The forum is back not a moment too soon! On my recent travels, I spotted this unusual pine tree in an abandoned garden. It has dense pendulous needles and somewhat distinctive bark.
Sorry, not Shortleaf. Any more pics, please? Ideally close-ups of the foliage, and cones if any. My provisional guess, which may well change with close-ups, is Pinus × schwerinii.
The bark on the photo above is very different (color, texture etc) from the bark of a Pinus × schwerinii: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:(ms)_Pinus_×_schwerinii_6.jpg If there was a photo of a cone and close up of needles, then maybe there was no need for guesiing.
I'm sorry I didn't think to get cones or needles from the ground. I was quasi-trespassing and in a hurry. This is 'muricah, you can get shot for that ;-) Pines are hardly a favorite of mine other than the obvious high-end ornamentals like P. bungeana. That being said, I've never seen one that looks quite like this. P. X schwerinii seems more plausible to me. But indeed the bark isn't quite a match. Totally far fetched supposition - could this be a hybrid involving P. patula? The droop of the needles was distinctive, but indeed P. wallichiana is one of the only other species that can contribute that look. Sorta close-up of the drooping of the needles:
Thanks! Agree the bark is odd, but the foliage has very much the looks of a white pine (Pinus sect. Strobus). I fear any Pinus patula involvement is highly unlikely, too, particularly if this is in Maryland. Can you add the location, please? It might well help if it can be seen on google street view.
It definitely can't be seen on street view! I agree a pure P. patula wouldn't be hardy in Maryland, but in theory it could hybridize with other Subsection Australes pines. However the only known ones seem to be with other tender pines, cf: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hybridization_in_pines So I think on balance this is probably just P. x schwerinii. Also that would be commercially available in past decades...this garden was locally notable but not the garden of some kind of renowned expert on conifers like the recently deceased Tom Cox, where I could imagine some totally one-of-a-kind hybrid existing. It did have several other nice rarities but this is the only one I couldn't immediately ID.
Michael - there's a Pine cultivar I've heard of for years but never had the chance to see. Called Pinus 'Mercury'. It is supposedly wallichiana x parviflora. Any chance it could be that? Anyhow, through my google skullduggery I was able to find a list of plants this nursery was growing in the early 2000s. It's an abandoned nursery site. (Of course, not every 'mother plant' on the property would have been propagated, so he might not have listed 'Mercury' even if he had a plant.) So could it have been any of these? PINUS CEMBRA Blue Mound Chalet Columnaris Nana Pygmaea Silver Sheen PINUS CONTORTA Spaan's Dwarf PINUS DENSIFLORA Aurea Globosa Heavy Bud Oculus-Draconis Pendula Prostrata Umbraculifera Umbraculifera Heavy Fruiter Umbraculifera Rata Umbraculifera Special PINUS EDULIS PINUS FLEXILIS Glauca Bergman's Dwarf Compacta Fastigiata Glauca Pendula Glauca Prostrata Globosa Reflexa Temple Vanderwolf's Pyramid PINUS HAKKODENSIS (Parviflora X Pumila) PINUS KORAIENSIS Morris Blue 14-16' 16-18' Nana Oculus-Draconis Sis PINUS LEUCODERMIS Aurea Spicata Compact Gem PINUS MUGO Gnome Prostrate Pygmy Sherwoodi Spaan Valley Cushion Winter Gold PINUS NIGRA Contorta Hornibrookiana Monstrosa PINUS PARVIFLORA Bergman #1,#2,#3 4-5' 5-6' 6-8' Brevifolia 5-6' 6-8' 8-10' Nana 5-6' 6-8' 8-10' Adcock' Dwarf Baldwin Brevifolia Nana Compacta Emperor Fukumusume Goyo Gimborn's Ideal Gimborn's Pyramid Glauca Glauca Nana Glauca Wells Glauca Yatsubusa Hai-Matsu Hatzumarigoyo Hime-Goyo-Matsu Humilis Levy Nana Nasu Musume Nazi Pentaphylla 'Aizui' Pentaphylla Megishi Pentaphylla Miyazima Pentaphylla Nashi Pentaphylla Shiobara Pentaphylla #2 Pumila Glauca Shiko-Goyo Tama-Yon-Go-Goyo Templehof Watson Yatsubusa Yatsubusa Pygmy PINUS PUECE PINUS PUMILA Dwarf Dwarf Blue Nana PINUS STROBUS Contorta Nana 5-6' 6-8' 8-10' Pendula 14-16' 16-18' A.B. Alba Amelia's Dwarf Bennett Broom Bennett Clump Leaf Bennett Contorted Bennett Weirdo Bergman's Broom Bergman's Monstrosa Broom Bergman's Variegated Compacta Contorta Nana Densa Dove's Dwarf Fastigiata Flat Top Helen HersheyiiBroom Hillside Gem Hillside Winter Gold Horsford Laird's Broom Macopin Millstream Minima Minima Bronx Minima Martin's Nana Bayard Nivea Ontario Prostrata Pseudo-Monophylla Pumila Radiata Rarflora Glauca Nana Umbraculifera Witch's Broom Wyandanch PINUS SYLVESTRIS Viridis Compacta 4-5' 5-6' 6-8' Aurea Barrie Bergman Bergman #2 Beuvronensis Compacta Glauca Nana Globosa Viridis Nana Pygmaea Raraflora Brevifolia Repens Saxatilis Watereri Watereri Compacta Nana
Thanks! This list is from the garden is where you took the pics? Of that list, Pinus koraiensis is a good option - I did a search for Pinus koraiensis bark and found one or two pics that weren't too far different (though others less so!), and the foliage fits OK. It would also explain the lack of any cones in your photo, as (being a bird-dispersed pine) the cones are all gone by spring, when most other white pines still have old cones evident in the crown.
Yeah the nursery was at its prime back in the 2000s, and perhaps open but in decline for a few years after that. Now the land will be developed for McMansions. There is some similarity in the density of the crown. Thanks again. https://plants.chaletnursery.com/12120004/Plant/14103/Korean_Pine/
