cute little fellaâ¦.they get big over time..Mine is happy as heck,and doing the same thingâ¦not sure about the bald leader though at the base

New plantings at that growth stage tend to do that.

I had two 8' Vanderwolf's that I planted 4 years ago maybe 4' to 5' tall at the time. Killed outright from this past winter.

Local nursery said they lost all of their plants in the field.

This is officially a POS pine for the midwest. Hope you're in a less humid climate with not so harsh winters, if so consider them short term.

I was warned and paid the price. Now left with a big gapping hole for my screening.

Pinus cembra, parviflora or koraiensis are the superior choices for zone 5 midwest. No question about it.

sorry, POS means something other than point of sale????

Yes, What Will is saying is for long time success the're probably not the best choice from his experience in zone 5a. On the upside , he has tossed out a few better choices for the future if needed. For here and now your tree looks fine, happy and normal.

Al

entirely normal growth pattern ...

the lack of needles.. is where the bud was sheathed ...

the side buds are supposed to go horizonatal ...

mine is about 20 feet tall and 15 feet wide in 10 years.. i hope that isnt near the house ...

do not confuse.. how it may have been shaped in the field.. or in the pot.. with what is otherwise normal growth pattern ...

ignore whaas .. and enjoy your plant ... mine also have had some problems.. but they have made my toes tingle for going on 13 years .. and thats a good payoff for me ...

ken

Thank you all for the great information and future suggestions. Ken, excuse my ignorance - what does a sheathed bud mean?

Also, my trees have plenty room to grow, however I have read that trimming an inch or so off new growth in late May can result in more full/dense tree. Was wondering if anyone annually shaped/trimmed their vanderwolf pine? Thanks again.

The differeince is having this pine on (what appears) to be a smaller lot next to a fence vs somewhere out on a 5 acre plot. Hell yeah I'd plant all kinds of stuff at that point.

I just wouldn't want to be in a postion to experiment in that location with this pine given the other options.

Just depends what you want out of the plant and where you are located as zone 5 is all over the board. For example MI had a milder winter than WI this past year.

At the end of the day just sharing my expierence and the fact that the largest most respected nursery in our state is no longer selling them due to the servere damage and casualities in their fields...so its just not my plants.

first pic.. the brown stuff.. is a sheath that is covering the bud ... i dont know if thats the correct term.;. but thats how i use the word ...

the bud extends ... and the sheath falls away ...

and let me correct what i said about whaas ... dont ignore him... but dont go all worrisome over your plant.. for his observations ... his problems.. may or may not end up your problems...

its info.. to throw in the mix of your learning curve ...

but we could all tell horror stories.. by which.. by the time we were done.. you would be getting rid of all conifers ..

i want to enable you ... not dissuade you ...

ken

ps: on words alone... limber.. 'flex' - ilus... these arent hard wood trees .. they bend ... words mean things ... the botanists will probably argue with that... but thats my memory trick ...

Here is a link that might be useful: link

pinef, I prune about every other year. at 24 ft can't get to the top anymore.
glad I have been. mine is much fuller than my neighbor's.
timing; after candles have extended,before needles open
about the time of your pic. cut half of candle
22 mi. west of Chi. , 60 or 100 mi. south of whaas
ron

Thank you all again for the great information. Ron, thanks for sharing the picture - your pine looks very nice to my untrained eye. I will be copying your method in the years to come, hopefully.

Boy, I'd think people would have better things to do than candle prune a 20' pine, lol.

Ron, you're 100+ miles south off me and almost 400' lower elevation.

Two very different zone 5 locations.

You're right, I do have better things,,,,but goofing off is what I do best.
Lesson for pinef,you don't have to prune to soon or often for fullness.
whaas didn't know mountains in wis.
saw you're losses in "random shots" want to cry
sincerely ron

Mountains no, but nice sized hills carved out by the glaciers back in the day. Get more winter sun and wind here.

Here is nearby Holy Hill, which is 1300, I'm about 1100

{{gwi:760128}}

I've hijacked this thread but there isn't much really going on here and the pine shown originally is going to be just fine and will soon be on its way.

This post was edited by whaas on Fri, Jun 27, 14 at 22:45