The Dwarf Eastern White Pine, otherwise known as the Pinus Strobus ‘Nana’ or Eastern White Pine ‘Nana’, Weymouth Pine ‘Nana’, North American Pumpkin Pine ‘Nana’, North American White Pine ‘Nana’, White Pine ‘Nana’, Dwarf White Pine, is a rather well known shrub plant by gardening enthusiasts around the world.

Best known for its low maintenance and slow growth, this shrub 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.

This is why all the topics you need to know in order to achieve this will be covered in this Dwarf Eastern White Pine Care Guide. Ready? Let’s go!

But if you prefer to watch a short video instead, check it out here:

In order to take proper care of your Dwarf Eastern White Pine you’ll need to keep in mind the following guidelines:

• Water: The Dwarf Eastern White Pine needs evenly spread moist soil – try to avoid letting the soil dry out.
• Light: Keep your Pinus Strobus ‘Nana’ in an environment where it can receive full sun on a daily basis. 
• Soil: Make sure to keep the Dwarf Eastern White Pine in soil with well-draining properties, so ideally, one that is made of sand and loam.

And that’s practically it! If you keep these three factors in check, your Dwarf Eastern White Pine will likely have all it needs for it to survive and even thrive.

Scientific / Botanical Aspects

In botanical terms, the Dwarf Eastern White Pine belongs to the Pinaceae family, the genus Pinus and the species Strobus, hence its scientific (or botanical) name Pinus Strobus ‘Nana’ (PY-nus STROH-bus).

Some of the more popular Pinaceae plants are 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, Picea Mariana ‘Nana’ and Pinus Flexilis ‘Vanderwolf’S Pyramid’.

As with other Pinus’s, the Dwarf Eastern White Pine is an evergreen plant, which means it will be present year round in your garden.

Growing Region

You might be wondering why your Dwarf Eastern White Pine’s native region is important. Well, if you know where your plant originally came from, you’ll know which environment conditions it prefers, and with it, knowledge on how to replicate it at home.

With this in mind, the Pinus Strobus ‘Nana’ will be most used to the heat zones in the 1 – 9 region, as the plant hardiness level falls between 3a, 3b, 4b, 4a, 5b, 5a, 6b, 6a, 7a, 7b, 8b, 8a and the ideal climate zone is between 1, 1A, 1B, 2, 2A, 2B, 3, 3A, 3B, 4, 5, 6.

Growth and Size

Growth

In terms of size and growth, the Dwarf Eastern White Pine is a relatively slow grower, which makes things easy for any plant enthusiast.

Size

But, how big does the Dwarf Eastern White Pine actually get? What should you expect in terms of size? Let’s dive right in…

The Pinus Strobus ‘Nana’ can grow up to 2′ – 7′ (60cm – 210cm) in 2′ – 7′ (60cm – 210cm) and 2′ – 10′ (60cm – 3m) in 2′ – 10′ (60cm – 3m). 

Also, expect it to grow in a wonderful compact shape, which is something worthwhile to remember when making your garden landscape plans.

Water

In terms of watering, the Dwarf Eastern White Pine is a fairly complicated plant to take care of.

This is mostly because it has a not so straightforward watering schedule and somewhat irregular watering needs.

Specifically, most experts agree that the Pinus Strobus ‘Nana’ needs evenly spread moist soil – try to avoid letting the soil dry out.

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 Dwarf Eastern White 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. 

However, in our experience, the best solution to knowing the right amount of water for your Dwarf Eastern White Pine is with the ‘thumb’ technique. Basically, you insert your finger into the soil, and based if you feel the soil moist or dry, you determine if it needs any water, which is the most appropriate way to go about watering your leafy friend.

Soil Mix

As mentioned earlier, the Dwarf Eastern White Pine prefers to have soil with good drainage properties at all times, reason why you need to make the soil mix out of sand and loam.

This is why most experts agree that the Dwarf Eastern White Pine requires soil with high organic matter, loam (silt), and sand, which will give you the right conditions it needs.

In addition to this, expert gardeners recommend having preferably alkaline, acid or neutral soil.

Light and Exposure

In terms of light & exposure, the Dwarf Eastern White Pine requires full sun in order for it to thrive under the right conditions. 

Most experts agree that this shrub 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 Strobus ‘Nana’ in from little to partial shade (only 2-6 hours of direct sunlight a day), to dappled or moderate shade (under other plant’s canopy), to full and direct sun (more than 6 hours of direct sunlight per day).

Season

Being an evergreen plant, the Dwarf Eastern White 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.

Foliage

The leaves from the Dwarf Eastern White Pine have a beautiful blue-green color during most of the year.

In particular, they have a needles arrangement with a other/more complex organization in its leaves.

You can expect the leaves from your Pinus Strobus ‘Nana’ to be around (1-3 inches) in size.

Attracts, Tolerance and Resistance

The Dwarf Eastern White Pine is well known for its tolerance to animals like rabbit and deer, so don’t worry if any of these come along, your Pinus Strobus ‘Nana’ will be fine.

Garden

Does your Dwarf Eastern White Pine have any garden recommendations? Does it serve any gardening purposes? Here’s how you can get the most out of your new plant.

Other owners consider that they complement well most gardens of coastal garden styles. 

In particular, the Dwarf Eastern White Pine’s best location within your garden is in beds and borders, others use it for landscaping in a specimen, border, container, or a topiary.

Conclusion

Even though we covered a lot of care information for your Dwarf Eastern White Pine, remember the basics: sunlight, soil and water, as these should be enough to grow a healthy plant at home.