a bunch of Limber pines. Started germinating about three weeks ago. Thanks Junglekeeper for the link to Sandeman Seeds.
Hopefully true-to-name. With seed you didn't gather yourself there is always the risk that you were sent the wrong item. Any indication if wild collected? Since Pinus reflexa 'Vanderwolf's Pyramid' is so commonly sold, and usually sold as P. flexilis 'V.P.' I would wonder if the seed might have come off of one of those.
Re: Announcing the birth of: Yup. Hopefully true to name. Sandeman's is in France, so I have no idea where they collected the seed they list as flexilis.
The limber pine doesn't seem to be too thrifty in cultivation, we have only a limited number of mostly indifferent looking ones here. The P. flexilis cultivar, on the other hand, is all over and often robust. This is probably consistent with their wild habitats, the first one likely coming from more austere conditions (have seen it in nature, but not P. reflexa).
Re: Announcing the birth of: Sorry, you've lost me. Is P. reflexa a separate species? Keep in mind that I'm not a botanist. Just a guy who likes growing stuff. And I wanted to try growing Limber Pine like the ones I used to be able to walk/climb to on the eastern slopes. How will I be able to tell which one I've got?
They are closely related, some books treat them as varieties of just one species, other books treat them as two different species. They are hard to tell apart while they are seedlings, but in a couple of years when they start having adult foliage (needles in bundles of five), take a needle and rub it gently both ways between your fingers. If it feels perfectly smooth both directions, then it is P. flexilis. If it feels slightly rough one way (due to minute serration on the edge of the needle) then it is P. reflexa.
