Although not that traditional in the UK, most species of pine are
regularly used as Christmas trees in other parts of the world because
they have good needle retention. As a very general rule, they are
better than spruces and not quite as good as most firs, with Nordmann
probably being the most needle secure. What is interesting with pines
is when they have to be sheared to produce a full and bushy form. They
have no internodal buds unlike firs and spruces and so pruning when they
are dormant does not produce a bushy tree. You have to get them just as
the soft shoot extension is finished in early summer. If the shoot is
cut when it is soft, it still has the ability to differentiate the
tissue below the cut to a mass of new buds, which then results in a very
bushy tree.
Jeremy
Barrell Tree Consultancy
Pullman Way Business Park
Ringwood
Hants BH24 1EX
Tel: 01425 475666
Fax: 01425 476491
Email: jeremy@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.co.uk
Website: www.barrelltreecare.co.uk
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