Pinus parviflora Tempelhof - Japanese White Pine

Pinus parviflora 'Tempelhof' is a variety of Japanese White Pine with a very characteristic habit, with its upright branches and needles arranged in clusters on the relatively short twigs. It grows quite slowly and reaches a medium size, only adopting its characteristic, widely conical and irregular habit after many years. It is also appreciated for the beauty of its foliage, composed of slightly curved needles, with a lovely blue-green colour. This conifer deserves a prominent place in the garden, as a solitary specimen. Undemanding and very frugal, it prefers sunny and well-drained soils, loose and moderately rich, fresh or even quite dry in summer.

Pinus parviflora, also known as Japanese White Pine or Five-Needle Pine, is a conifer of the Pinaceae family, which includes many other important genera for ornamental or economic purposes, such as Pines, Firs, Cedars, Larches or Spruces. This Pine is native to forests located at altitudes between 1300 and 1800m (4265 and 5905ft) in the Japanese islands. In its natural environment, this species can exceed 20m (66ft) in height and has a pyramidal habit, often as wide as it is tall, with a dense conical crown. Appreciated for its wood in Japan, this elegant species has given rise to very beautiful forms, often shaped as bonsais.

The 'Tempelhof' variety forms a small tree with a well-defined central axis and laterally arranged branches in an irregular manner, horizontal to erect. Its habit, rather upright in its youth, becomes conical to pyramidal with age, more or less twisted. It is thus perfectly suited for cloud pruning to structure a Japanese-inspired garden. With a rather slow growth, it reaches about 4m (13ft) in height and 3m (10ft) in spread after 10 years of planting, and then continues to grow to form a small tree of 6 to 10m (20 to 33ft) in height, or even more, with a width of about 5 to 7m (16 to 23ft). The young twigs are brown-green, and with age, the bark takes on a grey-black colour. This Pine has beautiful foliage composed of needles arranged in bundles of 5, and grouped in clusters on the branches. Fairly long, measuring from 4.5 to 6.5cm (2 to 3in), slightly curved, they are blue on the upper side and green on the lower side, giving a decorative bluish overall hue. Their arrangement in clusters on the branches gives this Pine a recognizable appearance. The cream-yellow flowering in May is quite discreet; after 8 to 10 years, brown ovoid cones measuring 5 to 10cm (2 to 4in) in length and 3 to 4cm (1 to 2in) in width appear. They persist for several years on the branches.

This slow-growing Pine is resistant to urban pollution, in addition to being extremely hardy (down to -25/-30°C).

Japanese White Pines are unjustly unknown to gardeners: they are cold-resistant, tolerate some drought, and are very adaptable in terms of soil as long as it is properly drained. Pinus parviflora 'Tempelhof' will find its place in all gardens, from north to south of our country, as its Japanese origins do not prevent it from flourishing in very different climates. This timeless small tree will look good as a solitary specimen and will also bring majesty to a medium-sized garden.
With its moderate growth and its very Japanese silhouette, it will certainly make a magnificent subject in a Japanese garden. It can be associated with the bamboo Pseudosasa japonica with its fiercely Far Eastern appearance, the magnificent Camellias with their evocative beauty, and of course, the Japanese Maples, such as the beautiful variety 'Sangokaku', whose delicate foliage swayed by the wind will lighten the vegetal mass formed by our Japanese Pine.