Thursday, November 21, 2013

Japanese White Pine, Featured Plant of The Day


Pinus parviflora 'Brevifolia'
Japanese White Pine

Type    Tree, woody plant
Hardy range    4B to 7A
Height    25' to 50' / 7.60m to 15.20m
Spread    25' to 35' / 7.60m to 10.60m
Growth rate    Slow
Form    Columnar and pyramidal
Exposure    Full sun
Persistence    Evergreen

Bloom Color    Yellow
Bloom Time    Spring

Environment
This plant tolerates some drought and salt well.
This plant will grow in dry soil.
Suitable soil is well-drained/loamy, sandy or clay.
The pH preference is an acidic to neutral (less than 6.8 to 7.2) soil.

Leaf Color    Blue and green
Fall Color    No change in fall color
This plant has attractive foliage.

Culture Notes
Japanese White Pine should be grown in full sun on well-drained soil with adequate moisture. This makes a nice, small picturesque pine tree especially well suited for small spaces and residential landscapes. Needles in fascicles of 5.  If trees must be pruned in the western US, do it October through January to help avoid infestation from pitch moths.

Maintain adequate mulch area

Be sure to clear all turf away from beneath the branches and mulch to the drip line (the edge of the branches), especially on young trees, to reduce competition with turf and weeds.  This will allow roots to become well established and keep plants healthier.  Locate the tree properly, taking into account the ultimate size, since the tree looks best if it is not pruned to control size.  The tree can enhance any landscape with its delightful spring flush of foliage.  It can be the centerpiece of your landscape if properly located.

Like most pines, trees best recover from transplanting when moved balled and burlapped, not bare-root. They also grow fine when planted from containers provided plants are not root bound.

Planting and establishing shrubs

The most common cause of young plant failure is planting too deep.  Plant the root ball no deeper than it was in the nursery.  In most instances, the root flare zone (point where the top-most root in the root ball originates from the trunk) should be located just above the landscape soil surface. Sometimes plants come from the nursery with soil over the root flare. If there is soil over this area, scrape it off.  The planting hole should be at least twice the width of the root ball, preferably wider.  In all but exceptional circumstances where the soil is very poor, there is no need to incorporate anything into the backfill soil except the loosened soil that came out of the planting hole.  Never place ANY soil over the root ball. If a row or grouping of plants is to be installed, excavating or loosening the soil in the entire bed and incorporating organic matter enhances root growth and establishment rate.

Weed suppression during establishment is essential.  Apply a 3-inch thick layer of mulch around the plant to help control weed growth.  Keep it at least 10 inches from the trunk.  If you apply it over the root ball, apply only a one or two inch layer.   This allows rainwater and air to easily enter the root ball and keeps the trunk dry.  Placing mulch against the trunk or applying too thick a layer above the root ball can kill the plant by oxygen starvation, death of bark, stem and root diseases, prevention of hardening off for winter, vole and other rodent damage to the trunk, keeping soil too wet, or repelling water.  Regular irrigation through the first growing season after planting encourages rapid root growth, which is essential for quick plant establishment.

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