Woody > Pinus > Pinus strobus > Pinus strobus 'National Life'
Pinus strobus
'National Life'
National Life White Pine
Mike's
Opinion
"
A beautiful accent or specimen plant with variegated bright yellow foliage. Planting in too much shade will cause it to revert back to the dark green of the straight species Pinus strobus.
Michael Pascoe, NDP., ODH., CLT., MSc. (Plant Conservation)
"
| Family |
| Pinaceae |
| Genus |
| Pinus |
| Species |
| strobus |
| Cultivar |
| 'National Life' |
| Category |
| Woody |
| Type |
| Tree (evergreen), Shrub (evergreen) |
| Pronunciation |
| USDA Hardiness Zone |
| 3 |
| Canadian Hardiness Zone |
| 3 |
| Temperature (°C) |
| -40 |
| Temperature (°F) |
| -40 |
| Height |
| 1 m |
| Spread |
| 50 cm |
Photographs
Description and Growing Information
Flowering Period
| General Description |
| A variegated bright yellow, slow growing pyramidal conifer. |
| Landscape |
| Accent planting, not appropriate for mass planting. Can be sheared into a small hedge. |
| Cultivation |
| This cultivar requires full sun to partial shade. It will grow well in sandy, loam, acidied and well drained soils. |
| Shape |
| Pyramidal. |
| Growth |
| Slow |
| ID Characteristic |
| Differs from Pinus strobus in that it is bright yellow in colour and much smaller in size. |
| Pests |
| No known pests or diseases. |
| Habitat |
| Horticultural origin. |
| Bark/Stem Description |
| Bark is thin and smooth. Greyish green in colour when young, becoming darker with age. On old stems the bark is dark greyish and deeply furrowed longitudinally into broad scaly thick ridges of about 2.5–5 cm. |
| Flower/Leaf Bud Description |
| Buds are 50 mm in length and are resinous. They are ovoid with a sharp point and some scales free at the tips. |
| Leaf Description |
| Needles are slender, about 5–10 cm in length arranged in fascicles of five. They are soft and pliable, with finely toothed margins; the sheath is about 1.25 cm in length, falling away. Foliage is variegated bright yellow. |
| Flower Description |
| Cones are sub terminal and pendant about 8–18 cm in length and are about 4 cm broad. Cones are stalked, cylindrical, often curved with a pointed resinous apex light brown in colour. Cones mature in autumn of the second year. |
| Fruit Description |
| Cones are sub terminal and pendant about 8–18 cm in length and are about 4 cm broad. Cones are stalked, cylindrical, often curved with a pointed resinous apex light brown in colour. Cones mature in autumn of the second year. |
| Colour Description |
| Variegated bright yellow foliage, greyish green bark, and light brown cones. |
| Texture Description |
| Medium-fine textured. |
| Notable Specimens |
| Whistling Gardens, Wilsonville Ontario, Canada. |
| Propagation |
| Propagation can be achieved by rooting stem tip cuttings, using juvenile cuttings is best. The best time to take cuttings is late autumn. The cuttings will root best with intermittent mist with a soil temperature of 24°–27°C. Rooting will take about 16–22 weeks. Use of IBA TALC 8000 ppm rooting hormone is recommended. |
References
Dirr, Michael. "Pinus strobus." Dirr's Encyclopedia of Trees and Shrubs. Portland: Timber Press, 2011. Print.
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