Pinus koraiensis Silveray - Korean white pine

Pinus koraiensis 'Silveray' is a variety of Korean White Pine with a beautiful, erect and slender form, rather narrow and irregular. Its most remarkable characteristic is perhaps its long twisted needles in shades of blue, silver, white and green that appear on the tree at the same time, giving an overall silvery and sparkling appearance. This conifer deserves a prime location in the garden, either as a single specimen or in a group of several plants. Not very demanding, it prefers sun and well-drained, rather moist soils, and tolerates drought relatively well once established.

The Korean White Pine or Pinus koraiensis is a plant from the Pinaceae family. It is a pine species native to Korea, Japan, Siberia and Manchuria. In its natural habitat, it produces seeds or pine nuts, rich in oil, six or seven years after planting, compared to fifteen years for other Korean pines. These pine nuts are consumed by villagers. Under their canopy grows ginseng, also harvested by local communities. Korean White Pine forests are threatened by illegal logging and could disappear within 15 years according to WWF if the current rate of degradation does not decrease.
'Silveray' is a lush selection discovered in Germany in the 1970s. It is a slow-growing evergreen tree, with a narrow pyramidal shape, which can reach 3 m in height and 1 m in width at the age of 10, and 9 m in height by 3 m in width at maturity. Its branches are more or less horizontal or ascending, and the twigs are short. Its long green and silvery bicoloured needles twist, giving a silvery appearance to the whole. It produces fist-sized, very scaly cones resembling pineapples, which start green and end up brown. It can start producing cones from a height of 1.5 metres.

Korean White Pines are relatively unknown to gardeners and still rare in cultivation. They are cold-resistant and adaptable to soil as long as it is properly drained. 'Silveray' is a superb specimen that stands out when planted alone. It can also be planted in groups to create a dense privacy screen. It charms with its colour, texture and unusual shape. It blends well with rocks in the garden. It can be associated in a Japanese garden with bamboos and Japanese Forest Grass Hakonechloa macra, in a very "zen" spirit. In a contemporary garden, the architectural qualities of conifers naturally stand out thanks to the aesthetics of their shapes and the quality of their textures. These plants with reassuring permanence can structure a flower bed, mark pathways and enhance the garden in winter. The key is to play with volumes and colours.