Pinus BUNGEANA

Pinus BUNGEANA - Lacebark pine, Bunge's pine, White-barked pine.

Can be grown in bonsai style!

Among the numerous representatives of the pine genus, which numbers about 130 species, there are majestic pines familiar to everyone - Scots pine and Swiss pine - as well as still little-known dwarf forms with creeping or cushion-shaped crowns.

Pines are plants with strictly whorled branching and shoots of two types - elongated and shortened. Needles are located only on shortened shoots. By the number of needles on a shortened shoot, pines are divided into two-needle, three-needle, and five-needle species.

Bunge's pine withstands cold weather excellently. It is usually low and often resembles a bush in shape, which makes it an ornamental species (especially appropriate near a rock garden) or the focal point of a small or medium-sized garden.

The tree native to the northwestern regions of China reaches 10-15 m (30-50 ft) in height and 5-6 m (15-20 ft) in crown diameter, and has dark green needles gathered in bundles of three. It has pale yellow flowers and brown oval cones approximately 5-7 cm (2-3 in) long.

The tree's bark is unusual: a mixture of smooth gray-green and yellow-brown, the latter peeling away to reveal white patches that successively change color to yellow, pale green, olive, reddish-brown, purple, and crimson (the whole gamut of "wholeness" according to feng shui).

Seeds are stratified for 30 days in a cold environment at a temperature of 4-5 °C (39-41 °F). In home conditions, the seeds are placed in the refrigerator.

Before planting, seeds are soaked in hot water for 24 hours and for 2 hours in any growth stimulant, then sown to a depth of about 7 mm (0.3 in) and sprinkled with a layer of soil. They are moistened with a spray bottle, covered with film, and germinated in the light at a temperature of 18-22 °C (64-72 °F). Seedlings need ventilation. Excessive moisture and drying out of the sowings must be avoided. Seeds can germinate from 3 weeks to 2 months.

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Pine is a light-demanding plant. Regarding soil, there are no special requirements; it grows excellently even on dry, freely draining soils. It tolerates drought and polluted air well and is frost-hardy. The primary species is propagated by sowing seeds, the rest by grafting or layering. It does not stand out with particular ornamental effect, but is well suited for organizing the space of small gardens. It has a large number of decorative forms that are widely used in landscaping.