Sure it isn't just Pinus ponderosa? I'm only seeing 3-needle fascicles there, and Pinus arizonica normally has 5 per fascicle. What's the origin of the specimen?
No, not sure Michael, it came from Piroche Plants some years ago labeled as P. arizonica. The needles were about 25-27 cm {10-11''} long. The cold and wet weather last winter seemed to have killed it. How about P. ponderosa var. arizonica ?
Pinus ponderosa var. arizonica is just a synonym of P. arizonica, so that won't apply ;-) With that needle length (it wasn't obvious from the photos!), a bit too long for Pinus ponderosa and means it is actually Pinus engelmannii (normal needle length 25-38 cm, and in 3s). That also fits on the very thick bark it is (was) already developing. Shame it died.
Hmmm, interesting, thank you. Yes it is a shame. I thought the tree was never going to start gaining size for the first three years it was in the ground, maybe that was the grass stage associated with Pinus engelmannii. Interestingly, there even seems to be some variation in the number of leaves {3-4[-5]} per fascicle of P. arizonica among the locations grown www.conifers.org/pi/pin/arizonica1.htm Unfortunately it didn't have cones, was quite a distinctive tree.
