Growing up to 80 feet tall and 40 feet wide, the Pinus strobus, truly makes a statement in your garden. It has bundles and clusters of little brushes that allow it to preserve water and warmth during the cold. It’s also native to North America, so it will fit your garden’s ecosystem easily.
However, no matter how hardy or resilient a tree can be, if it’s not well taken care of, then it’s bound to wither and deteriorate. Just like any other tree, it will need regular tree pruning, spraying, pest control, and other tree services.
If you want your eastern white pine tree to thrive in your garden, you’ll have to learn the basics of taking care of it. Here’s everything you need to know about eastern white pine and how to grow it.
What Is Eastern White Pine Tree?
Also known simply as the white pine, this evergreen species is a hardy tree that is known to thrive all year round. It has feathery needles and open-canopy growth. It also has a distinct straight trunk feature that bends to strong winds and develops a photogenic silhouette as it grows older.
A fast grower and reaching up to 450 years old, this tree grows natively in the northern parts of Canada and the USA. It requires partial sunlight exposure. You can make it grow as tall as you like, or if you prefer a smaller tree, it has dwarf varieties.
If you have a large lawn, then you should go for the standard variety that can grow up to 80 feet in height. However, if you have a medium-sized area, you can always contact your local tree service expert and ask them if they sell smaller subspecies such as the Nana, Contorta, Blue Shag, Fatigiata, Aurea, Pendula, and Compacta.
If you ever do settle for these smaller variants, you need to know that they don’t differ in size alone, but also in aesthetics, temperament, and needs.
Benefits
In addition to giving your garden a distinct look that makes it resemble an evergreen paradise, the eastern white pine is deer resistant. This allows them to survive feral attacks from other herbivores.
They also produce long and elegant cones, perfect for decorations during the holidays. Moreover, they come with a myriad of coloured needles that bring pops of colour into your landscape.
This species can also act as a dependable privacy tree. You can line them up around your property so long as they are planted an appropriate distance apart. You can then proceed to your regular branch and hedge trimming practices to ensure that they don’t spread across the lawn.
Downside
Just like any other plant, eastern white pine also has its own downsides. Compared to other pine species, it’s more susceptible to disease and pest attacks. One of its main causes of death is rust and blight diseases that cause the white pine to blister.
White pine weevils are also likely to attack this tree, especially when it’s no taller than 20 feet. One of the main symptoms of infestation is an oozing shiny resin from various tree orifices and the leader part of the tree that is dying.
These pest attacks usually occur in spring and can be remedied by removing the infected area or appendage from the main trunk with the help of an expert arborist or tree removal services.
The eastern white pine tree has also been dubbed a messy tree since it bears large cones that take a longer time to decompose. The pollen cones can also get into your windows, windshields, and lawn.
Additionally, it produces a stream of sap or pitch that can stick to your car, pavements, and doorsteps. Nevertheless, with the right amount of effort and care, all these downsides can easily be remedied and eradicated.
Care Tips
Eastern white pine trees are low-maintenance. Due to their adaptive and hardy nature, they can withstand extreme temperatures and weather changes. For basic tree care tips, here are some things that you can do to ensure that your tree is thriving:
- Plant your saplings during the summer, when the soil is well-drained, acidic, and moist. You should also utilize a mix of loamy and sandy soil and spare a distance of 30 feet for large varieties.
- Maintain the soil acidity by placing a mulch ring around the tree base covered with wood chips or pine needles.
- Beware of insect and pest infestations, especially the eastern white pine weevil that attacks open wounds.
- Consider your location and avoid planting the tree facing the coast as the salt spray can cause it to dry out.
Pruning Tips
Hiring professional tree, shrub, and hedge care is the best way to maintain the growth of your pine trees. However, when these experts are unavailable, here are some pruning tips that you can do:
- Trim out broken, infected, and dead branches.
- Prune during the winter, late fall, or early spring as tree growth stays dormant during this time and causes less branch damage.
Steps for Growing
Following the proper method to plant eastern white pine trees is a crucial process as it will determine the overall growth and health of your tree. Make sure to abide by these steps:
- Utilize dried-out large, mature cones and shake them out to get the seeds.
- Plant these seeds ¼ inches deep into the moist soil with adequate sunlight exposure.
- Keep the solid moist if there is no rain, and try to measure the exact distance between saplings to ensure that they don’t compete with each other as they grow.
- Remove weeds around the sapling.
Pine trees are considered a symbol of immortality, endurance, and longevity in numerous civilizations. Their resilience and ability to withstand the long cold months have made them a staple in gardening and landscaping, as they continue to grow in abundance and beauty during the whiteness of winter.
One of the best and most sought-after pine species is the eastern white pine tree. Now that you’ve learned everything about it, you can finally contemplate whether you should add these wonderful species to your garden.
To help you grow and care for your tree you need experts from Dave Lund Tree Service and Forestry. We have arborists in Aurora, Bradford, Markham, Newmarket, and Richmond Hill ready to help you with your tree concerns. Call us now at (905) 884-0511.