Mountain Pine 'Pumilio'

Mountain Pine 'Pumilio' (Pinus mugo var. pumilio) is a dense green cushion that spreads across the ground while lifting its branch tips upwards. The needles are short, up to 4 cm, stiff and rich green, held in pairs, and over the years small egg-shaped brownish cones appear among them.

This is the workhorse conifer for slopes, retaining walls, rockeries and foundation plantings - anywhere the ground needs an evergreen carpet. A mature cushion reaches 0.9-1.5 m tall and 1.8-3 m wide, and pinching the young shoots each year makes it denser still and keeps it within its allotted space.

Key characteristics:

• What makes it special: Mountain pine copes well with urban conditions, so it is planted with confidence in apartment-block courtyards and along streets where conifers usually struggle.
• Dimensions: When mature it forms a spreading cushion 0.9-1.5 m tall and 1.8-3 m wide.
• Hardiness: It winters without protection - hardy down to -40 °C (USDA zone 3).
• Light: Very light-loving: in full sun the cushion is dense, while in shade it thins and loses its shape.
• Soil: It likes moist, well-drained loam or sand and takes clay too - the one thing it will not have is waterlogging.
• Watering: Moderate watering is enough: the plant stands up to both drought and dry, lean soil.
• Care: Trim back the new growth each year in late winter - that keeps the bush dense and stops it outgrowing its spot.
• Landscape use: Ideal for a rockery, a slope, a foundation planting, a border and a low conifer group.