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Pinus (strobus)

John M. Englert
USDA NRCS - Norman A. Berg National Plant Materials Center
Bldg. 509, BARC - East, E. Beaver Dam Road
Beltsville, Maryland 20705
(301) 504-8175
(301) 504-8741 (fax)
john.englert@wdc.usda.gov
http://plant-materials.nrcs.usda.gov/mdpmc/

Family Scientific Name: Pinaceae
Family Common Name: Pine Family
Scientific Name: Pinus strobus L.
Common Name: eastern white pine
Species Code: PINSTR
Ecotype: Shenandoah National Park
General Distribution: P. strobus is found from Newfoundland to Manitoba, south to Delaware, Georgia, Kentucky and Iowa. It grows in fertile, well-drained, sandy soil.
Propagation Goal: plants
Propagation Method: seed
ProductType: Container (plug)
Stock Type: 2+1 Gallon containers
Time To Grow: 3 Years
Target Specifications: Stock Type: 2+1 seedlings in 1-gallon containers.<br> Height: 12" for 2+1 plants in gallon pots.<br> Time to grow: 2 years from seed in outdoor nursery beds; container plants were grown to 1 gallon size an additional year in the container nursery. <br><br> Root System: Container plants have full root systems that fill the pots. The insides of containers are treated with a copper hydroxide product to encourage development of a fibrous root system and prevent root girdling in the pot.<br><br>
Propagule Collection: Fallen cones were collected on 9/12/96 in Shenandoah National Park.
Propagule Processing: Cleaning: After collection, cones are air-dried for days in cloth collection bags, which are laid out in full sun on greenhouse benches. Cones are shaken when open to release seeds and seeds are dewinged by hand rubbing.
Storage: seeds were planted after drying and were not stored.
Purity: estimated at 99% after cleaning.
Germination: untested; 10% of seeds planted in 1996 survived to harvest in 1998.
Seeds per Kg: 55,200
Pre-Planting Treatments: P. strobus needs 60 days cold stratification (USDA, 1974). Seeds are hand-sown in the fall in outdoor nursery beds to allow natural stratification to occur.
Growing Area Preparation/
Annual Practices for Perennial Crops:
Propagation environment: Bareroot seedlings are grown to 2+0 in outdoor woody nursery beds. Selected 2 year old seedlings are transplanted to 1-gallon containers and grown an additional year in the container nursery as specimens.
Sowing date: seed was sown in outdoor nursery beds in early November.
Sowing/planting technique: Seeds are dusted with fungicide and hand-sown closely together into rows. Rows are 5 to 6 inches apart.Ectomycorrhizae are sprinkled over the seed before covering with about 0.75" of soil. The beds are then mulched with aged sawdust, which isscraped back in the spring before seedling emergence.
Establishment Phase: Seedlings emerge in the spring following a fall sowing. Emergence was not tracked, however of the 1,121 seeds sown, 110 seedlings were harvested.
New seedlings are monitored closely for irrigation needs and are shaded as soon as they emerge with poly screening at 30%. Shade cloth remains over seedlings until mid-August.
Active Growth Phase: Container nursery: Selected bareroot seedlings were potted after harvest in one gallon containers that had been treated with copper hydroxide to prevent root girdling. Plants are grown in woody mix (3.8 cu ft. bale Sunshine #1, 4 cu. ft. of pine bark mulch, 20 oz. Nutricote and approximately 20 oz. ecto-mycorrhizae). Media is replenished yearly through bumpups or repotting. Container plants have been difficult to maintain in the container nursery under overhead irrigation.
Hardening Phase: During mid- to late summer, fertilization in the nursery beds is cut back to twice monthly. Beginning in September, irrigation is only used in a severe droughty situation. In the container nursery, irrigation is gradually reduced as weather cools. <br>
Harvesting, Storage and Shipping: Container seedlings have been overwintered under microfoam and in a cooler. Mildew and desiccation have been a problem.
References: Gleason, H and A. Cronquist. 1991. Manual of Vascular Plants of Northeastern United States and Adjacent Canada. 2nd edition. New York Bot. Garden.

USDA, Forest Service. 1974. Seeds of Woody Plants in the United States. USDA, Ag. Handbook 450.

USDA NRCS National Plant Materials Center. Woody bed and container plant records. Unpublished.

Citation:

Davis, Kathy; King, Brandy; Kujawski, Jennifer. 2003. Propagation protocol for production of Container (plug) Pinus strobus L. plants 2+1 Gallon containers; USDA NRCS - Norman A. Berg National Plant Materials Center Beltsville, Maryland. In: Native Plant Network. URL: https://NativePlantNetwork.org (accessed 2024/07/23). US Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, National Center for Reforestation, Nurseries, and Genetic Resources.