BLACK PINE AT A GLANCE COMMON NAME: Japanese
black pine
SPECIES: Pinus
(py'nus, old Latin name for pine (thumbergiana (thun-ber-gee-a'na, named for C.P.
thunberg)
FORM: shrubby
irregular, dense, wide-spreading branhces in artistic manner. Large terminal - tip end -
buds.
SIZE: 25 feet
wide; 15-25 feet or more tall. Sbw to moderate growth rate.
EXPOSURE: Sun.
FOLIAGE: Dark,
bright green; needles in clusters of two, 3-5 inches long, stiff, pointed and sharp.
Produces long, silky white candlelike buds in early spring.
FRUIT: 2-3
inch-long brown cones.
CULTURE:
Tolerates most soils. Needs little fertilizer or water. Transplants easily.
USES: Tolerates
salt, helps stabilize sand dunes and seashore erosion; use in rows
Bordering
driveways, property lines and especially as screening, privacy plants placed 4-6 feet
apart.
Also makes nice
specimen or bonsai plant, pruned and trained to grow as you like. Makes nice groupings.
PRUNING: For
shaping.
PROBLEMS:
Pinewood nematode, which affects the vascular system of the tree; nematode transmitted
through saliva of long-horn beetle; infected trees brown up and die within two weeks of
contamination, says Roger Huff, arborist for city of Virginia Beach.
ALTERNATIVE:
Austrian pine; height 20-40 feet, 12-20 feet spread. Picturesque with age; easily
transplanted. Needs sun, good drainage, medium moisture, medium fertility. Fairly tolerant
of seashore conditions.
Sources:
Landscape Plants of the Southeast.- McDonald Garden Center, Dirr's Hardy Trees and Shrubs |