Unexpected find at a nursery - P. clausa broom

11 years ago

While visiting my mom last weekend, I found a nursery on Sanibel Island, Florida was selling an un-named WB from Pinus clausa (native only to FL and part of AL). They looked very nice and only $25 a piece, so I bought two (one for me and a friend). There are so many brooms on our native pines and also Taxodium and a wide-open market in the deep south where they would grow. I hope more nurseries sell them.
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Comments (11)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
11 years ago
i would name it Santa ...

ken

ps: get it??? santa clausa????
gardener365
11 years ago
I like it.

As good as anything we grow up here.

Dax
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eric_9b
11 years ago
That is awesome !

I saw at the big nursery trade show in Orlando last Sept., a nursery selling 2 named cultivars of WB. Both were grafted onto South Florida Slash Pine, Pinus elliottii var. densa.

One was Pond Pine, P. serotina 'King George's Folly, the other a Sand Pine, P. clausa 'Samsula'.
eric_9b
11 years ago
I have found sever brooms around here on some native pines. But I have yet to find one on a Bald or Pond Cypress. I look all the time. Also never found one on a Southern Red Cedar yet.
salicaceae
Original Author
11 years ago
Great name Ken!

Eric, I have seen a couple in Taxodium - no J. virginiana or C. thyoides though.
ritmatt
11 years ago
Forgive my ignorance, but how can you tell they were brooms if they weren't labeled? What are the distinguishing features?
salicaceae
Original Author
11 years ago
They were dwarf in comparison to the species - they had very short internodes, excessive branchiness and a shape that is typical of brooms. They were grafted on a standard (south Florida slash pine i think) and had a round shape, atypical of the species.
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
11 years ago
in laymens terms...

they are from mommas family..

but they dont look nor act like momma ...

mostly its a issue of annual growth rate ...

i am not familiar with this deep south pine.. but i would bet momma grows 1 to 3 feet per year.. and looking at the pic above.. these grow 3 to 6 inches ... so they are a dwarf of her.. but not a mini ...

then throw in the rest of what he said ...

ken
ritmatt
11 years ago
Thanks for the explanation. I will need a lot more experience to identify them, for sure.
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
11 years ago
you are welcome.. the trick is in the latin name ...

Pinus clausa .. is a species of pine.. all pine species have huge potential .... easy to google just that part ... to see link ...

as you can see.. the babes in the pic here.. has a habit that is substantially dwarf.. comparing such .... and that is why we get excited about them ...

frankly .. psst.. dont tell the rest.. i cant tell one pine from another.. but i can surely see the difference ...

if it had been a 'named cultivar' .... such as P. clausa 'ritmatt' .. the quote part of the name.. would be your first clue.. its somehow different that the species ... and selected for its uniqueness ...

ken

Here is a link that might be useful: link
ritmatt
11 years ago
Thanks, Ken.

I looked for some brooms on my commute today, but I didn't find any. :)