Japanese Umbrella Pine 6g

Japanese Umbrella Pine 6g

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If you are versed in the scientific names of plants at all, then you may realize that Sciadopitys verticillata is not a true pine, despite its common plant name. True pines have Pinus in their botanical names: for example, botanists call the eastern white pine Pinus strobus.

As trees go, this will be a small one in your landscaping for quite some time, assuming you buy a young sapling. It is a slow grower. So even though it may eventually attain a height of 25 to 30 feet (although it grows considerably taller in its native habitat) with a spread of about 15 to 20 feet, expect it to remain a much smaller specimen for many years.


As it starts to get taller, it will assume a form that is pyramidal or "narrowly conical." How narrow a form, precisely, it does assume will depend on a number of factors, including whether or not you allow multiple trunks to form and whether you prune. Long-lived, it may outlive you and may put on much of its eventual height only during the life of the next homeowner who takes over from you.

The needles are thick, dark green, and glossy. They can attain a length of about five inches. Their color may change somewhat in the winter.
Just as the tree is a slow grower, so it will be slow to produce cones. If and when they do come, they will be two to four inches in length. On older trees, the bark will be reddish-brown and will peel. This so-called "exfoliating" bark can add to the display, given adequate visibility.

Japanese umbrella pine trees are indigenous to Japan. According to PlantExplorers.com, it is "one of the five sacred trees from Japan's Kiso forest." In terms of the USDA map, they grow best in planting zones 5 through 8.

The growing recommendations for this tree are full sun and an evenly moist but well-drained soil. A loamy soil enriched with humus is probably the ideal. Regarding soil pH, it should be on the acidic side.

Japanese umbrella pine trees are chiefly used as specimen plants. While they function well in that role year-round, they are especially effective when deciduous trees are bare; that is, as is often the case with evergreens, they are most appreciated for the visual interest in winter that they afford.

Given their origin, the plants are also valued by aficionados of Japanese gardens, both for landscaping purposes and to create bonsai.