‘Forest Sky’ Pine worth a shot in the Deep South?

last month

I saw this nice Pinus ayacahuite growing at Leu Gardens, and it got me wondering has anyone on here tried the Pinus strobus × ayacahuite 'Forest Sky' hybrid in the deep south? I think if it could be grown here alot of the northern people who have moved here would quite like it. Prehaps the strobus genes would make it less heat hardy? Anyhow I think even just straight ayacahuite would be a nice white pine for the south. I had a small one growing before a branch killed it and atleast when young it seemed quite fast.

Featured Answer

Axel

11 days ago

Don’t bother with forest sky, I have it growing in Hawaii and I spent $$$ on them with the same idea that it would like it here since pinus ayacute likes it here. Turns out that this pine takes after strobus, which is very high chill and hates our tropical humidity. And my farm is in the mountains so it’s not hot but our dew points are well within the tropical range. Try pinus armandii if you want a white pine that does well for you. Pinus ayacute is low chill but doesn’t tolerate wet soils, which is why armandii is a better choice.

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Comments (10)

Palms And Pines
Original Author
last month
I also think Pinus chiapensis would be a nice addition if seeds ever become available.
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
last month
i had the mexican pine in my MI ... ayacahuite .. dont recall hwo told me it had mexican roots .. maybe i dreamed it up ???.. or resin told me llong long ago...

i dont know what that all means transplanting to FL ...

ken

lol .. lets try again ..

dont wonder why i dont post a lot of pix ...
Palms And Pines thanked ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
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ViburnumValley central KY Bluegrass z6
last month
Best chuckle of the day, so far! Like watching a tennis match...

Here are some 'Forest Sky' that I've had the good fortune to plant and care for over the years. I suspect that they would hate Florida.

These were planted on a thoroughbred horse farm in 1992; the picture is from 2007.

This one is along a golf course fairway, planted around 1997; the picture is from 2007.

Same golf course with brand new plantings in 2007...

As has been mentioned elsewhere, many of these northerly adapted trees have a chilling/dormancy requirement in their lifecycle.
Palms And Pines
Original Author
last month
I get that northern trees have a dormancy period, im not brain dead. I feel like ever since posting about out of place conifers ive been treated like a small child that doesnt know what there doing, I just like to experiment. pinus ayachuite will grow in hot and humid conditions. Those are some nice pines you have growing there. All im saying is if ’forest sky’ has ayacahuite genes whats stopping it from growing to atleast south georgia, or north florida. Its been noted that ’forest sky’ is more cold tolerant than straight ayachuite. So with that in mind shouldnt the reverse also be true shoudnt ’Forest Sky’ be more heat tolerant than strobus because of the ayacahuite genes?
Palms And Pines
Original Author
last month
Perhaps it depends on the providence from which the orignal ayachuite used to create the hybrid was sourced, it has a wide range of growing conditions.
bengz6westmd
27 days ago
Remember that P ayachuite is from the cool mountains of Mexico, not lowlands. Still, go ahead and try it if you're wanting to.
Palms And Pines
Original Author
27 days ago
I know that yet, I have also heard ayachuite has been grown in timber plantations near sea level in queensland, Australia if it can be grown in plantations there surely it would grow in the deep south. Also that being said I had a small one that was growing real fast last summer and it showed no signs of being unhappy, it was a branch which killed it, also the Leu garden speciment while small shows no signs of being unhappy unlike certain other nearby species such as canary island pine which while alive doesnt look that good. Typically when I try something that doesnt like my climate it dies within a month or languishes for up to a year and within that time wont grow at all.
Palms And Pines
Original Author
27 days ago
Dont know if its worth mention because its a diffrent genus but Cupressus lusitanica comes from similar and or the same habitat as pinus ayachuite and it survives just fine here.
Palms And Pines
Original Author
27 days ago

Also on the strobus side of things a fella in these old threads claims to have seen some in north florida. Not saying I believe it, but interesting none the less.

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/1894317/how-tough-is-pinus-strobus

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/1627720/white-pines-in-the-southeast

‘Forest Sky’ Pine worth a shot in the Deep South?

Axel

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‘Forest Sky’ Pine worth a shot in the Deep South?

Axel

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Palms And PinesOriginal Author

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