Black pine

Black pine: how do you recognise it?

Habit

Tree of 20–40 m with a dense, oval crown about 8 m wide, which becomes flattened on old trees.

Needles

In 2s, 8–16 cm, dark green and sturdy. In the Corsican form they are somewhat softer and twisted.

Bark

Dark grey to blackish, fissured into long plates, even high up the trunk.

Cones

5–8 cm, yellowish-brown and glossy, fairly symmetrical.

Difference from Scots pine

Scots pine has shorter, blue-green needles and orange bark in the crown.

Harvest and fruit: January–December · Pruning: May–June

Identify by feature: Needles in bundles

Looks like it, but isn’t

• Scots pine Pinus sylvestris: shorter, blue-green needles and orange bark in the crown. Difference from Scots pine

Why grow it?

• One of the best windbreaks on the coast: tolerates sea wind, salt and blowing sand.
• Grows on dry and chalky soils where many other conifers struggle.
• Dark green all year, with a dense, sturdy crown.
• Old pine woods give shelter to owls and birds of prey.

Black pine: where does it grow best?

• Full sun; in shade it grows thin.
• Almost any free-draining soil, from sand to chalk; it tolerates drought but not waterlogging.
• Ideal on the coast and in open, windy places: it tolerates sea wind and salt.
• Allow for 20–40 m in height and a crown of about 8 m: only for a large garden, a park or as a windbreak along a field.

Light

Full sun

Legal basis

Any garden soil

Moisture

Dry

Size

30 m tall, 8 m wide

Hardiness

Throughout Belgium, no protection needed

Goes well with

• Sea buckthorn: A tough native coastal shrub with orange berries: together a windbreak that tolerates salt and sand.
• Burnet rose: A low, prickly rose for the sunny edge, with white flowers and black hips.
• Wild privet: A semi-evergreen shrub for the lower edge of a windbreak on chalky or sandy soil.
• Scots pine: Together a mixed row of pines with different needle colours and bark.

Good and bad companions

Goes well with

• Like the acid soil under this tree: heather, rhododendron, japanese skimmia, raspberry, highbush blueberry, witch hazel, broom, gorse
• Tolerate the shade under this tree: oregon grape, rhododendron, oleaster, japanese skimmia, garden privet, camellia, laurustinus, box-leaved honeysuckle

Black pine: when and how to plant it?

1. Plant in October–November or in March–April, when the ground isn’t frozen.
2. Choose young, small plants in pots or root-balled: older pines transplant badly.
3. For a windbreak: plant in one or two rows with 2–3 m between the trees, if you like alternating with shrubs.
4. On the coast, shelter young trees for the first few years behind a screen of netting or reed until they are well rooted.
5. Water after planting and during dry spells in the first year.

Care

Watering

In dry spells during the first year; rarely needed after that.

Feeding

Not needed.

Windbreak

Keep the lower branches: that way the windbreak stays dense at the bottom.

Health

In spring and summer, look for brown, dead young shoots (see problems) and cut them out in dry weather.

Tip: Looking for a wind-proof pine for a small seaside garden? Choose a slow-growing mountain pine (Pinus mugo), or keep a young black pine compact by pinching back its candles every year.

Black pine: when to prune it?

Pruning months: May–June.

When: Dead, diseased and broken branches can be removed at any time of year. Pinching the candles in May–June keeps a young tree compact.

How:

• Pinch the new candles back by half in May–June: the pine then branches more densely and stays smaller.
• As with all pines: don’t cut back into bare wood, as no new buds will form there.
• Cut out diseased, brown shoots and disinfect your secateurs afterwards.

Caution: Never cut out diseased shoots in wet weather: the fungal spores then spread easily.

Pruning: when and how · Pruning calendar and basic rules

Propagation

Sowing

Let ripe, closed cones open somewhere warm and sow the seeds in spring in a tray of sandy compost. Move the seedlings on while they are young.

Grafting

Dwarf and ornamental forms are grafted onto a seedling; that is a job for the nursery.

Black pine: how does it get through the winter?

Hardy throughout Belgium: no protection needed.

• Fully hardy.
• Wet snow easily settles on the dense crown and can break branches: shake young trees.

Diseases and pests

• Diplodia shoot blight: Young shoots with short, brown needles that die, often after a dry summer or hail. Cut out affected shoots in dry weather and clear away fallen cones: the fungus survives on them.
• Red band needle blight: Red-brown bands on the needles, which then die; especially on Corsican pine in damp surroundings. Plant with plenty of space for air to circulate.
• Pine shoot moth: Caterpillars in the buds and young shoots, which grow crooked or die. Cut off affected shoots.
• Pine shoot beetle: Hollowed-out twigs that snap off and litter the ground under the tree; mainly on weakened trees. Clear away felled pine wood promptly.

Through the year

• January: Remove dead and broken branches; shake snow off young trees.
• March: Planting season: time to plant a windbreak.
• April: Last month for planting; look for brown, dead shoots.
• May: Pinch the candles to keep a young tree compact.
• June: Last month for shortening the candles.
• July: Water young trees in dry spells.
• October: Planting season starts; clear away fallen cones if there is shoot blight.
• November: Plant pot-grown or root-balled trees.

What can you use it for?

Wood

Construction timber, posts and pulpwood.

Garden and landscape

A sturdy windbreak on the coast and in the dunes; tolerates salt and drought.

For wildlife

Old pine woods give shelter to owls and birds of prey.

Edible and useful

Young shoots (May)

The young shoots in May, while they are soft and pale green: as with Scots pine, for syrup, vinegar or flavoured sugar. Pick here and there across the tree and leave the leading shoots.

Needles (January–December)

Needles all year round for tea; the long needles of black pine give a somewhat stronger, resinous flavour.

Storing

Fresh shoots keep for a few days in the fridge, or for months in the freezer. In vinegar they keep for a year.

Caution: Never confuse a pine with yew: flat needles set singly, red berries, deadly poisonous. Black pine has long needles in pairs held in a sheath. Use pine needles in moderation and not during pregnancy. Only pick on your own land or with permission, well away from busy roads and sprayed fields, and never eat anything you have not identified with certainty.

Eating and using is at your own risk: see the terms of use.

Recipes

• Pine-shoot vinegar (Vinegar · 0.5 litre · 10 min + 3 weeks steeping)
• Pine shoot liqueur (Liqueur · ± 800 ml · 20 min + 4 weeks steeping + 2 weeks maturing)
• Trout smoked over pine needles (Dish · 4 servings · 20 min + 30 min brining)

Good for wildlife

Birds

Berries, seeds or insects as food, or a place to nest.

Did you know?

• Tolerates sea wind, drought and chalk: that is why it has been widely planted in the dunes and as a windbreak.
• In the dunes it was planted to fix blowing sand; many of those pine woods are still there today.
• There are several subspecies: Austrian pine has stiff, dark needles, Corsican pine softer and more twisted ones.
• In the wild, black pine grows in southern Europe and around the Mediterranean, from Spain to Turkey, in several subspecies such as Austrian and Corsican pine.
• Corsican pine suffers from a needle disease caused by the fungus Dothistroma, recognisable by red bands on the needles. In Britain, planting it in state forests was halted for a time.