White Pine Trees for a Privacy Hedge?

I love all evergreen trees and white pine trees in particular. I am presenting information gleaned from my experience of growing white pines for 45 years.

White pines have very long needles compared to some other varieties of pines.Their luxuriant appearance enhances any landscape. They are the personification of the idealistic Christmas tree, A photo of most white pines could be used on a Christmas card without retouching.

The needles produced last year remain on the tree until the fall of this year when they turn yellow and fall off, gradually producing a blanket of pine needles which smothers weeds and imparts a soft, cushiony feeling to each step. The needles gradually decompose and form a soil rich in humus. The needles produced this year remain on the tree until the fall of next year.allowing the tree to retain a green color during the winter.

If your state forestry department has nurseries that supply tree seedlings to residents at a reasonable price, you can landscape your property with white pines for a very modest price. Due to the popularity of white pines this variety should be available. At a commercial nursery, the cost would be somewhat higher but not prohibitive. I would advise having a yard of an acre or more because of the eventual size of the trees.

Planting..
When your young white pine trees arrive, plant them as soon as possible. If you must wait a few days, dig a hole in the ground and bury the burlap root ball and water thoroughly to keep the roots from drying out. Stretch a line to guide your row as you plant, if a straight line is important to you. I usually planted white pines along property lines as privacy screens so I will address that method. Dig small holes 8 to 10 feet apart. If you wish faster cover plant 2 rows about 10 feet apart and stagger the placing of the trees in the second row to fill in the open spots. If your ground lacks fertility, placing a small shovelful of topsoil in the bottom of the hole will be beneficial but not mandatory, using enough to cover the roots. Spread the roots of the tree and place it in the hole taking care to cover the roots with the topsoil. Take the shovel and crumble the soil which was removed from the hole and fill the area of the hole around the roots of the tree. Pieces of sod which were removed can be placed upside down around the tree to serve as mulch. Do not place the tree any deeper in the hole than the tree was originally while growing. You should be able to discern the soil line on the tree by the difference in the color and texture of the bark. After placing the loose soil back in the hole firm it up to get rid of any air pockets. Air pockets will let the roots dry out and increase the chance of the tree dying. The surface will be slightly higher than originally but when the rain settles it thoroughly it will be level. Using some topsoil around the roots will also help the tree to get a good start. Now soak the hole with water and water the tree every 3 or 4 days if there is no rain. Don’t water it every day because white pines do not like constantly wet soil. It is important that they have enough water the first year. Do not plant in swampy soil. White pines do not like constantly wet feet.

The grass and weeds should be mowed and trimmed around the trees for a few years until the shade and carpet of pine needles take care of the problem by smothering them. The grass and weeds compete with the trees for nutrients so cutting them allows the trees to grow faster.

It takes 2 or 3 years for white pines to get their roots set and start growing rapidly. probably 2 feet or more per year. At 6 or 7 years of age I have seen them grow 4 feet or more per year during a wet year. The amount of rain has a lot to do with the amount of growth.

Pruning.
White pines are not usually thought of as trees which are effective as a privacy screen. The neighbor’s cow taught me that they are. How could that be? A neighbor’s cow jumped our yard fence and was somehow able to break the top shoot out of a beautiful young white pine tree along the edge of our yard. I was very emotionally upset that this happened but decided to leave the tree alone and give it a chance to grow. To my great surprise the damaged tree became the most beautiful and bushiest pine tree we had. White pines normally have limbs which are fairly far apart and do not make the best privacy screen The removal of the top leader of the tree causes the tree to attempt to produce multiple tops as a replacement. Amazingly this causes the tree to grow much bushier with many more limbs which are closer together forming a much more effective privacy screen.

After viewing the results of the cow-damaged tree I began to prune the top sprout or leader on all the trees along the property line where I wanted to produce a tall hedge or privacy screen. I did the pruning after most of the summer growth was completed and removed the leader to within 2 inches of the first joint. It always resulted in a much fuller and bushier tree. Very few trees died over a period of years but that also happens to trees that are not pruned, for a variety of reasons. If a tree dies it is always prudent to have a certified arborist check for problems of disease or insects.

You will now have two choices. If you wish to limit the height of the hedge for several years you can prune the top leaders of the entire hedge every year for a few years which will greatly slow it’s increase in height. This will add many years to their value as a privacy screen or hedge. When the hedge reaches the desired height you will need to trim the tops more heavily to maintain the desired height. Your other choice is after pruning the tops one year you can let them resume their normal rate of growth. You will then have tall trees of normal height but they will be much fuller and bushier. Leave at least 12 feet between your trees and the property line to reduce intrusion on your neighbor’s property.

The photo in this article is of the author’s backyard showing a white pine hedge which is 10 years old. It was created using the methods described in this article.

The following interesting facts about white pines are found on the website ostermiller.org.

“The white pine is a large straight-stemmed tree with a pyramidal crown. The leaves are needles 3 to 5 inches long, bluish green on the upper surface,whitish beneath and occurring in bundles of five.”

“Height: 80 to 100 ft,”

“Longevity: maturity reached at 150 – 200 yrs.: some reported to be 450 yrs. old.”

“Tallest one in Marquette Mich. is 180 ft.”

Source:

“bt” and Stephen Ostermiller, “White Pine” http://ostermiller.org/tree/whitepine.html

Disclaimer: I am not an arborist or landscaping professional. This article is written for informational purposes only. The purpose is not to give advice. Any action taken as a result of reading this article, is taken at your own risk. I am relating my experiences and opinions and my opinions could be wrong.