Pinus nigra 'MARIE BREGEON' dwarf Austrian pine

After a huge success with BREPO® variety, a breeder of pines from Switzerland Henri Bregeon comes up with another dwarf pine variety, this time called Marie Bregeon. It is a result of a controlled crossbreeding of pinus nigra and pinus densiflora, both of which were H.Bregeon’s own selections. Surprisingly the new plant was kept with the species name nigra irrespective of cross-breeding. It was patented in the USA under PP13,870 in 2001.

Marie Bregeon is an elegant, dwarf pine with long, soft green needles that are evergreen, somewhat spiraled, and replaced with new ones only after 3-4 years which is twice as long time compared to BREPO® variety. Its natural shape is rounded without any need for trimming. The plant grows dense and compact, and makes only about 5-9 cm per year.

It will look great as a small lawn specimen, or will be a perfect piece in a Japanese garden, or a large rockery surrounded by stones, white sand or pebbles. It can be grown in a large outdoor container. Pines need full sun and well-drained soil that will not be too alkaline, no fertilizing required. Hardiness is rated by the inventor to min.-30°C (USDA zone 5) but is expected to go even lower.

Last update 14-02-2012