Does anyone know how to make pine cones "open" more once they fall off the tree?  We had a huge storm eariler in the week and the neighbor's tree dropped TONS of pinecones.  However they are either completely closed or barely starting to open.  Is there a way to make them open up more?  I thought that somewhere I heard you could bake them or expose them to heat, but curious if anyone has done this.  Thanks!

when they are open you can use them as fire starters I use to do that I think you let them sit in a dark place for awhile hmmm kinda want to know myself to get those babies open when you have them near fire or heat not to close mom says they spark from the seeds in them the sound is like microwave popcorn.

mommatothree:

I thought that somewhere I heard you could bake them or expose them to heat, but curious if anyone has done this. 

Yes, you can heat them & it will make them open.  HOWEVER, it may also melt the pine gum on them & start a fire, SOOOO -

1) Line a cookie sheet with foil (pine gum is hard to remove)

2) Put them in a warm place ( like on top of the fridge, or in from of a heating vent) & leave them there for a couple of days.  

3) If you can't wait for a couple of days, then put them on the lined cookie sheet in a WARM oven, not a hot one, for a couple of hours. They will dry out a little in the process & the whole house will smell of pine cones. ( good if you like, bad if you are allergic)

 If you cannot find open pine cones. Place some in a 200 
degree oven on a cookie sheet. They will open as they dry. z

From:  http://www.amazingmoms.com/htm/christmas_crafts__1.htm

I dont know how to open them, but I do love the smell of pine...anywho i made mini- christmas trees with closed pinecones one year (storm made them fall here too), it was easier than open ones with my little brothers at that age...fire starters are another good use for them

Thanks for the replies.  I think I'll try and put them on a sheet under my dryer vent and if that doesn't work then maybe I'll try baking them in a low oven.  I hope it works!

I open my pine cones in the microwave.  You can watch them open and can take out the ones that are ready and keep putting more in.  It works like a charm and my kids can do it to save me time while I craft.