Pinus aristata

Bristolcone pine is one of the most fantastic and luxury looking conifers ever. This species comes from North America and it is said to belong among the oldest and long-lived trees of our planet. They can grow for thousands of years - a tree in Colorado was dated as 2,435 years old in 1992.

It has deep green, 2-4 cm long, evergreen needles with a silver stripe in the middle, covered with profusion of resin flecks. The unique feature of this pine which makes it different from all other pines is that the needles persist on the tree for 16 up to 20 years! This fact results in an extremely dense and bushy habit without bare branches. Only very old trees loose needles on their think branches revealing the orange-red, smooth bark.

It grows very slowly, a 20-year-old specimen can reach a little over 2m and a similar spread. As every pine this one, too, loves an open site with a lot of sun and preferably drier soil that should be kept moist only a few months after transplanting. It is not fussy about soil pH or amount of nutrients. Just do not over fertilize it. Hardy to about -34°C (USDA zone 4), possibly more.

Last update 21-01-2012