How do I Identify Red Pine Varieties With Peeling Bark?
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Look closely at the base of these needles to see the fascicle.Pine image by Henryk Olszewski from Fotolia.com
Count the number of needles in a cluster (also called a bundle). The bundle holds the needles together at the base with a papery sheath called a fascicle. Look at several bundles; if they all have the same number of needles, assume they all came from the same tree, especially if you gathered them all at one time under your tree. All red pine trees have needles in bundles of two, while other pines have needles in other arrangements, such as ones, threes, fours and fives. - 2
Pine tree needle lengths range from 1 to 14 inches.pine-tree image by Filip Pivarci from Fotolia.com
Measure the needle length with a ruler. Austrian pines, short-leaf pines, Virginia pines and Scots pines are some of the other trees with two-needle bundles, but their needle lengths vary. The length of red pine tree needles tend to range from 4 1/2 to 6 inches. - 3
Pine cones can be solitary or whorled, as shown.pine cone close-up image by michele goglio from Fotolia.com
Look at the cone placement, arrangement and size. Red pine cones are 2 inches long or less, gray brown and either solitary or in clusters. It's not unusual to see solitary and whorled clusters on the same tree regardless of the variety. - 4
Red or orange might show under a flaky pine bark.flaky tree image by redrex from Fotolia.com
Look at the tree's bark. Red pine trees native to North America have deeper, platelike bark, while Japanese Red Pines have a bright orange, paperlike, flaky bark, especially on new growth and branches. Japanese Red Pines are native to China, Japan, Korea and Russia, but they are used for cultivation in American landscapes and frequently in bonsai gardens. The bark peels off on new growth but forms a platelike bark on the lower old growth of the trunk. - 5
Bonsai trees have been pruned and shaped.pine tree against the sky in japanese garden image by Sean Wallace-Jones from Fotolia.com
Examine the pine trees' shape and growth form. Native and Japanese Red Pine trees can reach 50 to 60 feet in height with branches that grow horizontal to the tree. The most common cultivated variety is the Japanese Red Pine var. Umbraculifera, also called Tanyosho Pine. The multitrunk form and umbrellalike shape of the Tanyosho variety resembles a shrub more than a tree; the bark tends to be more orange. The variety Pendula has a weeping format and does not always stand up; it wants to spread like a ground cover. Identifying the unnatural and forced growth of bonsai forms also begins with counting the needles and looking at bark.
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