Scots Pine - Cultivation and Uses

Cultivation and Uses

Scots Pine is an important tree in forestry. The wood is used for pulp and sawn timber products. A seedling stand can be created by planting, sowing or natural regeneration. Commercial plantation rotations vary between 50–120 years, with longer rotations in northeastern areas where growth is slower.

In Scandinavian countries, Scots Pine was used for making tar in the pre-industrial age. There are still some active tar producers, but mostly the industry has ceased to exist. The pine has also been used as a source of rosin and turpentine.

The wood is pale brown to red-brown, and used for general construction work. It has a dry density of around 470 kg/m3 (varying with growth conditions), an open porosity of 60%, a fibre saturation point of 0.25 kg/kg and a saturation moisture content of 1.60 kg/kg.

Scots Pine has also been widely planted in New Zealand and much of the colder regions of North America; it was one of the first trees introduced to North America, in about 1600. It is listed as an invasive species in some areas there, including Ontario, Michigan and Wisconsin. It has been widely used in the United States for the Christmas tree trade, and was one of the most popular Christmas trees from the 1950s through the 1980s. It remains popular for that usage, though it has been eclipsed in popularity, by such species as Fraser Fir, Douglas-fir, and others. Despite its invasiveness in parts of eastern North America, Scots Pine does not often grow well there, partly due to climate and soil differences between its native habitat and that of North America, and partly due to damage by pests and diseases; the tree often grows in a twisted, haphazard manner if not tended to (as they are in the Christmas tree trade). Scots Pines may be killed by the pine wood nematode, which causes pine wilt disease. The nematode most often attacks trees that are at least ten years old and often kills invaded trees within a few weeks.

Several cultivars are grown for ornamental purposes in parks and large gardens, and the following have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit:-

• P. sylvestris
• 'Aurea group'
• 'Beuvronensis'