The Italian stone pine, botanical name Pinus pinea, also known as the Mediterranean stone pine is native to the Mediterranean region, occurring in Southern Europe and the Levant. The species was introduced into North Africa millennia ago, and is also naturalized in the Canary Islands, South Africa and New South Wales.
Stone pines have been used and cultivated for their edible pine nuts since prehistoric times.They are widespread in horticultural cultivation as ornamental trees, planted in gardens and parks around the world.
The tree is among the current symbols of Rome. It was first planted in Rome during the Roman Republic, where many historic Roman roads, such as the Via Appia, were (and still are) embellished with lines of stone pines. Stone pines were planted on the hills of the Bosphorus strait in Istanbul for ornamental purposes during the Ottoman period. In Italy, the stone pine has been an aesthetic landscape element since the Italian Renaissance garden period. In the 1700s, P. pinea began being introduced as an ornamental tree to other Mediterranean climate regions of the world, and is now often found in gardens and parks in South Africa, California, and Australia.
Stone Pine Care: Plant stone pine in slightly sandy dry to medium-
moisture soil.
Locate the tree in full sun.
Give the tree plenty of space for growth.
Use fallen pine needles as a natural mulch to
help with water retention and keep weeds at bay.
These trees are typically sold as small, living Xmas trees in retail stores & nurseries & that's exactly where I found him. Acquired in Dec. 2025 - $12.98 - Major Home & Garden Center.
I pruned some small downward-growing shoots & exposed the lower trunk, but other than that, this is how he looked when I brought him home.
I will let him rest for a while & settle-in to his new surroundings, & we will be looking at a re-pot in a few days,
into a training pot..I've already test-fit & just minor root pruning will be necessary.
Jan. 2026
I still haven't re-potted my "stoner" pine, and I don't really have a clue about styling this tree, but I have exposed the trunk & am experimenting with how far to go with branches..whether to completely de-foliate, except for growing tips or to leave some needles in place.
Am I correct in thinking about needles like leaves that support photosynthesis or do pines have a different mechanism? Beyond exposing the trunk & more of the "bones" of the tree, I'm not certain where I want to go from here.
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