Sorry I tried to post another photo but it didn't get posted. Here's another try-

pine of some sort ... cant really see needles ... how many in a bundle would really help ...

bad news ... this probably is the dwarf variety .. lol ... getting very old ...

cant really tell if they have been topped ... storm damaged.. or this is a natural form ...

i would tell you there is a conifer forum ... but its been rather dead.. and most of them hang here anyway ... so no need to duplicate ...

too bad you didnt see a pine cone in the grass ...

ken

Possibly Japanese Black pine. But I'm no pine expert.

If you can post a closer photo of the needles with something to size them (a ruler would be great) that would help. As Ken mentioned, the number of needles in each bundle would help as well.

in my yard... it looks.. on these pics.. similar to p resinosa [if 6 plus inch needles] ... or p koreansis .... [bit shorter.. and thinner needles that flop .. but this one doesnt] ..

and for sure.. could be thunbergii ...

no spelling test this morn.. lol ...

ken

Prb'ly Japanese black pine. Very picturesque, but in the east US get killed fairly quickly by pine-wilt.

Agree with the above, that's a Japanese black pine, or Pinus thunbergiana. The species naturally displays the low, spreading habit, they are very picturesque indeed.

Occasionally you see nice mature specimens like these, but even mature ones will frequently succumb to pine-wilt. They need well-drained soil, and will do well in sand. In fact, they're also salt-tolerant, and are can do well near the seashore! (There are not many pines you can say that about).

Is Pinus densiflora resistant? I vaguely seem to recall Bill Kuhl telling me McLean nursery only sold grafted selection of the Red Japanese pine because they didn't have the problems of the black pine selections.

Strange. Some sites say that both are susceptible; however this one classifies Japanese Black pine as disease susceptible and Japanese red pine as disease resistant.

Here is a link that might be useful: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/topic_family_pinaceae

David, IIRC pine-wilt originated in North America and only native NA hard-pines have resistance. I don't believe "soft" (white) pines are affected by the wilt, fortunately.

In Hagerstown, MD, there was a handsome roadside planting of J black pines just like is shown, but started showing branch-death & a yr later all were completely dead. Too bad, they're quite unique-looking & handsome.

Edit: Some musing. One wonders if the Japanese, who value that picturesque, irregular form, might have over the millenniums cultivated that particular look.

This post was edited by beng on Tue, Dec 30, 14 at 10:07

Thanks for the responses. I will definitely post a photo of a close-up once I'm in the area again.

Happy New Year!