Pinus strobus is native to eastern North America. It is hardy to USDA Hardiness Zone 2b - 7a and Heat Zone 2-7. It is found in the nearctic temperate broadleaf and mixed forests biome from Southern Canada (Ontario to Newfoundland), Southward across the Lake States and New England, running down the Appalachians to far North portions of Georgia.
Pinus strobus also called as The eastern white pine, Northern white pine, White pine, Weymouth pine, Soft pine is a conifer in the Pinus genus. This species is described by Carl Linnaeus in 1753.
IDENTIFY PINUS STROBUS - THE EASTERN WHITE PINE PLANT
Pinus strobus is native to eastern North America. It It is hardy to USDA Hardiness Zone 2b - 7a and Heat Zone 2-7. It is found in the nearctic temperate broadleaf and mixed forests biome from Southern Canada (Ontario to Newfoundland), Southward across the Lake States and New England, running down the Appalachians to far North portions of Georgia.
The eastern white pine is a large (reaching 150 feet in height and up to 40 inches in diameter) fast growing (slows down with age) and long-lived evergreen tree (maximum of about 450 years) with extensive root graph systems that have tall, cylindrical stems with pyramidal shaped crowns, characterized by distinctive, plate like branching, especially noticeable as the trees become older. On young growth, the bark remains rather thin, smooth, and greenish-brown in color. On older trees the bark becomes deeply fissured and dark grayish-brown in color. Its evergreen needles are in clusters of 5, soft, flexible, 2 1/2 to 5 inches long, and bluish-green in appearance. Its cones are about 4 to 8 inches long and 1 inch thick. These remain attached for 1 to several months after ripening in the autumn of the second season.
Some varieties: the pyramidal white pine - Pinus Strobus var. fastigiata (a noble plant in formal gardening); the dwarf white pine - Pinus Strobus var. nana (a low round bush which in ten years does not exceed three feet in height).
PINUS STROBUS - THE EASTERN WHITE PINE PLANT CARE AND CULTIVATION
The cultivation of these plants presents no special difficulties, if proper soil and exposure are available. The question of hardiness is, of course, all-important. It is not only the problem of temperature the given tree will stand, but also the exposure to winds, and, to a considerable extent, the source from which the tree is derived. If the plants are raised from seeds matured in similar or even more rigorous climates, they are usually more hardy.
Soils:
Pinus strobus prefer a well-drained porous gravelly subsoil, overlaid with a light sandy loam. They seem to be particularly happy in a soil underlaid with a porous glacial drift. In cultivation, however, they succeed very well in ordinary well-drained soil. When the plants are set in clay soil, which is often done, the soil should be thoroughly loosened by trenching or subsoil plowing, and well under drained. Any available humus, wood ashes, and well-rotted manure incorporated in the soil greatly aid in rendering it friable and porous for the roots.
Manures and mulches:
Mulching with ordinary well-rotted barnyard manure in late autumn affords much stimulus to growth. By the following spring the manure will be in a desiccated condition and can be incorporated with the soil. A heavy mulch of old straw, rotten hay, or any similar material over the roots, and this was maintained throughout the entire growing season is benefit to the plants in a more or less juvenile condition.
In many cases manure is not obtainable. In such event, newly moved plants should be heavily mulched with rotten straw, rotten hay, or any similar rubbish for a few years until they become established. The frequent stirring of the ground over the roots subsequently will conserve sufficient moisture.
An area extending from the stem to one to two feet beyond the branches, stirred up with hoe and rake perhaps five or six times throughout the growing season, is very beneficial in conserving the moisture around the roots.
Pruning:
Removal of the lower branches of The eastern white pine is a serious mistake, and, if healthy, they should be retained to the base. Pruning or disbudding can be intelligently performed to add much to the natural symmetry. The extraction or removal, early in spring, of the central or terminal bud, will tend to compel the branches which start from the side buds to spread apart and form a much denser growth. Cutting back the previous year's terminal growth to a strong bud or branchlet on the main limbs over the tree, if the plant is inclined to be thin in its branching, always produces a much denser lateral growth.
Transplanting:
Transplanting can be done at all times of the year, excepting midsummer when they are in full growth. The best success is secured in spring when the buds begin to swell. From the end of August to the middle of September, if there have been abundant rains and the ground has been well soaked, is a very good time to move the plants. They may be planted late in autumn when circumstances compel it, but there is likely to be a considerable percentage of loss. Their roots are very susceptible to injury from exposure to the air, and the utmost vigilance should be exercised to keep them covered and moist.
Pests and Potential Problems:
The white pine weevil is the tree's greatest insect pest affecting both timber quality and volume. Terminal leaders may be killed repeatedly and result in such serious stem crooks that the tree has reduced merchantable saw timber value.
The pales weevil is an insect that often attacks white pine seedlings in areas where white pine timber has been cut recently. Cone crops may be destroyed by the pine cone beetle. This insect compounds the problem of infrequent seed years and is a serious threat to white pine management.
Diseases, including white pine blister rust, red ring rot, root rot, wood decay, and certain needle fungi, cause losses in white pine stands. Such natural elements as snow, ice, and wind may also cause damage to white pine.
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