Some of our most impressive plants within our city parks are the towering pines that reach skyward. We raise our heads in admiration of their structural beauty and distinctive forms. Historically, their ruggedness and adaptability has encouraged their use.

The present day circumstances of Pine Wilt infestations has created concern (within this genus) about the selection and usage of pines in our community landscapes. We won’t spend time on this post about the Pine Wilt Cycle. There’s a wealth of information available on line on that topic. The purpose of this blog is to invite some dialogue, and exchange information about potential renewal strategies in search of the best collective solution.

What We Know:

• We know that Pine Wilt has had a significant impact on Pinus sylvestris or Scotch Pine across our region.
• Through observation and conversation with fellow plant professionals we see a pattern of either North American Native Pines or Pine Hybrids having White Pine as a part of their genetic make-up being the most resilient to infestation. Not a proven absolute by any means, only a potential starting point in the selection process.
• We see opportunity to initiate more conversations on diversity & how to incorporate pines into our plantings. As a footnote, when two plant professionals gather to converse about the merits of a plant – we oftentimes generate a minimum of three opinions. There are so many variables in play that a definitive answer is difficult to reach.

Reducing the criteria to three:

1. North American Native
2. Adaptable to the extremes of the Great Plains
3. Dependable without excessive care

These three benchmarks create a very short list of preferential pines to select from:

• Pinus flexilis- Limber Pine
• Pinus ponderosa- Ponderosa Pine
• Pinus strobus- White Pine

To expand the list we are currently evaluating the following introduced species of pine:

• Pinus cembra-  Swiss Stone Pine along with a North Dakota State University introduction known as ‘Prairie Statesman’
• Pinus heldreichii-  Bosnian Pine
• Pinus koraiensis-  Korean Pine
• Pinus peuce-  Balkan Pine
• Pinus x schwerinii ‘Prairie Giant’

We are hopeful that one or more of the above species may expand our available options and be able to meet #2 & #3 of our pine selection process.

Pines offer such wonderful texture, fragrance, and function…appealing to our senses and being sentinels of our skyward aspirations. We are eager for a breakthrough on the Pine Wilt issue. We recognize that other evergreens like Spruce and Fir – which we will discuss in part 2 & 3 – provide alternatives, but not the same impressions that our glorious pines provide.