Pinus Pinea Full Standard 16-18 cm Girth 60 Litre Pot

Pinus or pines as they are popularly known as, are evergreen conifers that are long lived and can live up to 1,000years. The bark varies from thick and scaly to thin and flaking.

Pines have four types of leaves, the seed leaves that are found on seedlings, juvenile leaves that follow the seed leaves, scale leaves that are small and brown and formed spirally and the needles, these are adult leaves which are a long dark green.

Pinus grow really well in acidic soils, they do need good soil drainage but some varieties can tolerate poorly drained wet soils.

Pinus Pinea is a slow growing, beautiful, round compact pine with dark green needles. They are particularly attractive when the stems are cleaned up as they form the traditional Italian looking umbrella shape. Hence that common name of the umbrella pine. The seeds of the cones are also used in pesto sauces. Every year there is also the fun of tickling the brown...up a small ladder beautifying the tree by tickling out the dead needles. It also puts up with salty air and is why you see so many on the coast in the mediterranean. If you can afford a bigger one then go for it as you don't want to be pushing up daisies yourself before you get to see the glory of their beauty...they are very slow growing. Give them plenty of light and room in general soil as long as it's well drained. You can easily improve the conditions by incorporating gravel in the planting hole or large pot.