mine was a whorl or two smaller....

the second or third spring.. buds extended ... and it died ... never did figure out why .... now i might suspect a hard late frost ....

P. w. ... when i did the research is zone 6 ...

hopefully you have a micro climate ....

ken

I don't ever remember a cone check on this clone to see if it's 100% Pinus wallichiana but, Pinus wallichiana is normally a zone 7 plant and when crossed to create hybrids I only know of Pinus strobus being used and, Pinus strobus is hardy to zone 3 I believe. Therefore the hardiness of all Pinus x schwerini (P.wallichiana x P. strobus) results in a zone 5 hardiness. Dirr is incorrect in stating that Pinus wallichiana as a species is zone 5 cold-hardy.

Other cone and erroneous information on these P. x schewerini cultivars have revealed a 1/2 parentage of Pinus strobus. A girl/family in or around Indianapolis, Indiana has had success with this clone for at least one winter, possibly two. Complete success. Another guy near Chicago has had also complete success with Pinus wallichiana 'Nana'. When you see a cone, get some good photographs of it... whenever that could be.

Dax

Dax thats interesting how that works. You cross a so hardy tree with one less hardy and get one in between!

Ken --

Is there a particular website that you routinely turn to for accurate information on conifers? Here is one that I found that states it is a zone 5 -- and it's a university extension website which I would think is correct. I know you can't trust everything you read on the internet but I usually look at university and nursery websites first.

Here is a link that might be useful: NC State University

i start at the ACS database ... link below, may or may not take you to the species table ....

species and almost all the named ones are listed as 6 .. but frosty and zebrina are listed at 5 ... go figure on that ...

what might make the difference .. is what understock the graft is put on .... and i doubt there is anyway to know that ... though many could make guesses ...

the z5 tree farm .. MIGHT use differing understock than the z8 Oregon guys ...

the only way you will know.. is if you get a fresh graft that still has the understock attached ...

as i said.. it might all depend on your little micro climate ...

ken

Here is a link that might be useful: go to DB .. pine.. then Wall .. to see list of all

Ditto to Dax

Resin

Thanks for all the great replies. Based on Dax's observations, I did call Gee's and found out that it is indeed crossed with Pinus strobus to increase hardiness. I still intend to spray with anti-dessicant and place a screen around its first two or three winters to help it along.

I will post a pic when I first see a cone and let you conifer experts tell me whether Gee's is correct.

you used a term of art incorrectly .. if you care ...

it was grafted ONTO strobus..

CROSS implies a mating of DNA as in male pollen onto the female parts [no scientific terms here.. lol] ... resulting in a cone..and seed.. etc ...

they took a piece of a known zebrina plant.. wounded a small strobus tree.. inserted zebrina ... etc.. they grafted it ...

make sense.. or should me or someone else try again???

and start a new post about spraying with wiltproof or whatever.. i seem to recall someone .. dax??? .. suggesting it was useless.. or even bad for the tree ...

i have no clue ... i do not protect conifers.. except for tiny grafts under rose cones .. which i am surprised no one ever asked what they are ...

ken

So you don't stomp on them with your snow shoes you should mark the cone with (pink tape???)... is that what you use Ken? I forget now. It's been a little while.

That wiltpruf is counter-destructive in the sense that on warm / sunny / -- or winters where the winter ends short without having the product fully 'removed' from the plant is now going to cause the plant not to breathe correctly or the word I'm searching for I believe is "transpire."

Winter temp fluctuations will kill an otherwise healthy plant because the fluctuations in temperature are asking the plant's metabolism to wake up and start working but it cannot because it's 'pores' are clogged. This wiltpruf takes a minimum I believe of three months for it to be weathered off the plant material, that's the reason for argument... It's the same effect if a human being were to where a full body snowsuit at a beach in Florida on a 60-80 F day. You're smothering yourself to the point of death because you cannot transpire... (breathe).

My old boss who was a nurseryman all his life and in his fifties said all the way that it was nothing more than a product to put in someone's hand as they walked toward the cash register which I had a very difficult time doing if I may add. It was his opinion it was worthless but it made more money for the business in so few words.

I think it's un-natural. I've also had nine years to think about this. Heck, they used to 'train' us to put a bottle of this guck in the hands of Portland, OR customers purchasing all Rhododendrons -- in Portland, OR. What I joke I mean. Heck, there, ... that's rhododendron paradise... maybe the best place or equally the best place in the world to grow these. Anyway...

GO FOR IT!! LOL

Dax

Hi Ken,
This plant IS a cross with strobus i.e. pollen of one plant on the cone of another. Seeds produced, sown and new plants produced that are half strobus and half wallichiana. One or more of the resulting plants has been selected and is now grafted, possibly onto strobus stock.

Grafting a tender-ish plant onto hardier understock does nothing to increase the hardiness of the scion wood being grafted onto the understock.
Mike

"Grafting a tender-ish plant onto hardier understock does nothing to increase the hardiness of the scion wood being grafted onto the understock."

Agree.

Dax

ok .. you caught me .... maybe ...

if she called gee's ... they may have told her ZEBRINA was a cross ....

but she received a grafted plant from them ...

i though her question to them was about the root stock ...

regardless ... have a great day ... ken

Thanks for the confirmation by the way... Mike.

Dax