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Pine trees have always attracted people with their non-standard appearance and forest aromas. But most of them do not tolerate urban conditions well, and in household plots they turn out to be too powerful or light-loving. Weymouth pine is one of the most resistant among its counterparts to gases and smoke. Compared to the more familiar Scots pine, it is not so demanding on lighting. In addition, it has many dwarf forms that are quite suitable for growing even in a small area. In the article you can find not only a description and care for the Weymouth pine, but also its most interesting types and varieties with photos.
Description of the Weymouth pine
In Latin, this tree is referred to as Pinusstrobus, which literally means “pine with cones.” And its name comes from the name of Lord Weymouth, who was the first to bring such a tree from America to Europe for planting on his estate at the beginning of the 1793th century. Weymouth pine first came to Our Country in XNUMX and took root perfectly in the climate of the Leningrad region. One of the names that is used for its name in Our Country is the white oriental pine.
In its homeland, in North America, it can reach a height of up to 60-70 m, and the average crown diameter is 1,5 m. The trunk thickness is up to 50-60 cm. The tree has a long lifespan, up to 400 years or more. .
In young trees, the crown usually has a regular shape, cone-shaped or spherical, depending on the species and variety. With age, the pine becomes more spreading and takes on any shape of the crown, depending on the level of illumination and growing conditions.
Until the age of 30, pine bark is smooth and has a light, grayish tint. Then it darkens and takes on a rougher appearance with grooves and cracks. Young shoots are brown-green, sometimes with a reddish tint. Often they have a barely noticeable whitish pubescence. Perhaps, thanks to its presence, the Weymouth pine got its second name – white.
Small little resinous buds up to 5-7 mm long have a pointed ovoid-cylindrical shape. Thin and graceful needles are collected in bunches of 5 pieces. Their length can reach up to 10 cm. However, there are pine varieties with rather short and weighty needles. Its color can vary from gray-green to bluish. There are varieties with golden and silver needles, some varieties are able to change the color of the needles during the season.
Male cones of Weymouth pine are yellow, no more than 12-15 mm long. Female – ripen every two years, have a narrow cylindrical shape and reach 18-20 cm in length. Often they have a curved shape and hang in clusters of 2-8 pieces on fairly long petioles.
The seeds are small (5-6 mm), oval, red-brown, easily separated from the lighter wing. Fruiting in trees begins when they reach 20-25 years of age.
Weymouth pine, especially its natural varieties, has the highest growth rate of all conifers. Only larch is ahead of it in this respect. During the year, the shoots of some varieties can grow by 20-40 cm. The trees are also characterized by good winter hardiness, they can be grown throughout Our Country except for the northeastern regions. They also have good resistance to strong winds and snowfalls.
These pines feel good on various types of soils; they unsatisfactorily take root only on saline and highly calcareous lands.
Since at home, in North America, weymouth pine rarely grows alone, it is successfully combined in plantings with lindens, oaks, beeches, maples, hemlocks, fir, larch and spruce.
Weymouth pine varieties
According to the shape of the crown, varieties of Weymouth pine are divided into pyramidal, weeping, bushy, umbrella, creeping. According to the color of the needles, golden, silver, blue and variegated varieties are distinguished. A variety of dwarf varieties of Weymouth pine are very popular:
- Blue Shag;
- Brevifolia;
- dense;
- Makopin;
- Minima;
- Prostrated;
- Line up;
Auria
The main feature of this pine variety is the golden color of the needles, which is especially clearly seen on young shoots. The bark on them also has a yellow tint.
The rest of the trees are not much different from the natural species.
Blue Sheg
This variety is a representative of the blue varieties of Weymouth pine, otherwise known as “glauca”. The needles may have a bluish tint or light green with a silver stripe below. Blue Sheg is classified as a dwarf variety, since the height of the pine does not exceed 1,8 m. At the same time, the crown width in adulthood can also reach 1,2-1,6 m. Despite its small size, this pine grows quite quickly – in a year growth can be up to 3-4 cm.
It grows well in the sun, but is considered a fairly shade-tolerant form. It is not at all demanding on soils, but does not tolerate arid climatic conditions. But the Blue Sheg pine perfectly survives almost any frost. Possesses low resistance to blister rust.
Makopin
A somewhat similar variety, which is also referred to as blue pines, due to the corresponding color of the needles. It does not exceed 1,5 m in height and has an almost perfectly regular spherical crown shape. The branches grow densely, the annual growth rate reaches 7-8 cm.
This variety is very decorated with numerous winding cones, up to 18-20 cm long. When young, they are green, turning brown in adulthood. The needles are soft, long and thin, densely spaced.
Pine easily withstands shady conditions and poor soils, but does not tolerate either stagnant moisture or drying out of the soil.
The minimum
This unique variety is sometimes called Minimus. One of the shortest representatives of dwarf weymouth pines. In height, evergreen bushes barely reach 0,8 m. Moreover, in a horizontal plane they can grow up to 1,5 m.
For many sites, this variety will become a real lifesaver. Moreover, the color of the needles of these dwarf bushes is able to change its color throughout the season. At first, in the spring, it is green with a slight lemon tint, and by the end of summer it acquires a light turquoise bloom. The needles are very thin, but they are stiff and have a much shorter length than the standard type, about 25 mm.
The variety tolerates winter frosts well, but does not tolerate gas pollution, smoke and general air pollution. In addition, the Minima variety is prone to rust infection and spring burning of needles.
Pine is ideal for Japanese-style heather or rock gardens, as well as retaining walls and small slopes.
Pendulum
This variety is a classic representative of weeping varieties of Weymouth pine. The trees are distinguished by shoots of an unusual arched shape, which, being at different distances from each other, are able to wriggle intricately, forming an unusual crown that often touches the ground.
Trees can reach a height of two meters, while the growth rate is significant – up to 20 cm per year. After planting a Pendula seedling, after a few years you can admire the exquisite weeping forms of this Weymouth pine.
The needles can have both silver and bluish hues. In width, the crown always extends much further than in height. Pendula has an increased demand for sunlight, does not feel well in partial shade. The buds may develop a purple or grayish tint.
The variety is frost-resistant, but does not tolerate arid conditions well.
Fastigiata
This is one of the most unpretentious varieties of Weymouth pine. It is able to grow in almost any conditions, withstands frost, strong winds, shady conditions and air pollution.
Pine grows quickly, 15-20 cm per year. Young trees retain at first a shrubby spherical shape, but then they stretch in a strictly vertical direction and form a column-shaped shape. Mature trees reach 15 m in height and 2 m in width. The needles may be slightly twisted.
How to grow weymouth pine from seeds
Growing Weymouth pine from seed is the cheapest and easiest way to get plenty of planting material for this plant. On average, about 52% of the seeds are viable.
True, this method of reproduction is hardly suitable for varietal forms, since the probability of preserving their characteristics is not very high. But growing the main type of Weymouth pine is quite easy.
Since the embryos in pine seeds are in a dormant state, exposure to low temperatures is necessary to awaken them. To do this, before spring sowing, the seeds are stratified. The operation consists in mixing the seeds with a small amount of wet sand and keeping them in this form at a temperature of +2-4 ° C for about 4-5 months.
In the spring, stratified seeds give fairly friendly seedlings. For this:
- Seeds are washed in cold water and slightly dried.
- Prepare a mixture of leafy soil, sand and peat in a ratio (3:1:1).
- The seeds are placed in the prepared soil mixture to a depth of 1,5-2 cm.
- When crops are kept at a temperature of + 18-21 ° C, seedlings can sprout within a period of 2 weeks to 1,5 months.
- It is best to transplant grown sprouts into open ground in the fall or even in the spring of the next year, if there is a bright, frost-free room where they can overwinter without problems.
Planting and caring for Weymouth pine
If there is not much land near the house and there is no time to mess around with seeds, then the easiest way is to buy a ready-made pine seedling of this species in the nursery. With proper care, it will soon turn into a beautiful tree or a globular shrub that can decorate any site.
Seedling and planting preparation
A young Weymouth pine plant is best planted as soon as possible after purchase. For planting, it is desirable to purchase trees with a closed root system growing in containers. However, it is also possible to use seedlings for planting, the root ball of which is wrapped with a damp cloth. The main thing is that the roots are kept moist all the time, and the needles have an intense color of the shade that is inherent in the selected variety.
There should not be constant stagnant water in the selected area – this can destroy a young tree. Some varieties of Weymouth pine can be planted in open areas without shading, others can grow and develop well in partial shade. Soils can be almost any, but still trees develop better and get sick less on fertilized soils. It is desirable that the soil reaction be slightly acidic or neutral.
Rules of landing
When planting, the root neck of a pine seedling should be flush with the soil surface. It is unacceptable to deepen it or leave it above ground level.
Before planting, the pit is shed with 10 liters of water with some addition of peat, humus and wood ash. It is better not to use chemical fertilizers – they can burn the roots of a young tree.
Watering and top dressing
Even mature Weymouth pine trees of some varieties do not tolerate drought well. And young seedlings in the first year or two of life necessarily require regular watering. In hot summers, the soil should not dry out at a depth of about 30-50 cm. It is especially important to thoroughly shed the ground under the seedlings in the fall, before wintering. Each tree requires about 10-15 liters of water.
In order for the tree to wake up safely in the spring, it is also watered, especially if there is little rain during this period.
It is advisable to feed the Weymouth pine only a year after planting and use special complex fertilizers for conifers for this. After 4-5 years, the trees no longer need special feeding. It is much more important to control the optimal soil moisture in the summer.
Mulching and loosening
Soil moisture is much easier to maintain at the proper level if, from the very moment of planting, the ground around the seedling is mulched with any suitable organic material: peat, wood chips or bark, sawdust, crushed leaf humus. The thickness of the mulch layer should be at least 10-12 cm.
If in the summer it will be necessary to loosen the soil, and the mulch will mix with the ground, then in the fall it will be necessary to add mulching material under the tree. Since it also serves as a source of additional nutrition for the tree and smoothes out temperature differences at the soil level.
Trimming
The usual strong pruning is not applied to the Weymouth pine. If you want to influence the formation of the crown, then in the summer you can shorten the young shoots by 5-10 cm, and in the spring gently break out part of the growth buds.
Preparation for winter
Weymouth pine trees endure winter frosts very well. They suffer much more from sunburn in late winter and early spring. This is especially true for young trees, under the age of 5 years. Therefore, it is customary to cover them with burlap or white non-woven material. In April, after the snow melts, the covering material is removed.
Reproduction of Weymouth pine
Most often, weymouth pine is propagated by seeds and grafts. Cuttings are theoretically also possible, but the survival rate of cuttings is very low. With mandatory treatment with special rooting materials, up to 80% of plants can be preserved.
Grafting Weymouth pine is propagated by professionals and is the only way to get new plants from decorative varietal forms.
Therefore, propagation by seeds is the easiest and most affordable way to get many young pine seedlings almost for free.
Pests and diseases of Weymouth pine
The most common weymouth pine disease is blister rust. In this case, resinous white smudges appear on the trunks and entire branches can dry out. It is best to treat the trees three times with Bordeaux liquid in case of the very first signs of the disease – bright orange pads with spores. Intermediate hosts of this fungus are currant, gooseberry and hawthorn bushes. Therefore, it is not recommended to plant Weymouth pine closer than 500 m to the growth site of these fruit plants.
Young shoots of Weymouth pine can be affected in the first year of life by a variety of fungal diseases. Therefore, it is recommended to regularly treat them with a solution of phytosporin.
Conclusion
Weymouth pine is an ornamental plant from the coniferous family that can survive even in suburban areas, close to highways and the smoky air of cities. And its dwarf varieties can decorate even the smallest area.
