What: Himalayan white pine is a handsome yet uncommon conifer with long, almost shaggy blue-green needles and a tiered branching pattern.
Why plant it? Mature specimens become large stately trees that ultimately take on a broad pyramid shape. Its cones are almost 12 inches long and hang in small clusters.
Where: Give Himalayan white pine a large space in full sun or part shade. If planted where it receives partial shade, its blue color intensifies.
How: It prefers deep, well-drained sandy soil. It is not affected by any serious diseases or pests and is particularly resistant to pine shoot moth and white pine blister rust. This tree, also known as pinus wallichiana, is not the species that has been dying mysteriously locally. That’s the Western white pine.
Actual size: Himalayan white pine reaches about 18 feet tall and 15 feet wide in 10 years. Mature specimens can reach 60 feet tall with a spread of up to 40 feet.
Learn more: See www.greatplantpicks.org.
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