Mulching My Pinetum
There's always so much to do to maintain the beauty of all the gardens at my Bedford, New York farm.
As many of you know, I am a serious and passionate gardener, and over the years have designed many gardens around my home. One area that is constantly evolving is my pinetum - an arboretum of pine trees and other conifers I developed about 12-years ago in a field behind my Equipment Barn. This collection has grown extremely well, and I continue to plant additional specimens every year. This week, my outdoor grounds crew covered the area with mulch. Doing this better regulates the soil temperature - keeping it cooler in summer and warmer in winter, adds nutrients to the soil as it breaks down, and helps prevent the growth of weeds. Mulched areas also don’t need regular watering or mowing like lawns do. Fortunately, we are able to make lots of mulch, and compost, right here at my farm.
Enjoy these photos.
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- Behind one side of my Pin Oak Allee is my pinetum. When I first bought my farm, I knew I wanted to plant many, many trees – young trees, to replace the older ones when their lives ended. Most of this collection includes pine trees, but I also included spruces and firs, as well as other evergreens.
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- On the right is Picea orientalis ‘Skylands’ – with beautiful short, tight, yellow foliage, and a graceful form. Oriental spruce is a slow-growing, upright tree that typically grows about eight to 10-feet tall over the first 10-years. The name ‘Skylands’ has no relation to my home in Maine, but I was attracted to it because it was called ‘Skylands.’ This tree was introduced by Skylands Botanical Garden in New Jersey, in 1979.
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- Here’s Chhiring unloading the mulch from the dump truck, so it can be transported in wheelbarrows to various areas of the pinetum. Do you know the difference between compost and mulch? Compost is organic matter that has been decomposed over time, while mulch is the layer of organic materials used as a protective cover. This mulch is made right here at my farm from downed trees that have been put through the tub grinder multiple times.
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- The mulch is dropped in mounds and then spread evenly throughout the space. Spreading a three to four inch layer of mulch will suppress weed germination, retain moisture, and insulate the soil.
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- Among the trees growing is this dwarf white pine tree. If you’re not sure how to tell some of these popular trees apart, here are some key tips: pines have needles that are arranged and attached to the branches in clusters of two, three or five. Spruce and fir trees have needles attached individually to the branches. Spruce needles are sharply pointed, square and easy to roll between the fingers. They’re attached to small, stalk-like woody projections, and when the needles fall, the branches feel rough. Fir needles are softer, flatter and cannot be easily rolled between the fingers. Fir needles are usually attached only on the upper side of the branch. Its branches lack projections, so the bark is smooth. And, a fir tree’s cones stand straight up on many species, or protrude outward on others.
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- The needles on this dwarf white pine are soft and blue-green in color.
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- Once trees are mature, they need little maintenance except for regular mulching and removal of dead or diseased branches. Picea orientalis ‘Nigra Compacta’ or oriental spruce is a medium to large, densely branched evergreen.
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- Its needles are flattened and glossy dark green and are shorter than the needles of other spruce species.
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- This short shrub is Pinus strobus ‘Blue Shag’, commonly known as an eastern white pine cultivar. It is a dense, globose form that typically only grows to about four feet tall.
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- Its short, blue-green needles in bundles of five are quite soft to the touch.
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- Picea abies ‘Pendula’ is used as a collective term to describe the myriad weeping and pendulous forms of Norway spruce. The Norway spruce or European spruce is a species of spruce native to Northern, Central, and Eastern Europe. Its uniquely trained form adds so much interest in this pinetum.
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- Primary branches are slightly upturned but secondary branches become pendulous as the tree matures. Branches are clad with spirally-arranged, four-sided, needle-like, deep green leaves which are attached at the base.
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- Callitropsis nootkatensis ‘Pendula’ or weeping Alaskan cedar, is a slender, strongly weeping form that grows to as much as 35-feet tall.
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- It has widely spaced ascending to horizontal branches with flattened sprays of blue-green leaves.
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- Because the pinetum covers a good portion of this area, it takes a couple of days to complete this task, but the results are so worth the effort. Here is Chhiring using our Kubota model M7060HD12 tractor to transport another large load of mulch to the back of the pinetum. This tractor is used every single day for our outdoor chores.
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- This is a threadleaf cypress. It boasts showy, greenish-gold to gold colors. Shrubs in the threadleaf group generally want full sun – they thrive in this pinetum.
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- This compact conifer features thread-like needles that weep and drape over the entire shrub.
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- This is a dwarf Alberta spruce with a dense, compact, cone-shaped form.
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- Look closely to see its interesting yellowish new growth.
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- On one side of this pinetum are the tall and gorgeous weeping willows. Weeping willows are wide and tall with beautiful curtains of drooping branches that sweep the ground. I have several groves of weeping willow trees growing at my farm.
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- The leaves are long and narrow with a light green color and a finely toothed margin.
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- This pinetum looks so beautiful after it’s mulched. I add more specimens to this collection every year – some are very rare and slow growing, but I love the variety of plantings I’ve amassed.
Martha Pins
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