are the needles shorter than say Aurea or gold coin??? ... or are they typical sylv size????

do you have either of those for comparison???

what is the weed surrounding it.. ??? i mean.. that gorgeous ground cover ... lol ..

thx for the post will

ken

Thanks for sharing the pics!

I've yet to tell the difference between Aurea, Gold Medal, Nisbet's Gold and Gold Coin.

From what I've heard the two latter are denser and slower growing than the two former.

Throw in 'Varrguld' and 'Trollguld' too. Some discussion below.

Here is a link that might be useful: Gold Pines

thats my point.. even with 5 acres.. exactly .... how many named versions do i need.. lol ..

call that the 'blue pungens lesson' .. lol ...

and i guess what i was asking FFB ... is he wasting space with the others.. or just enjoying this one no end ... with no plans for others???? .. since he is space limited ...

ken

Heya fellas. I'm still compiling my photo galleries for 2012, which is probably for the best since many of my pines, alphabetically look the best in Winter and after growth has hardened off. I have several of the gold pines, like you fellas, and I guess I would say I am evaluating them. I don't have photos quite yet, but of the large growing pines, my top 5 list would probably go something like this, considering health, overall appearance and gold coloring in Winter:

1. Pius contorta 'Chief Joseph'
2. Pinus sylvestris 'Gold Medal'
3. Pinus virginiana 'Wate's Golden'
4. Pinus mugo 'Winter Sonne'
5. Pinus sylvestris 'Gold Coin'

This is simply my opinion and it's also not encompassing every gold pine, just the larger ones that I grow. :)

As with most of my plants, in 5 years, about half of them will be moved to the arboretum, friends/family yards or the wood pile, in 15-20 years, 80% of my current plants won't be here. Since I planted early, and tried a great variety, one luxury I certainly have obtained is the ability to keep those that look the best under the conditions they are grown in. I move plants around as I can, but naturally, there's no room for so many plants on a shy acre.

My Gold Coin has the best color over Nisbet's Gold and Chief Joseph. Still too early to really make the call though.

The gold on my Pinus mugo Cartens is superior to any pine I've seen. I need sunglasses if I look at it for more than a few seconds. Hopefully it repeats!

{{gwi:639627}}

Interestingly, it is natural for wild type P. sylvestris from some regions to turn gold in the winter. Here's a quote from Rushford's Conifers, from his description of Pinus sylvestris:

"The foliage of many origins turns yellow in cold weather, which has presented problems in the eastern USA where the tree is used for a Christmas tree. Some origins, such as those from the Caucasus (referred to var. hamata Steven) remain blue-green however cold in winter."

Since this is a common feature of trees of certain provenance, it seems likely that the many or most winter-gold Scots pine cultivars represent selections from the best of these, and explains why there are so many are known in the trade.

BTW, great pictures both of you.

Ken, that 'weed' or 'gorgeous groundcover' is a Heather. Latin, Calluna. I don't know the name of the variety. I think it has the word fire in it though.
Mike

Fellas, I listed the heather in my original text. :P