The Macedonian Pine is native to the mountains of Macedonia, Bulgaria, Albania, Montenegro, Kosovo, the extreme southwest of Serbia, and the extreme north of Greece and typically grows at moderate to high altitude often reaching the alpine tree line in this area.
Introduced to Britain in 1864 the Macedonian Pine is also a popular ornamental tree in parks and large gardens, giving reliable steady though not fast growth on a wide range of sites. It is very tolerant of severe winter cold and wind exposure and is hardy down to at least -29°C.
Large trees have a shapely dense dark crown and a mature size up to 35–40 m (115-130ft). Bark on young trees is a smooth silvery grey green that is finely cracked with red fissures. This darkens with age becoming purple with large smooth areas between the fissures.
The needles are grouped in bundles of five generally between 6–11 cm long, they are very densly forward pointing on young shoots and are a deep blue/green with finely lined with white stomatal bands. Macedonian Pine cones are mostly 8–16 cm long, occasionally up to 20 cm long, green at first, becoming yellow-brown when mature, with broad, flat to down curved scales. The large 6–7 mm long and have an impressive 2 cm wing
This is an extremely sturdy tree of uniform steady growth of up to 60cm (2ft) per year on almost any site. It is often in the best of health when other trees around it are sickly or dying and deserves to be more widely planted
Introduced to Britain in 1864 the Macedonian Pine is also a popular ornamental tree in parks and large gardens, giving reliable steady though not fast growth on a wide range of sites. It is very tolerant of severe winter cold and wind exposure and is hardy down to at least -29°C.
Large trees have a shapely dense dark crown and a mature size up to 35–40 m (115-130ft). Bark on young trees is a smooth silvery grey green that is finely cracked with red fissures. This darkens with age becoming purple with large smooth areas between the fissures.
The needles are grouped in bundles of five generally between 6–11 cm long, they are very densly forward pointing on young shoots and are a deep blue/green with finely lined with white stomatal bands. Macedonian Pine cones are mostly 8–16 cm long, occasionally up to 20 cm long, green at first, becoming yellow-brown when mature, with broad, flat to down curved scales. The large 6–7 mm long and have an impressive 2 cm wing
This is an extremely sturdy tree of uniform steady growth of up to 60cm (2ft) per year on almost any site. It is often in the best of health when other trees around it are sickly or dying and deserves to be more widely planted
Germination, Sowing and After Care Information for
Macedonian Pine (pinus peuce)
Seeds of the Macedonian Pine (pinus peuce) have a deeper dormancy than most pine species. This dormancy can be broken down by a period of cold stratification in the fridge.
You can do this by first soaking the seeds in water for 24 hours. Fully drain away all of the water and place the seeds in a zip-lock freezer bag. Place the seeds in the fridge, it is important that during this period that the seeds do not dry out or are waterlogged otherwise the pre-treatment will be ineffective.
Alternatively the seeds can be mixed together after soaking with a 50/50 mix of moist compost and sharp sand to help maintain moisture around the seeds for the pre-treatment.
This pre-treatment needs to last for up to 30 weeks before the dormancy is broken down and the seeds are ready to be sown. In general, the seeds will fail to germinate unless treated in this way, simply sowing untreated seeds in compost at room temperature will not break down the dormancy and germination will be disappointing.
Fill your chosen container with a good quality general potting compost. Suitable containers could be plant pots, seed trays or plug trays or even improvised containers with drainage holes. Firm the compost gently and sow the seeds on the surface. If you are sowing in plug trays, sow 1 or 2 seeds per cell.
Cover the seeds with a couple of millimeters of vermiculite or failing that a fine layer of sieved compost. Follow with a gentle watering and keep them at room temperature.
Germination will begin a few weeks from sowing. The seedlings are reasonably robust and trouble free and usually grow to a height of between 3 and 8 cm in the first growing season depending on the sowing date and cultural techniques.
Densely sown seedlings are at risk from fungal diseases such as “damping off” which can cause rapid loss of many seedlings.
Developing seedlings should be fine in full sun, keep them well watered and free of competing weeds. Growth will accelerate rapidly in the second and subsequent years and the developing young trees should be re-potted as necessary preferably during the dormant season. After perhaps 2 years they are ready to be planted in their permanent position.
This species will grow very large, very rapidly so plant it well away from buildings, power lines, etc.
You can do this by first soaking the seeds in water for 24 hours. Fully drain away all of the water and place the seeds in a zip-lock freezer bag. Place the seeds in the fridge, it is important that during this period that the seeds do not dry out or are waterlogged otherwise the pre-treatment will be ineffective.
Alternatively the seeds can be mixed together after soaking with a 50/50 mix of moist compost and sharp sand to help maintain moisture around the seeds for the pre-treatment.
This pre-treatment needs to last for up to 30 weeks before the dormancy is broken down and the seeds are ready to be sown. In general, the seeds will fail to germinate unless treated in this way, simply sowing untreated seeds in compost at room temperature will not break down the dormancy and germination will be disappointing.
Fill your chosen container with a good quality general potting compost. Suitable containers could be plant pots, seed trays or plug trays or even improvised containers with drainage holes. Firm the compost gently and sow the seeds on the surface. If you are sowing in plug trays, sow 1 or 2 seeds per cell.
Cover the seeds with a couple of millimeters of vermiculite or failing that a fine layer of sieved compost. Follow with a gentle watering and keep them at room temperature.
Germination will begin a few weeks from sowing. The seedlings are reasonably robust and trouble free and usually grow to a height of between 3 and 8 cm in the first growing season depending on the sowing date and cultural techniques.
Densely sown seedlings are at risk from fungal diseases such as “damping off” which can cause rapid loss of many seedlings.
Developing seedlings should be fine in full sun, keep them well watered and free of competing weeds. Growth will accelerate rapidly in the second and subsequent years and the developing young trees should be re-potted as necessary preferably during the dormant season. After perhaps 2 years they are ready to be planted in their permanent position.
This species will grow very large, very rapidly so plant it well away from buildings, power lines, etc.
