Pinus parviflora
Japanese White Pine
Pinaceae
ExpandHabitat
- native to Japan
- zone 4 to 7
Habit and Form
- evergreen needle conifer tree; small to medium size
- 25 to 50' tall in U.S.
- as wide as tall
- young trees dense and conical
- older trees develop picturesque form
- become flat-topped with lower branches shorter than upper branches
Summer Foliage
- needles in 5's
- 1.5 to 2.5" long, stiff and twisted
- appear in brush-like tuft on branches
- bluish-green color
Autumn Foliage
- same as summer foliage
Flowers
- blooms in May
- small, yellow-green flowers in clusters
Fruit
- brownish-red 1.5 to 4" cones
- persist 6 or more years
- often produced in abundance evergreen on young trees
Bark
- smooth, gray when young
- stems greenish-brown, very slightly downy first year
- older bark dark gray, and scaly platy
Culture
- full sun is best
- relatively tolerant of most soils as long as well-drained
- somewhat salt tolerant
Landscape Uses
- specimen
- excellent needle evergreen for small residences
- especially effective in groups of 3 or 4
- useful along the coast because salt tolerant
Liabilities
- somewhat slow growing
- can suffer from the usual gamet of pine diseases, insects, disorders, but typically not badly bothered
ID Features
- needles in 5's
- blue-green, twisted needles, in brush-like clusters
- unique spreading, flat-topped mature form
- short "White Pine" type cones
Propagation
- seed moist stratified for 3 months
- cultivars grafted
Cultivars/Varieties
'Adcock's Dwarf' - A slow-growing bonsai-esque novelty, this 3' upright globe bears small needles clustered about the branch tips.
'Bergman' (also listed as 'Bergmani') - This architectural, compact upright form displays slightly twisted, blue-green needles. It forms a shrub or small tree.
'Glauca' - A very common form that grows to become a small to medium tree, this selection bears long twisted needles with bright blue color. A natural bonsai, the plant grows open with irregular branching. It usually displays a heavy crop of ornamental cones. 'Glauca Nana' is similar, but the plant is narrower with ascending branches; 'Glauca Brevifolia' has shorter, more curved needles with an open habit.
'Ogon Janome' - This is a rare variegated "Dragon's Eye" form with bands of yellow on the needles. 'Goldilocks' also bears colored needles, though in this case the blue needles have an overlay of yellow.