Maine’s 2-needle pines take the stage

Early December, and suddenly the conifers take center stage in Maine landscapes, both natural and managed. From a distance, we recognize them by their form: tall spires of spruce and fir, horizontal branches of white pine.

Maine is also home to two lesser-known pines, red pine (Pinus resinosa) and jack pine (P. rigida). Both have two needles per fascicle, or bundle, but otherwise they are entirely different, impossible to confuse. The needles of red pine are 4 to 6 inches long while those of jack pine are at most 21/2 inches long.

Red pine is found throughout Maine, concentrated along the coast and in the western half of the state. It is often called “Norway Pine.” According to Marilyn Dwelley, author of “Trees and Shrubs of New England” (1980), this is because it was originally discovered near Norway, Maine. However, in his book “A Natural History of Trees” (1948), Donald Culross Peattie writes that “this justly proud and heroic town was not incorporated and named until 1797, yet in 1790 the name of Norway Pine was already in use.” Peattie suggests that the name “Norway” may be traced to usage by early English explorers who knew of the Norway spruce, but not by sight.

Except for a few trees on the University of Maine campus in Orono and the occasional roadside windbreak, I have not seen red pines used in managed landscapes. Although a colorful tree, its trunk mottled with deep, rich salmon color, the irregular branching habit gives it a coarser texture than the more popular white pine (P. strobus). Also, we seem to prefer white pine’s darker green foliage to the yellow-green needles of red pine.

Jack pine, on the other hand, is a true garden tree. It is better suited to the garden, growing from 15 to 50 feet in height with a narrow, open, irregular-conical form. Each tree is unique in character with windswept recurving branches and dead lower limbs that persist for years, features that reflect the harshness of Maine winters. The lower limbs die from being shaded by upper limbs and, indeed, jack pine must have full sun to survive.

The short needles are sharp-pointed, stiff, somewhat twisted and yellow-green; the cones unsymmetrical and curved, often smooth or with tiny prickles, and pointing forward, toward the tip of the branch. A large portion of the mature cones remain on the tree, tightly closed, for up to 20 years. From time to time, some of these old cones open and shed their seed, resulting in a mixture of open and closed cones on the same tree, but the majority of cones remain closed until fire consumes the forest. Then they open in response to the heat to release the seed, some of which survive to ensure regrowth of the forest.

Highly tolerant of drought, jack pine grows best in course sands and gravels and is intolerant of clay soils. It is also intolerant of alkaline soils, growing best in highly acidic to slightly acidic conditions (pH 4.6-6.5). It is salt resistant but intolerant of soil compaction.

When might you consider using this pine in a landscape design? Of course, for sites composed of acid, sandy soils, jack pine would be a good choice. Another good reason is jack pine’s wildlife value. Jack pine stands provide nesting sites for several species of song birds as well as ground nesters, including common nighthawks and vesper sparrows. As urban sprawl and other human disturbances continue to destroy natural stands of jack pine, using them in managed landscapes may become essential for the survival of these and other bird species.

Send queries to Gardening Questions, P.O. Box 418, Ellsworth 04605, or to reesermanley@shead.org. Include name, address and telephone number.