Bob's News & Musings: Pinus strobus ‘Sea Urchin’

Pinus strobus ‘Sea Urchin’

During the late 1970’s Al Fordham had told me to visit Dr. Sidney Waxman at the University of Connecticut. When I visited Waxman and had a tour of his facility, I was amazed. There were thousands of witches’ broom seedlings growing in long, straight rows. He had been working with them long enough that he was starting to make some selections.

His first introductions were selections of Pinus strobus. He showed me the original plants of Pinus strobus ‘UConn’, ‘Green Shadow’, ‘Blue Shag’, and ‘Sea Urchin’ and I arranged for him to send me scion wood from all of them. Over the years Pinus strobus ‘Blue Shag’ has become a popular replacement for Pinus strobus ‘Nana’ due to its similar growth rate and improved color. Two of the others, ‘UConn’ and ‘Green Shadow’ have seen limited popularity, possibly due to their faster growth rates.

Pinus strobus ‘Sea Urchin’ is the most dwarf of all Wax-man’s introductions. He found it was more difficult to propagate than the others, but its diminutive size and excellent color made it a popular choice for smaller gardens. Its slow growth rate means that the “quick buck” nurseries will not produce it, but enough of the better nurseries offer it to make it relatively easy to locate. Pinus strobus ‘Sea Urchin’ is a dwarf shrub that develops into a dense, low, bluish mound. It grows about 2” (5 cm) per year, and its foliage is bluish-green with short needles. Each year before the new growth appears, the old needles need to be cleaned out from the interior of the plant. All of the dwarf Pinus strobus tend to trap their old, fallen needles inside the plant which can lead to disease problems.

Use Pinus strobus ‘Sea Urchin’ wherever a bluish cushion is desired in the garden. It is a wonderful choice for a rock garden or a miniature conifer garden or a foundation planting. Do not mix it with larger growing perennials since they will tend to smother it.

Read the full article here.

Article presented courtesy of ACS member Bob Fincham, and originally posted at  https://www.robertfincham.com/.