Bob's News and Musings: Pines for the Rock Garden, Part 2

An alpine area is commonly found in a mountainous area at an altitude near the snow line. The climate is harsh with poor soils causing slow plant growth and all sorts of twisted, misshapen, and dwarf conifers. These plants are not genetically dwarf and if brought down into more conducive conditions they will resume normal growth, provided the conifer survives the transplanting. 

In many areas of the world, the alpine conifers are often tight mounds, a condition due to genetics, such as Pinus mugo v. pumilio, or animal grazing constantly pruning the new growth. This shape is the most common shape in rock gardens, since most dwarf conifers grow in this way. The pines most suitable for a rock garden that grow naturally in this way were covered in my October issue of this newsletter. 

Read the full article here.

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