Pinus pumila - Dwarf Stone Pine

• BOTANICAL NAME: Pinus pumila
• PRONUNCIATION: (PI-nus  PUM-ill-a)
• COMMON NAME: Dwarf Stone Pine
• FAMILY: Pinaceae (Pine Family)
• NATIVITY: East Asia.
• GROWTH HABIT: Low, shrubby plant with a more or less prostrate growth habit. Highly variable.
• SIZE: Variable, from 1’ to 9’ tall at maturity. Very slow-growing.
• HARDINESS: Zone 5 to 8.
• CULTURE: Full sun and well-drained soils. Grows at high elevation in its native habitat and thus appears to be tolerant of winter winds.
• LANDSCAPE USE: Small evergreen shrub probably for specimen use due to its unpredictable growth. Good conifer to use as specimen in a rock-garden. A must for the dwarf conifer fanatic!
• FOLIAGE: Needles are 1½” to 3” long in fives. The needles are densely arranged on the stem and more or less appressed to the stem. Leaves are typically a blue-green color.
• BUDS: Cylindrical, about ½” long, red-brown in color. Bud scales are lanceolate and resinous
• BARK: New stems are greenish in color becoming gray brown in second year.
• CONE: Cones held in groups. Individual cones are 1” to 2” long. Young cones are purple-violet but mature to a reddish to yellow brown.
• PROPAGATION: Seed.
• PESTS: None serious.