The bark is special but the foliage is not. Tree has certainly been discussed here in the past, did you search the forum?

Good drainage is required or it's toast. The more humidity, the more stress on this species.

Dax

I posted these photos a couple of weeks ago....

Noticed yesterday that the tree is getting its first female cones this year !!! (photos coming soon)

I have a small one in my yard. Nothing special to look at now but someday... :)
At the Cheekwood Botanical Gardens in Nashville, TN there are many of these planted in the Japanese garden and also scattered about the rest of the the gardens. Some are quite large and have the beautiful bark they are known for. I see no signs of these trees having problems with heat and/or humidity. We have plenty of both here and these trees look very healthy.
I try have a few things in my yard that are going to be the stars many years from now. Cedrus libani var. stenacoma, Quercus alba, Pinus bungeana, etc.

i have a lacebark in central alabama that looks great. i planted it about 6 or 7 yrs. ago. it has done really well in a partially shaded location and is about 12 feet tall with about a 5 inch diameter trunk. Bark is beautiful and tolerating our summer heat and humidity well.

One shown above looks like it has a bit of fungus on the leaves.

since i buy in one gal size ...

i was never interested in a plant i had to wait 20 years for it to get big enough.. to enjoy its prime glory ...

it is a plant i would like to search out on one of my visits to an arboretum .... rather than waste precious garden space ...

as noted ... other than the bark.. they arent all that interesting

ken

Glad to hear that all you guys are having success. Sounds like one of you are growing it in a space with cooler shade to help. That's smart.

Placement makes all the difference in the world!!!

Dax

Dax,

Yes from what I can tell these guys don't mind a little shade. Not sure why, but I have my doubts about some of the growth rates I read as well. Less than 12"/yr doesn't seem quite right. I doubt that the ones at Cheekwood have been there 40-50 years. A few of them must be 20-30ft. Climate may influence I guess.

I have a selection called Rowe Arboretum that seems to be narrower that the species. Bought it '03 as an 20-24" plant and today it's about 9' tall and maybe 36" wide. It's in full sun and a rather dry site. Grew slow at first, but the last few years has came to life. It's basically single stem and the laterals sweep upward giving the appearance of being multi-stemmed. The bark has begun turning, but the foliage is a tad dense to see the bark unless standing by the tree. Nice plant IMO.
Marshall

That is a nice plant Marshall.

tj

Cone on a young tree at RBG Edinburgh

Resin

The Rowe Arboretum I planted last summer is currently on life support. This past winter was hard on a lot of plants, but especially so on conifers. I doubt it will survive another winter. I wish mine looked remotely as nice as Marshall's. My personal feeling is there are much nicer pines out there, but the bark is so exquisite that if you've got room its worth having.

I took these pics a few weeks ago at Scott Arb.
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I saw one at the Rhododendron Species Foundation in Federal Way, Wa. that was almost completely stripped of branches because of a heavy, wet snow. Ever since, I've kept mine pruned so it has short branches. I also like to prune it to show 'some leg'. After all, as shown in the post above, bungeana has nice legs. The end result I'm trying to achieve is to make it look like it belongs in a Japanese garden.
It's been in a large pot for years and just planted out this Spring. According to the posts above, I should move it. Right now it's in full sun and only about three feet above the winter water table.

Thansk everyone for the great photos and opinions on Lacebark pine.

I've heard that it's a slow grower, perhaps 5 to 10 inches per year maximum once established, and that seedlings and saplings grow very slowly as well, only a few inches per year. As Ken said, it would be 20 years or so before you could enjoy the beautiful peeling bark.

I've read that lacebark pines like full sun but might be that hey prefer a bit of shade? Also, do these trees enjoy drier soil as most pines do or do Lacebarks prefer a bit more moisture than typical pines?

Thanks again for the info.

Definitely full sun, and dry conditions. Where it is native in NW China is verging on semi-desert. Think like Colorado Pinyon, to which its ecology is quite similar. In moist conditions it will grow, but may be relatively short-lived due to root decay.

Resin

We had four at an Arboretum where I volunteer and all four have died off. Three were over grown by more vigorous pines and the site became too shady for them, plus the soil was not well drained and stayed wet almost constantly. The fourth tree was in full sun, but the site was very wet as well and water pooled during late spring and early summer rainstorms. This tree lasted longer that the other three by about 4 years. Since that, we have planted three more on a site that was once upon a time, an entrance to the Arboretum. The soil was very hard and dense and water almost refused to drain from the holes after a pre-planting soak. We had to bail the water out of the hole before we could plant the tree. But the site is rather dry at all times, in full sun, and those three trees are flourishing - so far.

Marshall

OK, as promissed, here's a photo of the first female cones on my P.b. 'Temple Gem'

....wonder how long before they mature to the stage of those in Resin's photo ??

They'll reach full size in May-June 2010 and be mature in September-October 2010, assuming they have been pollinated successfully (if not, they'll likely abort).

Resin