The part-sun might result in some problems at first. If some of them got clear of the shade at some point it probably wouldn't matter after that. Being pines they might not care much about the soil as long as it drains well, but as always what might happen depends on the details.

In Arkansas I had several huge white pines growing in nothing but a gravel-like soil, pretty lean. I know they do like it acid. If you're putting out seedlings, I bet they would adapt. Sun or lt. shade doesn't seem to matter to them.

Yes, as pines go, white pine has some shade tolerance. As far as the soil, how "crummy" is crummy? If it is fairly decent stuff which just happens to have lots of rocks mixed in, I'd tend to think the wps will handle it just fine. If you haven't already purchased the w. pines, I'd recommend going with fairly small specimens for starters. These young plants should adapt to their environment more readily than larger transplants.

Best o'luck. White pines are GREAT trees.

+oM

Individual trees don't adapt. The site has to be within the tolerance ranges they come with when planted are they don't make it.

BBoy, you're right. Even as I wrote that, (Late) last night, I knew it wasn't the best word choice.

Hows'about 'acclimate'?

+oM

Still implies the plant is doing something it can't in response to the site. Anyway, it doesn't matter except that it's important to realize that the site must conform to the tree for the planting to succeed. A funny thing is that you can take a plant out of the sun and put it in the shade and (if the light level falls within its ingrained tolerance range) it will continue growing without incident. But if you take a plant that has been growing in the shade and put it in the sun it may burn up. Foliage developed in sun can still function in shade but not the other way around.

Thinking still further on this, and in view of Bboys' comments, it is the inherrent youthfull vigor which would be responsible for a younger transplant doing better than one of greater age. That and quite possibly a better root/shoot ratio, though Spruceman, who's probably planted more conifers than anybody on this forum, has made a cogent argument for success with larger transplants. In a case like this, where conditions may be a bit suboptimal, the advantage of starting smaller and younger may be more apparent.

+oM

I ordered and planted three little white pines, even though I'm far south of their natural range, to see if they'd do here. I planted them in part sun/shade, in rich soil that retains moisture, but doesn't stay soggy, and they're making new growth nicely. We got 1.5" of rain yesterday, which should encourage more new growth. I'm looking forward to watching their growth and progress!
Sherry

A theoretical analysis of the stress imposed on large trees at time of transplanting and the length of time necessary for recovery has been done. The model showed that when a small tree was transplanted, the length of time necessary before the root development on the new site was sufficient to support normal resumption of top growth was much less than when a large tree was transplanted, and the length of time for recovery was much less. The model fits well with general observations of real situations over many years. The key item lacking from the model, however, is an allowance for the tremendous mass of living cells in the larger trees that must be sustained by energy from the leaves before energy can be translocated to the root system. It is this massive number of living cells, the complex array of growth-regulating compounds and the energy requirements of these cells that are primarily responsible for the poor performance of most transplanted large trees

--C. Whitcomb, Establishment and Maintenance of Landscape Plants (Lacebark Inc.)

Here is a link that might be useful: Establishment and Maintenance of Landscape Plants II

White pines, when young, have some moderate tolerance for shade, but for best development white pines need more or less full sun. If you have a 90 degree window to the sun overhead, that is OK. If you have anything less, your white pines will grow rather slowly. Norway maples are invasive, but if you can get some other more shade tolerant trees to grow in the poor soil, that may be best.

As for my recommendation for larger seedlings/transplants. I can't really believe that anyone thinks that my recommendation has anything to do with the article quoted. We are still talking about very tiny trees. I am currently planting about 350 spruce and pines in sized ranging from 14 inches to two feet. I recommend trees of this size because the roots are longer and when I plant them I can get them down into the native soil 18 inches or more, giving them considerable drought tolerance. I don't think any preference for 6 inch seedlings is based on any good science--the roots are simply too short to place deep into the soil and with a week of hot dry weather they will be goners unless watered regularly. Anyone who claims that using the larger size seedlings and transplants I recommend is creating an undue amount of transplant shock is simply mistaken. I have over 35 years experience planting seedlings and transplants of various sizes and what I am hearing here contradicts all I have seen during that experience.

In addition, forgetting about the ability to get roots deep enough to afford some drought tolerance, the larger sized seedlings and transplants are just enough taller that they can withstand weed competition better without quite as much constant weeding or use of pesitcides to prevent them from being overtopped. Sorry Mr, C. Whitcomb.

--Spruce

14"-24" is not large. You're talking about results within a range of small transplants.