Tropical Pine?! Pinus Strobiformis 🌱

[kbonsai8]

Hello bonsai nuts out there!! This past fall I was researching the possibility of getting a pine species and treating it like a tropical. One of the species I was looking at was pinus strobiformis aka southwest white pine. I have had this one now with my tropical in their winter area since September it appears to be doing great. It’s not putting out new growth but is growing lots of buds on the tips and preparing for spring. Has anybody ever done this type of thing before…keeping a pine tree indoor for the winter time with your tropicals?

 

[ShimpakuBonsai]

Can't say anything about the species but I think you need some education about wiring a tree.

 

[kbonsai8]

Hey, thanks for suggesting this video. I can always use some more education! Love me some learning… tried to keep the wire a little looser on this one to get less die back on the needles. I will watch this a little later today. One thing I need to work on is finding the right gauge size for the branch.

 

[NMbonsai]

I have two varieties of Pinus strobiformus, "Marshall's Gulch" and "Santa Rosa". I am in Albuquerque, New Mexico, USDA Zone 7b. The altitude here is just over 5000 ft. We do have milder winters, but hot, dry summers with low humidity. Several years ago, I was looking for a White Pine that would grow here. One of the members of our local bonsai club with more experience than I told me not to even try a Japanese White Pine, that they will not survive the summers here. He said to grow Japanese Black Pine instead. Of course I had to try for myself. I ordered a JWP from a nursery in the Pacific Northwest and it didn't make it through it's second summer. Three years ago, I saw the "Marshall's Gulch" cultivar offered by the same nursery. I researched the species and learned that it is native to the mountains of Northern Mexico and Southern New Mexico and Arizona, at about the same elevations as here. So far it has survived the summers.
This fall, I found another cultivar called "Santa Rosa", offered by another grower. The description said that it was originally collected in an area near Las Cruces, NM, which is well south of Albuquerque with hotter summers. So far it has adapted well and has lots of buds for the coming year.

 

[NMbonsai]

Sorry, I didn't mean to post that twice. I couldn't figure out to delete it once posted.
Anyway, what I wanted to add was that; what I have learned about white or five needle pines is that, being mostly mountain originating species, they all need a period of winter chill. Since you are in the Chicago area, why don't you keep your pine outside, with proper shelter and protection of course? It should survive the winter and probably thrive in your spring and summer, which are milder with higher humidity than here in New Mexico.

 

[kbonsai8]

Sorry, I didn't mean to post that twice. I couldn't figure out to delete it once posted.
Anyway, what I wanted to add was that; what I have learned about white or five needle pines is that, being mostly mountain originating species, they all need a period of winter chill. Since you are in the Chicago area, why don't you keep your pine outside, with proper shelter and protection of course? It should survive the winter and probably thrive in your spring and summer, which are milder with higher humidity than here in New Mexico.

I was contemplating finishing out the season indoors (looks very healthy after ~5 months) and MAYBE keeping it outdoor next winter. I'm still trying to decide how risky I'm feeling. The older, the more developed it gets... the riskier it gets as you run the risk of throwing away all your work. Posting about this in a few places & I'm honestly surprised how few people have tried keeping pines indoors for the winter alongside tropical species.

 

[Japonicus]

I'm honestly surprised how few people have tried keeping pines indoors for the winter alongside tropical species.

For good reason.

They need the dormant period. Fish are similar in what temperatures they can handle.
Such as cold hardy species, in streams that cannot live in tropical areas. To keep a pine in a tropical setting
one must have a tropical pine. A pine that tolerates, successfully...the climate you provide.

Now if you find strobus in tropical settings (I have not researched that part) then there should be no problem.
I doubt the tropical have white pine.
However, strobus tolerating USDA grow zone 3 or 4 through 8 will not be able to know when the seasons are
changing, as their seasons no longer exist.


This map excludes most of Florida for zone 8 trees. I would consider most of Florida tropical-ish.
Find a pine that works in same zones as your tropicals, to be hardy/successful.

 

[kbonsai8]

For good reason.

They need the dormant period. Fish are similar in what temperatures they can handle.
Such as cold hardy species, in streams that cannot live in tropical areas. To keep a pine in a tropical setting
one must have a tropical pine. A pine that tolerates, successfully...the climate you provide.

Now if you find strobus in tropical settings (I have not researched that part) then there should be no problem.
I doubt the tropical have white pine.
However, strobus tolerating USDA grow zone 3 or 4 through 8 will not be able to know when the seasons are
changing, as their seasons no longer exist.

View attachment 581635
This map excludes most of Florida for zone 8 trees. I would consider most of Florida tropical-ish.
Find a pine that works in same zones as your tropicals, to be hardy/successful.

It just went from like zero degrees to 50 in a day here in Chicago. Odd weather for sure. Strobiformis not strobus, grows in Mexico is also called the Mexican white pine. That’s the reason I’m testing it out alongside ficus’s and other tropicals. Part of what I love about gardening and art is experimenting with new methods and testing stuff out.

 

[Japonicus]

It just went from like zero degrees to 50 in a day here in Chicago. Odd weather for sure. Strobiformis not strobus, grows in Mexico is also called the Mexican white pine. That’s the reason I’m testing it out alongside ficus’s and other tropicals. Part of what I love about gardening and art is experimenting with new methods and testing stuff out.

Oops I immediately thought strobus.
Strobiformis subgenus is a strobus though.
Strobiformis does bump up the grow zone one to 9. The cold end of its' hardiness zone however points to dormancy requirements.

 

[kbonsai8]

Oops I immediately thought strobus.
Strobiformis subgenus is a strobus though.
Strobiformis does bump up the grow zone one to 9. The cold end of its' hardiness zone however points to dormancy requirements.

Thats interesting!!

 

[Japonicus]

Thats interesting!!

Yes it is.
Take for instance the Benjamin Ficus thrives in
ZONE somewhere between 9 and 12
depending on source...

The Brazilian Rain tree...same.
The low end is not low at all. 30°F minimum
but that's in ground and momentarily.
Note that the extremes tolerated are not what the plant thrives in.

 

[Bonsai Nut]

On the west coast, I would often find that nurseries would graft Japanese white pine on P. thunbergerii rootstock (Japanese black pine)

Here in the east, I find that many nurseries graft Japanese white pine on P. strobiformis rootstock. Interestingly - even P. strobis cultivars are often grafted on P. strobiformis. I was never aware of this species until I moved to the east coast. A five-needle mountain pine that grows in the temperate regions of the SW? Tell me more!