any type of spray.
• If you have more pine cones on hand than you know what to do with, here’s a collection of 30+ Creative Crafts & Holiday Decor Projects that you’ll want to check out, lots to love and plenty of great ideas to make!
• Sticky, sappy hands after all the work you’ve done? Tips generously shared by readers below: Mayonnaise, vegetable oil or hand sanitizer will clean that up in a jiffy.