Maybe a Pinus Densiflora?

pinus sylvestris????

ken

ps: drink scotch while gazing at your Scot's pine ...

pps: it appears the plant was sheared at one time.. its assuming to natural growth form at the top ...

Thank you both for your inputs so far!

Ken, Scots pine was one of the first I considered, but it's my understanding that they usually have needles of c.5cm/2in, whereas this tree has at least double that. I know of one variety, mongolica, that has longer needles, but it's difficult to clarify if it's a match.

As for drinking Scotch while looking at the tree, well, that's my favourite evening activity when I'm visiting the summerhouse!

LJS8510, Pinus densiflora is one of the species on my shortlist actually, but I am far from an expert when it comes to coniferous trees, so I just couldn't be sure.

I've also shortlisted P. muricata, resinosa and nigra as possibilities. Perhaps some people here are able to disqualify some of those from the list for particular reasons?

Thanks again for the replies so far, and for any further responses. I'll go try to find some more comparisons for the above suggestions against my tree.

IMHO.. needles too thick for densiflora...

what about resinosa???

ken

It sure looks like a Pinus nigra to me.
Mike

- Foliage too dense to be P. resinosa.
- Doesn't look anything like P. sylvestris or P. densiflora to me....the bark that I see is not flaky orange for starters.
- Is Bishop Pine a commonly planted pine in Denmark? Seems like it would in the 'botanical interest' category. It's zone 8 hardy too...would that be borderline in Denmark?

I'm leaning towards P. nigra or P. thunbergii. You should be able to tell when that cone matures.

I don't know if it was topped in the past but if that growth habit is natural, the diminished apical dominance suggests Japanese Black Pine more than Austrian Pine.

The Japanese Black Pine is not as dark as the Austrian Pine pictured in the photo gallery.
Pinus nigra quite often grows two leaders at about 12 to 20 ft. up.
I have grown both.
Mike

Pinus nigra, definite.

Resin

Thanks for the many responses, I really appreciate it.

smivies is probably right on the Bishop's Pine front. I too was thinking that one might be a bit too specific to turn up in a garden.

The tree was quite possibly topped and hacked about by my father-in-law in the previous couple of years, but I can't be sure.

Oh and we're bordering on zones 7 and 8 where this tree is located (south eastern Denmark).

This post was edited by LoggyMcChopperson on Thu, Aug 14, 14 at 18:13

"Is Bishop Pine a commonly planted pine in Denmark? Seems like it would in the 'botanical interest' category"

Not hardy in Denmark (which is zone 7).

Worth adding, Pinus resinosa and P. thunbergii are also very rare in Denmark (botanical collections only), whereas P. nigra is abundant in parks and gardens.

Resin

thunbergii was my first impression until i got to resins post above. Now I'm going with Black pine! What do you win if your right?ðÂÂÂ

Looks like the general concensus is P. nigra!

A huge thanks to everybody who contributed to the identification. It was one of the final pieces in my little garden map puzzle.

qwade: First prize is a cutting sent in the mail next time it's sheared haha!

Thanks again, folks.

"First prize is a cutting sent in the mail next time it's sheared haha!"

It'll look far nicer if it isn't sheared ;-)

Resin

I fully agree pineresin, but as noted in an earlier post, my father-in-law tries to butcher the summerhouse garden every now and then!

Here's to hoping he lets this tree do its own thing.

I doubt very much a cutting from a Austrian Pine would root, but thanks anyway. ;-)
Mike