Re: Monterey Pine
- Subject: Re: Monterey Pine
- From: d* f* <d*@yahoo.com>
- Date: Sun, 10 Jan 2010 19:16:59 -0800 (PST)
As others have already informed you, Pinus radiata will most likely do quite well for you. You might also want to consider that it is a very large growing pine that can easily grow to 70 feet tall and is not particularly long lived, (+/- 110 years or so), and can be expensive to prune and/or remove in the future. Unless you really have a lot of room and can safely plant this far enough away from structures that it wouldn't topple your house, I would suggest it is not really a good candidate. The winds you get at your latitude can do major damage, and this species of pine is better adapted to grove plantings to resist wind toppling, single specimens can suddenly fall under heavy rainfall and high wind conditions, especially if they are planted in rich soils with consistent rainfall.
Might you consider planting one of the similar looking but smaller growing California native coastal pines such as Pinus contorta or the slightly taller growing P. muricata? Both are more manageable size wise than a Monterey Pine, though neither is any longer lived.
--- On Sun, 1/10/10, Alison Richards <asmrichards@hotmail.com> wrote:
> From: Alison Richards <asmrichards@hotmail.com>
> Subject: Monterey Pine
> To: "medit ucdavis" <medit-plants@ucdavis.edu>
> Date: Sunday, January 10, 2010, 8:56 AM
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> Hullo & Happy New Year from frozen
> London
> I'm wondering whether Monterey pine, Pinus
> Radiata would be happy in W. Sicily.
> Sicily is HZ 10, we have strong winds from the
> sea, rain in the
> winter ( at the moment ), but it is hot and dry
> in the summer, and the soil is not acid.
> I have seen Pinus Radiata growing well in SWest
> England, and read that it originates
> round San Francisco, but also that it grows
> in the Baja peninsula.
> Stone pines and Aleppo pines grow well with us,
> & I do love the shape of mature
> Monterey pines.
> I would be grateful for any thoughts on
> this,
> with best wishes
> Alison
> Alison Richards
>
>
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