I recently received a pinus pinea as a gift. I feel kinda sorry for the poor tree as it is covered in glitter. Will this hurt it in anyway? Also, I live in Canada where our winters can be fairly severe? Any tips on when or where to plant it?

The little fluffy blue "spruce" is made up of juvenile (seedling) foliage that will soon be replaced by longer, more slender green adult needles. The glitter will go with the juvenile leaves.

If you are not in SW (Coastal) BC it will not live outdoors.

I live in Southern Ontario, near Niagara Falls. Recently our winters have been mild (well, for us at least) but we have been known to get some serious cold spells. If I can't plant it outdoors, will it just grow to the size of it's environment if planted indoors?

In Spring 2005, I planted a Stone Pine from seed. It amazing how the little seedling pulls itself out from the seed shell.

My plant is about 18-month now, it is still in a 1-liter bottle. It's about a foot tall (30 cm), with mostly juvenile leaves, with 2 or 3 adult 2-needle bunches. The branches spread out like a candelabra, sort of like the picture from justintx.

All the young trees have branches fairly close the ground. When the trees get older, where do all these branches go? Do the trees grow taller between the ground and the lowest branches? Or do the low branches break off?

Here is a link that might be useful: my stone pine

Bigoudee, the lower branches will die and eventually break off at the trunk ("natural pruning"). No, nothing will move upwards. The tree increases height entirely by adding new growth at the top. The crown moves "upwards" by adding at the top while losing at the base.

Hi to whomever is interested in Italian Stone Pines.

I have a property in Saratoga, California, with a knoll with approximately ten HUGE Italian Stone Pines on it. They are at least l00 feet tall. My brother did some research on our property for a paper in high school (that was 40 years ago) and learned that the trees were planted by Henry Farr, a rancher, who supposedly traveled to Italy in the late l800's and brought back the seed and planted them. The branches die off as they grow, so that eventually they look sort of like an umbrella. They canopy the entire knoll, and are absolutely stunning. There are a few smaller trees around the valley (Silicon Valley), we assume from these seeds. I am thinking these might be the original trees brought to the
United States, and am wondering if anyone has any, or has seen any, that are taller. You have to plant them from seed, as they have a very long tap root, even as tiny babies. We have never been able to successfully transplant them. I would be interested in hearing back from anyone who knows if there is a grouping of these trees anywhere else.

Hi Lynne,

Can you provide pictures of those trees? I'd love to see them!

It would be interesting to know their ages. The UC extension service may have an office nearby, and possibly a forester who could come over to measure and age the trees. They do sound spectacular.

llynne1031 I'm looking for Mature Budwood for the Italian Stone Pine. I have a young tree. After buying it I found out that it may take 15 years or more to produce Pine Nuts.
I'm 59 so I need a mature scion to speed up things.
tripler(at)gmail.com
Terry

I have a ten year old "live Christmas tree" in a container. About 2' high and 2' in deameter with a decidedly woody bark. Coastal southern California. What is the potential growth if I plant it after all this time?

These do well in Albuqerque, NM (7b). Arid climate here. There are at least 3 big ones that I know of within 3 miles of me.

teddyscan: According to most sources I've seen, you can't transplant stone pines after they're two years old very well. They'll partially wilt, then regenerate if you did it carefully, but they'll never grow big.

Hello,There is an amazing Pinus pinea growing at Kew Gardens,London England.I think it was planted around 1850 after having been kept in a pot for some time.Must have experienced some pretty severe winters over that period of time! PS : There is a picture of it on their Web site
Greetings.

No, tunilla, not really. It depends how you define "severe" but they haven't been very severe in terms of testing Pinus pinea. A Pinus pinea survived near 0F (-18C) at the NCSU arboretum in North Carolina some 20 or so years ago. OTOH, IIRC, the lowest temp. recorded in modern history in London was 9F (-13C), in one of the great freezes of the late 19th century. Even when it's cold in Western Europe, it's not really THAT cold LOL. Didn't the Dutch canals freeze about 3 or so years ago? They held ice skating events? I bet it still never went below 12F during that freeze in "Nederland".

Holm Oaks have been naturalized in SE Great Britain since the 16th century. Those trees fair very poorly when temperatures drop significantly below 0F. Therefore its safe to assume such temperatures, which would also damage Pinus pinea, have never occurred in that part of the British Isles. (or in most inhabited parts, period. There are huge holm oaks as far north as Scotland.)

Can anyone offer a resource for Stone Pine trees?
I would appreciate any suggestions you might have.

You can get it online at Forest Farm.

Here is a link that might be useful: Forest Farm

Hey, folks!
I have a tree in my backyard that needs ID.
It was labeled as a "spruce," due no doubt to the small, blue, juvenile foliage. However, I think it's a stone pine. Of course, I've been wrong many times before. Thanks for any help!

Yep, that's a Stone Pine. Looks like it is doing well.

Resin

Thanks for the confirmation, Resin!
It was doing even better...but it was blown over in a storm last year.
There was some root-loss, and the growth seemed a bit slow while the roots
re-established themselves. Now it seems to have resumed normal growth.

Josh

I am looking to BUY Pinus Pinea - Italian Stone Pine shoots, seedlings or small trees up to 1 foot tall maybe 2 foot, that would be shippable to South Carolina. I will buy up to 100 of them, perhaps more if price is right. Please offer.

For that kind of order, you'd be better off contacting a local nursery.
There are many plantsmen here, but they might not be in your neck of the woods.

Josh

Hellow I am a Newby posting here for the first time. I am from Leander TX which is just 25 miles NW of Austin TX. The soil in my yard is only 12" deep and is mostly caliche on top of a solid limestone bedroock with a PH between 8 and 8.5

I have the following pines growing directly in this soil (with no special considerations except whatever water mother nature provides):

Italian Stone Pine
Aleppo Pine
Afghan Pine

However I will say that they are planted in an area of my yard where the rains drain out and it tends to stay a bit more moist, so I suppose the PH may be a little lower there (but still very alkaline). I have seen these pines do quite well all around the Austin metro area....So I see no reason why you should have any issues with those pine in your area.

- Matt

I have two issues:

1. I am looking to buy Pinus pinea (Italian stone pine) trees 1 ft. to 5 ft. tall to be shipped to South Carolina. I will buy up to 100 trees or even more. Where can I find them?

2. How do I "shape/prune" a pine tree to have a wider form and a shorter height and to have a more umbrella-like (or other beautiful) appearance just like an Italian stone pine or Japanese umbrella pine? My pines are regular pines and I begin shaping them after they are 4+ years old and at least 7-8 ft. tall. So far I was snapping the new growth on top of the pines and their heads densed a bit for the last several months only been doing this. How do I make them more umbrella grotesque interesting shapes?

I just found one italian stone pine shoot bitten off lying on its side in the pot in my sunroom. It is an enclosed room, not the outdoors, although it may have small holes for small insects to get in, but most insects can't get in or get out. Once I found a geico in the sunroom, took him outside. He probably got in when the door was left open. My question would be - what bit the I.S. Pine shoot off in an enclosed room? A cockroach? Geico? Those tiny flying flies that the room is full of and hard to get rid of them?

neonrider, I had small catepillars attack my conifer seedlings this past spring in pots. Would lose one or two in a pot seemingly overnite. A lite sprinkling of Sevin dust put an end to it. They would be in my pot and unless one thoroughly searched the pot even turning over mulch it was easy to miss them. Sounds like you had a cutworm attack and he may still be in your pot.
These trees are often available at Lowes/Home Depot around Christmas as little potted living Christmas trees.

jeskim, you are in an area that is very marginal for Afghan Pine. Typically they do well for a few years then begin to succumb to a fungus. They do much better west of Hwy. 281 where rainfall is ~24" or less. Would not plant them here period. In any case you should never ever water them ever. The other pines seem to do ok as far as I know.

Somebody gave me an italian stone pine last year, it was no more than 7 inches tall, I kept it indoors in the winter and outdoors during the summer. It is now 18 inches tall. I live in Santa Fe NM do i have any chance of being able to plant it outdoors when it gets bigger?
Thanks

I have an Italian Stone Pine growing at my parents' home in New Jersey. Coldest temp since its been in the ground (more than 10 years) has been about 1 degree Fahrenheit (-17 degrees Celsius). The foliage does brown in many winters but hasn't had serious branch damage, and it bounces back fast in the Spring. Its on the south side of the house so that probably helps ;-)

Hmmm looks a nice pine! Im sure theres a few growing over here.

I bought one of these 2-3 years ago in a pot at Home Depot for Christmas. It was very neglected for several months and the inside branches all turned brown. It has a lot of new growth at the top and on the ends of the brown branches -- is there a way to help it be pretty again, something to do about all the brown branches?

Were the pines I saw growing along the southern Spanish coast Italian Stone Pines? If so, none were anywhere near 100ft. (30 meters) Not even half that. I rented a car and went from Malaga to the Rock of Gibralter and back in the year 2000 and took a week doing it. From there, I took trains all the way to Waterloo Station in London. What fun!

Sometimes we have wet, heavy snows and ice that damages trees that aren't genetically set up for it. Italian Stone Pines would seem to be particularly vulnerable in that regard. So are Cedrus Atlanticas. They get big enough here to catch more weight than they can carry and large limbs rip off from the trunk. Guess I'll have to pass on growing an Italian Stone pine. :-(
Mike

Here is a link that might be useful: My garden

"Were the pines I saw growing along the southern Spanish coast Italian Stone Pines?"

They could be either Stone Pine Pinus pinea or Aleppo Pine Pinus halepensis; both are abundant in the area. Maybe also some Maritime Pine Pinus pinaster, and other cultivated species like Canary Island Pine Pinus canariensis or Monterey Pine Pinus radiata. Any photos?

Resin

I just stuck a tabletop Christmas stone pine out in the backyard. It never looked bad when it was in the house. It was even starting new branches. Once in the ground it starting making pretty blue-silver needles at the branch tips. I think it likes it's new home.

Here in San Diego, there is a main avenue a block from the beach that is lined with beautiful Italian Stone Pines, planted in about 1930. The umbrellas are full and lovely and they stand about two stories high.

Question: I know there are no crystal balls, especially with non-native trees, but I am trying to decide whether or not to buy a condo that overlooks these lovely trees. The issue is that there is also a nice view over the tops of the trees, but if the trees grow two feet taller, that view will be obstructed. My questions: Does any one have any sense of how much taller these 80-year old trees will likely grow? How old do these trees typically get? Again, I am trying to assess likelihood as I know no one knows for sure.

Thank you for opinions--all are welcomed! (I'm happy to post photos if someone can teach me how--I don't see a link for jpegs here)

Thanks so much!

Hmmm . . . I'd say your view will be blocked in about 5, maybe 10, years.

They can live to be a lot older than 80 years.

Resin

Thank you, pineresin. I've found two sites on the Internet that say these trees will seldom live past 100--what do you think? (In truth, I'm thinking of buying this condo as a retirement home, so I wouldn't be there for another 20 years anyway.) Again, thank you.

Possibly they might not in an urban street situation like that, but they can certainly live well past 100. More like 200-250 years, where conditions are decent.

Seen some huge old specimens in Italy with a trunk diameter of 1.5m, and around 25m tall.

Resin

Makes a lot of sense. Thanks!!

Wasn't expecting to find one in Cincinnati, OH, but here is a Pinus pinea planted in 1938, so it's experienced some absolutely brutal winters, which is probably the reason why it does not have the typical shape.
Tree in center of picture.

"probably the reason why it does not have the typical shape"

Actually, the reason it doesn't have the typical shape, is because it is Pinus nigra, not Pinus pinea ;-)

Resin

Hey Jake; I haven't heard from you in years!

Resin - I'll inform the arboretum that it is misidentified. I've never seen such a stunted 73 year old Pinus nigra in this area before considering that they are everywhere, that's why I didn't think it wasn't what it was labeled as. It's possible the pinea planted back in 1938 died and this is a nigra seedling that came up near the original pinea.

"It's possible the pinea planted back in 1938 died and this is a nigra seedling that came up near the original pinea"

That sounds very plausible; I'd agree it looks rather less than 73 years old, more like 50-ish from a rough attempt at a whorl count.

Resin

does anyone know where i can buy a small stone pine or seeds

sherloc,

You can get seeds from various websites such as Amazon, Treehelp, etc.

Small trees can be purchased from Forest Farm website.

Hello everyone! i live in Paphos, Cyprus, where it rarely gets below 0 degrees Celsius. I collected 3 pine cones from 3 different stone pine trees here, and placed the seeds without any other treatment, in peat moss, and covered them with a wet potato sack. I left the tray outdoors (here it's currently 25 degrees Celsius!) and surprisingly they ALL survived - all 90 of them! now i transferred them to bags, as soon as they sprouted. I planted the seeds at the beginning of October 2012, and the plants started emerging two weeks later.

I suppose i will plant a forest!

Hi again. The majority of stone pines i planted last year (October 2012) survived, around 70 plants. The rest died from dry weather. Now they are at a height of around 30-40 cm, and one of them developed adult foliage! I transplanted 5 of them to 20-30 lt pots. I keep them in a partly shaded place (near a pomegranate tree) which helps them withstand the dry hot weather here. The roots have just reached the bottom of the pot (around 20 cm deep), so i guess the best time to transplant them is now, up to next winter.

Last January when i decided to transplant the seedlings to the pots i collected topsoil from under a mulberry tree, and worked just fine.

This post was edited by paphian on Sat, Jan 4, 14 at 2:41

Hello everyone!

I read this thread and other websites about Italian Stone Pine, talked to the local nurseries people, but I get lots of confusing information and don't know what to do.

I have a 14.5 in tree in a pot, probably 1 year old. I wonder how old the pine should be to be planted in the ground safely, for how long can I keep it in the pot without hurting it (some people say not too long, some say keep it, no problem) and what is the best time of the year to plant it. I live in San Antonio, TX.

I would be grateful for an advice from people experienced in growing them.

IIRC someone once posted a picture here of one planted in central TX that looked good.
I would plant it now if you have a permanent spot for it.

I just did a search for P. pinea & ended up here..........any of you still around? I live in South Australia & have been around P.pinea all my life. We have one planted when I was a kid & it is now a big tree which dominates the skyline from a distance off. We get no nuts anymore as the cockatoos eat them all before they ripen. In about 2004-5 a friend & I gathered 10 gal of nuts from under a tree in the Adelaide plains & have been eating & germinating them ever since. I last germinated some from this hoard about 5 years ago. I am going to plant a couple of pounds of them this season to see if they'll still germinate.....will be amazing if they do as not many conifers will stay viable for that long. The nuts still taste fine & the embryo is still white & not dry & brittle....we'll see. P.pinea is an amazing species. I have grafted many species on it & all grew well. I have put P.mazimartinezii on potted plants & P.torreyana & P.sabiniana on 10' tall trees in the ground which healed smoothly & made strong sound unions. This is more amazing as P. pinea is supposed to be the most 'unrelated' species to any other pines.

Here is a picture of about 2 gall of them:

Incidentally the tree under which we gathered the nuts shown above is a low growing form. There is a race of P.pinea which divides into multiple leaders low down & never forms the tall umbrella topped trunk of the typical form. I know of two old trees like this. One where these nuts were collected from & another which I introduced as a grafted cultivar some 30 yrs ago with the assistance of a Federal Government grant here in Australia. I named it "Walkers" & used to sell grafted trees many years ago. I don't know if any are still growing but the original tree is. These 'low' growers make about 30-35' max & just spread sideways till they are huge. I'm sure similar forms must exist where ever the species grows. As I say it is a waste of time growing them for nuts here as in recent decades the current conservationist culture has allowed the 2 largest cockatoo species to flourish & they tear apart the cones long before maturity.