The Vanderwolf’s Pyramid Limber Pine, otherwise known as the Pinus Flexilis ‘Vanderwolf’S Pyramid’ or Limber Pine, Limbertwig, Rocky Mountain Pine, is a somewhat well known tree plant native to the Rocky Mountains, and the Southwest of the United States.
Best known for its low maintenance and slow growth, this tree will likely liven up your house (or garden) with its blue-green colored leaves. But, only if you learn how to take proper care of it for it to thrive.
Fortunately, this is exactly what we’ll cover in this Vanderwolf’s Pyramid Limber Pine Care Guide. So let’s dive in.
In order to take proper care of your Vanderwolf’s Pyramid Limber Pine you’ll need to keep in mind the following guidelines:
- Water: The Vanderwolf’s Pyramid Limber Pine needs water regularly to maintain evenly moist soil.
- Light: Keep your Pinus Flexilis ‘Vanderwolf’S Pyramid’ in an environment where it can receive full sun on a daily basis.
- Soil: Make sure to keep the Vanderwolf’s Pyramid Limber Pine in soil with well-draining properties, so ideally, one that is made of clay, loam, chalk, and sand.
That’s it – sunlight, water and soil! The basic 3 fundamentals for all plant care, and with the Vanderwolf’s Pyramid Limber Pine this is no exception. With these three elements, your leafy friend will live healthy and happy.
Scientific / Botanical Aspects
In botanical terms, the Vanderwolf’s Pyramid Limber Pine belongs to the Pinaceae family, the genus Pinus and the species Flexilis, hence its scientific (or botanical) name Pinus Flexilis ‘Vanderwolf’S Pyramid’ (PY-nus FLEK-sil-is).
Other popular Pinaceae plants include species like Weymouth Pine ‘Nana’, Pinus Sylvestris ‘Glauca Nana’, Raspberry Lemonade™ Ninebark, Calabrian Pine, Pinus Taeda, Drooping Cone Pine ‘Mops’, Picea Abies ‘Nidiformis’, Picea Abies ‘Pumila’, Abies Concolor ‘Blue Cloak’, Echiniformis White Spruce, Ceanothus X ‘Blue Sapphire’, Blue Atlas Cedar ‘Glauca Pendula’, Compact Tanyosho Japanese Red Pine, Black Pine, Abies balsamea ‘Nana’, Mountain Pine, Purity Pieris, Thunberg Pine, Shore Pine, Green Globe Alpine Fir, ‘Low Glow’ Japanese Red Pine, Horstmann’s Silberlocke Korean Fir, Japanese Larch ‘Pendula’, Aurea Serbian Spruce, Red Cone Norway Spruce and Picea Mariana ‘Nana’.
As with other Pinus’s, the Vanderwolf’s Pyramid Limber Pine is an evergreen plant, which means it will be present year round in your garden.
Growing Region
The Vanderwolf’s Pyramid Limber Pine is a plant native to the Southwest Canada to western US. This is why the Pinus Flexilis ‘Vanderwolf’S Pyramid’ is used to growing in specific regions such as the states in Rocky Mountains, and the Southwest of the United States.
Knowing your plant’s native region is very useful, as it can give you tips on which environment is best for your Vanderwolf’s Pyramid Limber Pine. If you keep it in mind, you can try to replicate these conditions at home, and you’ll likely end with a healthier plant.
With this in mind, the Pinus Flexilis ‘Vanderwolf’S Pyramid’ will be most used to regions where the plant hardiness level falls between 4b, 4a, 5b, 5a, 6b, 6a, 7b, 7a and the ideal climate zone is between 1, 1A, 1B, 2, 2A, 2B, 3, 3A, 3B, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, A1, A2, A3.
Growth and Size
Growth
In terms of size and growth, the Vanderwolf’s Pyramid Limber Pine is a relatively slow grower, which makes things easy for any plant enthusiast.
Size
But, how big does the Vanderwolf’s Pyramid Limber Pine actually get? What should you expect in terms of size? Let’s dive right in…
The Pinus Flexilis ‘Vanderwolf’S Pyramid’ can grow up to 40′ – 60′ (12m – 18m) in 40′ – 60′ (12m – 18m) and 25′ – 40′ (7.5m – 12m) in 25′ – 40′ (7.5m – 12m).
Also, expect it to grow in a wonderful pyramidal shape, which is something worthwhile to remember when making your garden landscape plans.
Water
In terms of watering, the Vanderwolf’s Pyramid Limber Pine is a fairly complicated plant to take care of.
This is mostly because it has a not so straightforward watering schedule and somewhat regular watering needs.
Specifically, most experts agree that the Pinus Flexilis ‘Vanderwolf’S Pyramid’ needs water regularly to maintain evenly moist soil.
Which is why it is considered a plant with relatively average needs in terms of water.
Watering
As a rule of thumb, you should remember to keep your Vanderwolf’s Pyramid Limber Pine in soil with well-draining characteristics, as these will guarantee the right conditions for your plant to grow and thrive.
When you consider this, this is why you should aim to choose soil that has good drainage properties to keep the right moisture levels at all times.
In our experience, the famous ‘thumb’ or ‘finger’ test is what works best for the Vanderwolf’s Pyramid Limber Pine since with it, you will be able to give it the right amount of water, every time – regardless of the environment or placement where you do decide to keep it.
Soil Mix
As mentioned earlier, the Vanderwolf’s Pyramid Limber Pine prefers to have soil with good drainage properties at all times, reason why you need to make the soil mix out of clay, loam, chalk, and sand.
In addition to this, expert gardeners recommend having preferably alkaline, acid or neutral soil.
Light and Exposure
In terms of light & exposure, the Vanderwolf’s Pyramid Limber Pine requires full sun in order for it to thrive under the right conditions.
Most experts agree that this tree will do well as long as you keep it in full sun, and it will be able to grow properly.
Specifically, we recommend that you place your Pinus Flexilis ‘Vanderwolf’S Pyramid’ in little to partial shade (only 2-6 hours of direct sunlight a day), to full and direct sun (more 6 hours of direct sunlight per day).
Season
Being an evergreen plant, the Vanderwolf’s Pyramid Limber Pine will be present year round in your garden.
But, you can expect it to have its ‘prime-time’ during the spring (early, mid, late), the summer (early, mid, late), the fall, and during the winter.
Flowers
The Vanderwolf’s Pyramid Limber Pine produces some wonderful brown/copper flowers around this time of year.
Foliage
The leaves from the Vanderwolf’s Pyramid Limber Pine have a beautiful blue-green color during most of the year.
In particular, they have a needles and simple arrangement in its leaves.
You can expect the leaves from your Pinus Flexilis ‘Vanderwolf’S Pyramid’ to be around (1-3 inches) in size.
Attracts, Tolerance and Resistance
The Vanderwolf’s Pyramid Limber Pine is well known for its tolerance to animals like deer, so don’t worry if any of these come along, your Pinus Flexilis ‘Vanderwolf’S Pyramid’ will be fine.
Garden
How should you then organize your garden to include your new Vanderwolf’s Pyramid Limber Pine? Here are some recommendations by expert gardeners.
Most Pinus Flexilis ‘Vanderwolf’S Pyramid’ owners agree that this tree will look great in most contemporary, asian/zen and rustic gardens of all types.
Other owners consider that they complement well most gardens of prairie and meadow styles.
In particular, the Vanderwolf’s Pyramid Limber Pine’s best use for landscaping within your garden is as wildlife garden, mass planting, specimen, or a woodland garden.
Companion Plants
Vanderwolf’s Pyramid Limber Pine’s do well with some other plants beside it. One good companion plant is the Acer, which will pair up nicely with your leafy friend.
Others consider that a nice Ilex will work well too, so choose whichever you find works best for you!
Conclusion
So that’s it! These are the main plant care requirements that you need to keep in mind in order to have a healthy Vanderwolf’s Pyramid Limber Pine in your garden or home.
