I bought mine from a northern source yrs ago & they grow in west MD -- one shown is over 20' tall after 9 seasons:

Not a species for trying to restrict height (either by topping or candle pruning). Plant a table mountain pine, pitch pine, or if you can find it, one of the dwarf Loblolly Pine cultivars.

you would ID the full latin name of plants that attract your interest..

and then search for dwarf or mini culitvars that have lesser annual growth rates ...

i would also search out arboretums within a nice drive.. and visit them .. to see what might grow in the general area ...

trying to manage height on trees that are basically grown for telephone poles... is not really going to work.. in the long run ...

can it be done.. sure... should you do it... i think not ... unless you are fully willing to cut it down and destroy it.. once you screw it up so bad its ugly.;. or simply outgrows your attempts to tame it ...

ken

Thanks everyone. On Ken's suggestion I looked for a dwarf cultivar, didn't find any and found someone who said to the best of his knowledge there are none. However also found that longleafs have been known to produce witches brooms which could be grafted to root stock to create dwarf forms. If anyone has done that, it's not out there yet on the internet.

On the not pruning it, I hear you. I wonder what specifically would happen to it if it was done. Any guesses? How would it respond? How long might it last? Wonder if anyone has ever just tried it.

pruning primer at link below ... it will last one year.. then you do it again.. and again.. and again ... until it or you dies ... the real issue is.. when it outgrows your ladder ... or your ability not to kill yourself on a ladder ...

still refuse the latin eh???

is there a specific pine called a long leaf.. or are you using the name generically ... and therein lies the problem with using the common name...

i dont understand how you research cultivars ... without using the latin ... since there are a few pines with long leaves ... resinosa e.g. ...

i am not really looking for a 3rd parties diatribe on what species long leaf is.. i am trying to teach a lesson ... latin is imperative with conifers ... if you want to get anywhere ... IMHO ....

once you get this far.. then you look for other pines.. that might have the long leaf look you are yearning for... that will grow in your area ...

MI must not do long leaf.. as i dont know the latin offhand.. but in my garden.. nothing has longer leaves than P. resinosa ... some nigra also ...

i have no knowledge of what grows in VA ... others will have to address that ...

ken

http://conifersociety.org/conifers/designing-with-conifers/

yes I of course used the latin - pinus palistris, the magnificent native known commonly as longleaf pine. Don't know of any other pine referred to as longleaf. No other pines in my zone have leaves that come close to its length, it is truly unique. Both the ones you cited are beautiful but very far north.

Longleaf pine, also known as Georgia Pine in song and lore, is a yellow pine of the forest ubiquitous to the south, but it is not as widespread as it used to be due to lumbering it for turpentine. However I still see scores of its unique grassy-looking seedlings all over the place in tidewater Virginia.

I would not prune it for the first 7 years as it takes that long to get out of the grassy-looking stage. It is very slow-growing during that stage. Google the pictures to see how cool it looks during that stage. Besides its long leaves I also like its luminous foliage and its striking silvery candles.

That's a nice site on pruning conifers, thanks for sharing it.