Four years of Pinus strobus 'Sea Urchin'

11 years ago

My girlfriend is back in town and so is my camera! :-)

I have a few thousand photos to take, hopefully I can share some neat ones with you here.

Picking up where I left off(thanks for filling in Fotis!), this is a time lapse series of four years.

Today's pick: The awesome small dwarf Eastern white pine, Pinus strobus 'Sea Urchin'. It's grown maybe two inches a year in all directions for the last four years.

Notice the distinct seasonal changes in needle color/texture.

5-inch pot purchase from Coenosium Gardens. Doesn't cone every year.

2010

2011

2012 - Later in the year, this photo shot in late October. This plant is huggable!

-Will

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Comments (18)

arceesmith
11 years ago
I agree - one of my favorites! I love seeing this whole little grouping grow-up together.
baxswoh
11 years ago
One more agreement. Do you have to clean out the needles at that age? Mine is about 24" and the needles always collect inside.
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firefightergardener
Original Author
11 years ago
Yep, I give it a quick 'ruffle' once or twice a year, basically knocking loose any of the excess needles from the inside. They then fall to the base and create an additional bed/mulch for the plant. Not too much maintenance in my opinion, considering the plant asks for nothing else.

Glad you enjoyed the photos, more soon!

-Will
whaas_5a
11 years ago
It sure is a nice cuddley looking plant.

Are you still digging the wood/bark nuggets for mulch? I'm thinking about converting to that type next year as all the other stuff decomposes in 1-2 years.
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
11 years ago
hey will ... been worried about you.. welcome back ...

mine got to about that size [2012].. and then just started slowly dying.. no real idea why ...

ken
whaas_5a
11 years ago
You never cleaned out the needles!lol!
dcsteg
11 years ago
Stress related heat will take them out.

Dave
pineresin
11 years ago
Those cones look like it has some Pinus parviflora in its ancestry (i.e., probably Pinus Ã¯Â¿Â½ hunnewelliana). Have you kept any of them, and the seeds that were in them? If yes, close-up pics please!

Resin
tsugajunkie z5 SE WI ♱
11 years ago
Something to look forward to...

From the Harper Collection

{{gwi:607674}}

I don't recall seeing cones on it.

tj
fotisr
11 years ago
Glad to see you and your camera back Will! Wish I had more plants that could 'fit' this category you created!

I would like to see more, please...

Fotis
baxswoh
11 years ago
Tsugajunkie: Great picture from the Harper Collection. I recognize my flag! lol. Has there been a tally published of the plants that got the most flags?
clement_2006
11 years ago
Strange, I never see cones on "Sea Urchin"
If someone have, please show us.
Clement
tsugajunkie z5 SE WI ♱
11 years ago
You know Bax, I never heard any results. I think the flag voting was a Hidden Lakes thing as opposed to an ACS thing.

Clement- I have never seen cones on 'Sea Urchin' either.

tj
firefightergardener
Original Author
11 years ago
Wow, stunning specimen, TJ. Probably 15 years old?

Will, I love the larger bark nuggets and many of them have been battling back weeds in my landscape for 2-3 years without real noticable degredation yet. Costs about 30% more then traditional bark but the benefits far outweigh that price markup.

Fotis, I'll work on it - plenty of photos being shot in the next 3-4 months. :)

As to the cones, I must say I have only seen cones of a few other dwarf strobus('Coney Island' comes to mind), but I am certain my 'Sea Urchin' has coned at least twice, maybe three times. No recent photos but if/when it does so again, I'll report some images with closeups.

-Will
coniferjoy
11 years ago
Will, thanks for showing us your nice specimen.
The 'Sea Urchin' was found as a witches' broom seedling selection by Sidney Waxman.
As we can see at the pics, it's needle colour is a nice blue, which could be the problem that this is one of the most difficult one to keep alive after a few years from grafting.

I also have to admit that I've never seen cones either on this cultivar.

Other dwarf forms of Pinus strobus that will bear cones are 'Macopin' and 'Windswept Broom'.
Mike Larkin
11 years ago
I have been growing Sea Urchin in Pa zone6 for last 7-10 years. It is growing well, however never any cones. I have noticed that the is a section of the plant where the needles appear to be not as blue green, almost faded in color. The affected area seems to me getting greater. I tought there may have been discussion on this "condition" - anyone recall? Mike
toucanjoe
11 years ago
This is my 'Sea Urchin' igot it from Poterhause about 7 years ago.It is 15" wide by 10 high.I clean out the old needles with a leaf blower.It usually is more blue in the summer.
coniferjoy
11 years ago
Joe, I think you mean Porterhowse, owned by Don Howse...
Nice specimen, cleaning out the old needles with a leaf blower will keep it healthy.