Colored pine cones add sparkle to holiday

By By Steve Strong / area horticulture extension service agent
Dec. 24, 2003
Home is where the hearth is. The fireplace is a center of attention and affection for many homes during the winter, and the very word "hearth" stems from an Old English word symbolizing the vital or creative center of a home.
Humans were fascinated with fire long before ancient cultures learned how to harness it, and only in the past millennia have folks learned how to have fun with it.
Fireworks were invented around 1200 A.D. during the Sung Dynasty in China, and have become as much of a holiday tradition as singing carols, roasting marshmallows or warming frostbitten toes in the glow of coals.
One different and fun way to have fun by the hearth or campfire this winter is making your own sparkle-colored flaming pine cones to toss on the flames. NOTE: Making colored pine cones involves the mixing of several chemical compounds, and should be perfectly safe when handled the right way however, mixing chemicals and burning pine cones should be supervised by an adult.
Colors in flame are caused by the oxidation or burning of certain combined gases, metals and other natural compounds. Specific colors are given off by certain elements, like copper sulfate for blue and potassium nitrate or sodium chloride (table salt) for yellow. Different kinds of wood in fires may also display different hues.
To make colored cones, simply collect a batch of this year's crop from nearby pines, making sure to use the ones that are completely opened for best results. Be careful walking in the woods during hunting season!
Use a bucket to mix solutions of coloring pigments. A good rate to begin with is about 1 ounce of chemical dissolved in 1 quart of hot water. More can be added until the solution is saturated, although the cost rises with the more you use. The leftover solution can be reused till it's gone.
Simply soak the cones in the solution overnight, or longer. It may be necessary to weigh them down in the bucket with something like bricks to make sure they stay soaked. A small amount of alcohol may be added to the solution to help bind the compounds.
The cones should be allowed to dry thoroughly before burning. Cones may also be dipped into melted (wax) paraffin found in grocery stores to turn them into excellent fire starters. Small sprinkles of the solid coloring compounds can also be dusted onto the surface of the wax before it completely dries.
Orange color can be produced by using calcium chloride (same as the blossom-end rot product used on tomatoes), or emerald green from copper nitrate, or red from strontium nitrate. Zinc chloride and lithium chloride are also used to produce blue-greens and purples.
Many of the coloring compounds can be found in the fertilizer section at garden centers, while others may be available only through chemical suppliers. Visit the Web site for American Fireworks News, www.fireworksnews.com, or other resource for more information about this safe and fun activity for the winter months.
Another recipe using the same coloring solution is mentioned for sawdust. Simply soak the sawdust in the solution, then spread onto wet newspaper to dry. Package about 2 tablespoons of the mix in 6×6 inch (or larger) pieces of decorative gift wrap, folded up at the corners and tied to form a small sack.
Please do not try adding ammonium nitrate, gunpowder or other products from packaged fireworks into these home concoctions. The results could be deadly.
Have a safe, fun and colorful holiday season!