Swiss Stone Pine makes a beautiful addition to your landscape, due to its uniform, narrow, columnar form. The needles remain for 3 to 5 years, creating fullness to the appearance of the tree. The pyramidal form when young becomes more rounded, open and with a flattened crown as the tree ages. This cooler climate specimen does not due well in the heat and humidity of the south. Plant in an area with good air circulation. Transplants well. Insect, Diseases, and Other Plant Problems: This plant is resistant to most pests and diseases. Pests that may affect the swiss sone pine are caterpillars, borers, bark beetles, miners, scale, mealybugs, and sawfly. Some diseases that may occur are blights, rots, canker, and rusts. This tree is susceptible to wind damage. More information on Pinus .
Curated pairwise relationships between this plant and others in the library — who feeds
whom, who competes, who confuses the pests. Green reads as a good pairing, red as one to avoid.
No curated interactions recorded for this species yet.
Also noted by NC State
Related species the NC State Plant Toolbox flags for this plant — look-alikes to tell
apart, and plants that play a similar role in a planting. Ones we carry in the library are linked.
Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)
Soil texture
Loam (Silt); Sand
Soil drainage
Good Drainage
Available space
12-24 feet
NC region
Mountains; Piedmont
Mature size
Height: 30 ft. 0 in. - 40 ft. 0 in. | Width: 15 ft. 0 in. - 25 ft. 0 in.
Growth rate
Slow
Maintenance
Low
Canopy layer
1 - Canopy (>40 ft)
Form & Appearance
Habit / form
Columnar; Dense; Open; Pyramidal
Foliage
Needled Evergreen
Leaf color
Blue; Green; White
Leaf type
Needles
Leaf margin
Serrate
Leaf feel
Soft
Leaf value
Showy
Leaf size
1-3 inches long
Hairs present
No
Leaf detail
2 to 3 in. soft, stiff, straight needles in bundles of 5, blue-green with 5 bluish-white lines
Flower color
Brown/Copper; Green; Purple/Lavender
Flower size
1-3 inches
Flower detail
Non-flowering. 2 to 3 in. terminal cones, greenish-violet turning purplish-brown. Never open
Bark color
Dark Brown; Dark Gray
Bark detail
Bark darkens, becoming scaly and fissured with maturity
Stem detail
Mature branches are dark with scaly plates. New stems are covered with orange-brown hairs.
Wildlife & Ecology
Native status
Non-native
Origin
Central Europe
Wildlife value
This plant supports Imperial Moth (Eacles imperialis) larvae which have one brood per season and appear from April-October in the south. Adult Imperial Moths do not feed. Seeds are eaten by small mammals.
Attracts
Moths; Small Mammals; Songbirds
Food & Medicine
Edible parts
Seeds
Edibility
Cone seeds are edible.
Landscape Use
Landscape location
Lawn; Meadow; Naturalized Area; Recreational Play Area; Walkways; Woodland