Culture
Easily grown in acidic, medium moisture, well-drained soil in full sun. Prefers fertile soils and cool, humid climates. Intolerant of compacted, clayey soils, alkaline conditions, and many air pollutants such as sulfur dioxide and ozone.
Noteworthy Characteristics
Pinus strobus, commonly called Eastern white pine, is a rapid-growing, long-lived, needled evergreen tree that is native to the northeastern United States and Canada (State tree of Maine and Michigan). Although pyramidal in its early years, it matures to a broad oval habit with an irregular crown. Typically grows 50-80' in cultivation, but will grow to 100' tall in the wild, with records existing to over 200'. Landscape size and shape can be controlled through pruning, however, to the extent that white pine may be sheared and grown as a hedge. Bluish green needles (to 5" long) are soft to the touch and appear in bundles of five. Cylindrical, brown cones ( 4-8" long) are usually not produced until 5-10 years. An important timber tree (perhaps more so in the 18th and 19th centuries than now) which was and is valued for its lightweight, straight-grained wood (orange heartwood and white sapwood).
Genus name comes from the Latin name for pines.
Specific epithet in Greek means cone but here it may refer to an incense-bearing or gum-yielding tree.
‘Contorta' is an upright, loose-pyramidal cultivar that is noted for having twisted (contorted) branches, branchlets and needles. It was discovered in 1932 growing at Seneca Park, Rochester, New York. It typically grows to 12' tall over the first 10 years, eventually maturing over time to 40' tall.
Uses
Landscape specimen or accent.