Pine black

Contents

Varieties of black pine
Planting black pine
black pine care
Reproduction of black pine
Diseases of black pine
black pine pests
Popular questions and answers
- Sources of

Outwardly, it resembles our traditional Scotch pine, but its needles are much darker. The tree is very decorative and is always a welcome object in the backyard. But black pine is a southern guest. Is it possible to grow it in the middle lane?

Black pine is native to the Balkan Peninsula. In nature, it is found in Bulgaria, Romania, Croatia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Albania, Greece, as well as in neighboring countries – Austria, Italy, Slovenia. These are countries with a warm climate, but it lives mainly in the mountains, so it is accustomed to snow and cold. So, it can grow in Our Country.

Black pine (Pinus nigra) is a rather powerful tree, usually reaches a height of 20-30 m, but there are specimens of 50 m. But it is much longer: in our pines it is about 2 cm, and in black pine – 5 – 10 cm.

At a young age, the trees have a conical shape, adult specimens become like an umbrella.

There are several subspecies and varieties of black pine, among which, for example, Crimean pine, which can be found in our Black Sea resorts. Well, and since it has variations in nature, breeders could not help but take advantage of this and got several interesting varieties.

Varieties of black pine

There are many of them and all of them are natural mutations.

Bambino (Bambino). A compact variety with a spherical crown – its maximum diameter is 2 m. It grows very slowly, gives an increase of no more than 4 cm per year. The needles are dark green, but in winter it changes color to gray-green. Frost resistance is rather weak – up to -28 ° С.

Brepo (Brepo). This variety has the shape of a regular ball. It grows very slowly, at the age of 10 it does not exceed 50 cm. The needles are dark green. Frost resistance is down to -28 ° C, but since the trees are very compact, under snow they can tolerate lower temperatures.

Globose (Globose). It is also a spherical variety, but much larger – about 3 m high. It grows slowly, looks very impressive. The needles are green. Frost resistance – up to -28 ° С.

Green Tower (Green Tower). The name of this variety is translated as “green tower”, which fully reflects its essence – these are low columnar trees. At the age of 10 years, their height does not exceed 2,5 m with a diameter of 1 m, and by the age of 30 it reaches 5 m. The needles of this variety are long, up to 12 cm, green. Frost resistance is not higher than -28 ° С.

Green Rocket (Green Rocket). Another pyramidal shape. By the age of 10, it reaches a height of 2–2,5 m with a crown diameter of less than 1 m. Adult specimens usually do not exceed 6 m, and the maximum diameter is 2 m. Its needles are long, green, but much lighter than other varieties. Frost resistance does not exceed -28 °C.

Nana (Nana). This is a dwarf variety 2 m high (rarely grows up to 3 m) and the same diameter. It has the shape of a wide pyramid. The needles are dark green, 10 cm long, hard, but not prickly. Frost resistance – up to -28 ° С.

Oregon Green (Oregon Green). This variety has the shape of an asymmetric cone. It grows slowly – by the age of 30 it reaches a height of 6 – 8 m, but later it can reach up to 15 m. On young growths, the needles are bright green, then darken. Frost resistance – up to -28 ° С.

Pyramidalis (Pyramidalis). The name of this variety also reflects the shape of the crown – it is pyramidal. It grows slowly, gives an increase of about 20 cm per year, reaches a height of 30 m by the age of 6. The maximum height is 8 m, and the crown diameter is 3 m. The needles are dark green, hard, 10 cm long. Frost resistance – up to -28 ° С .

Fastigiata (Fastigiata). The variety is interesting for its growth feature: at a young age, the plants look like a narrow column with symmetrical branches, but mature trees acquire the classic umbrella shape. This is a very high grade – up to 20 – 45 m. Frost resistance – up to -28 ° С.

Hornibrookiana (Hornibrookiana). This variety has a round, irregularly shaped crown. Height and diameter do not exceed 2 m. It grows slowly, the annual growth is 10 cm. The needles are light green. Frost resistance – up to -28 ° С.

Planting black pine

Black pine seedlings are sold in containers, so they can be planted throughout the warm season – from mid-April to mid-October.

You do not need to dig a large hole – it should be slightly larger than the size of the container. When planting, it is important to ensure that the soil level in the pot matches the soil level in the garden – the root neck should not be buried.

black pine care

The main problem of black pine is its low frost resistance. Most varieties withstand frosts only down to -28 ° C. Reference books indicate the same frost resistance for species trees. However, in fact, they can survive in more severe conditions. According to breeder-dendrologist, Doctor of Agricultural Sciences Nikolai Vekhov (he headed the Lipetsk experimental station for 30 years), black pine in the harsh winters of 1939-1940 and 1941-1942 withstood frosts of -40 ° C without any problems. And she didn’t even freeze.

However, there is still a risk. Experts do not recommend growing it above the borders of the Saratov and Tambov regions. Practice shows that in the steppe and forest-steppe regions it is quite stable, but in the Moscow region it grows poorly and freezes. However, in recent years it has shown resilience in the capital region.

Ground

In nature, black pine most often grows on calcareous, dry and stony soils, but in general it is not demanding on the soil – it can be planted on sandy loam, light loam, and black soil. The only thing she does not like is heavy and too wet soils.

Lighting

Our Scotch pine is very photophilous, but black pine is more tolerant to lighting. Yes, she also loves the sun, but she tolerates lateral shading without any problems.

Watering

It is necessary only in the first year after planting the seedling. And then watering is not needed – black pine is a very drought-resistant and heat-resistant plant.

fertilizers

When planting in a hole, no fertilizer needs to be added.

Feeding

They are also not required – in nature, black pine grows on rather poor soils, it itself is able to get its own food.

Reproduction of black pine

Species pines can be propagated by seeds. Black pine cones ripen in the second year, in spring. But the seeds need a period of cold dormancy, so they must be stratified before sowing. To do this, they must be mixed with wet sand and sent for a month in the refrigerator. After that, they can be sown in open ground – to a depth of 1,5 cm.

Varietal forms are propagated by grafting.

Attempts to propagate black pine from cuttings are almost always unsuccessful.

Diseases of black pine

In general, black pine is a disease-resistant plant, but they still happen.

Pine spinner (shoot rust). This is one of the most dangerous diseases of black pine. The first signs of the disease usually appear in the fall – the needles acquire a bright brown color, but do not fall off. The pathogen fungus develops rapidly and literally in 1 – 2 years can completely destroy the tree.

The intermediate host of this fungus is aspen and poplar. It is on them that it forms spores that infect pines again and again.

Treatment of affected plants should begin as soon as possible. To do this, use Bordeaux liquid (1%). The first treatment is carried out in early May, and then another 2 – 3 sprayings with an interval of 5 days.

Brown Shutte (brown snow mold). Shutte has several varieties, but it is brown that affects black pine. The peculiarity of this pathogenic fungus is that its active development occurs in the winter months. You can recognize the disease by brown needles with a white coating.

The disease is treatable; for this, drugs Hom or Racurs are used (1).

Shoot cancer (scleroderriosis). This disease affects different types of pines, including black. It strikes, as the name implies, shoots, but the first signs can be seen on the needles – at the ends of the branches, it droops in the form of umbrellas. First, the needles turn yellow-green, and after the snow melts (usually within a few days) they become red-brown. The disease spreads down the tree from top to bottom. If left untreated, over time, dead areas appear on the bark (2).

Young pines, whose stem diameter is not more than 1 cm, usually die. For the treatment of older plants, the drug Fundazol is used.

black pine pests

Unlike Scots pine, which is affected by many insects, black pine is quite stable – rarely anyone is ready to covet it. You can mark, perhaps, one pest.

Shield pine. It lives only on pines, more often on Scotch pine, but in general it is ready to feast on any species, including black pine. This is a small insect, adults are 1,5 – 2 mm in size and usually settle on the back of the needles. As a result, the needles turn brown and crumble. Most often it harms young trees up to 5 years old (3).

Fighting the scale insect is not an easy task. Insects are motionless, but covered with a strong shell and contact preparations do not work on them. Systemic often too – yes, they penetrate the plant, circulate through the vascular system, but the scale insect feeds on juices from the upper tissues of the needles, where the drugs do not penetrate. You can get rid of the scale insects only at the moment when the stray larvae that are not protected by the shell appear – in July, the plants need to be treated with Actellik. And adults will die themselves – they live only one season.