Anyone Familiar With Coniferous Shrubberies?

[Dave Richards]

Se we have this thing next to the driveway. I'm not sure whether it's a bush or a short tree.


I was looking at today and noticed these weird things on it that I don't recall having seen before.


They give off a dust when the thing moves in the breeze or when I give it a kick.


I assume these are the flowers and that's pollen coming out. Is that correct? This thing also has more cones on it than I ever remember having seen in the 21 years we've been here.

 

[Brent Dowell]

 

[Brett Luna]

I'm no arborist but I have one on my property that I've tentatively identified as lodgepole pine. According to my reading, it's easy to identify in the PNW because it's the only indigenous pine with needles occurring in pairs. Couldn't say about MN.

 

[Dave Richards]

Thank you gentlemen.

Brent, you are extremely helpful as usual. I should have thought to refer there.

Brett, thank you. My guess is mine is unlikely to be a lodgepole variety considering it's lack of height and there being nothing straight from which a lodge pole could be made. But it may be somehow related. I imagine they are both in the plant family so there's that.

The more I look at it the more I'm sure those are flowers and not some sort of insect infestation.

 

[Ryan Mooney]

• I'm 100% sure that that is pollen.
• I'm 99.26% sure that its some type of pine (looks like paired needles and general appearance: https://www.finegardening.com/article/fir-vs-spruce-vs-pine-how-to-tell-them-apart).
• I'm 100% sure it's not lodgepole.

My first guess Mountain or maybe Mungo pine, but there is a huge variety of decorative small pines so I'd lay good odds on my first guess being wrong.

Unsure on why it never dropped the pine pollen scourge on you before.. Most pines are mature enough to have cones at 2-3 years, 21 would be way more than long enough.

 

[Brent Dowell]

Brent, you are extremely helpful as usual. I should have thought to refer there.

Always glad to be of help! (or not)

 

[Ted Calver]

Voting for Mugo. Looks like the male flowers. I'd show you, but don't think Pinus pictures are allowed.

 

[Ryan Mooney]

Little late for that isn't it Ted?

But yeah the more I Mungo the more I pine!

 

[David Johnson]

Mungo pine with pollen. Works great for allergies. Worked on Chritmas farm and in spring mowing the pollen would actually choke out the tractor. Had be blown out after 30- 45 minutes. This pollen didn't bother me but the grass pollen tore me up.
David

 

[Frank Fusco]

I've always understood (perhaps incorrectly) that a tree sheds it's lower branches as it grows allowing the trunk to stay bare. But a bush doesn't shed those branches and just.........uh........sorta bushes out and doesn't grow tall.

 

[Brett Luna]

Brett, thank you. My guess is mine is unlikely to be a lodgepole variety considering it's lack of height and there being nothing straight from which a lodge pole could be made.

Yeah, I was so focused on the branches you pictured that I disregarded the overall shrub-like form. Mine is strongly over-shaded by alders and cottonwoods, so it's quite stunted and and scruffy but still, it's tree-like. If mine is a lodgepole, it isn't indigenous. It's technically an invasive species but is of litte concern.

 

[larry merlau]

they will do special prunes to get some coniferous trees to look like bushes dave,, and its just pine pollen dusty and some folk are allergic to it.

 

[Dave Richards]

Whatever species it is, it seems to really be happy this year. The new growth is amazing. We don't really do anything with it although due to its location it usually gets covered in a lot of snow during the winter. Surprised we haven't killed it.