Dwarf Mountain Pine Care

While your mugo pine is young, water as needed throughout summer so that the ground never dries out completely. Once established, mature shrubs are moderately drought-tolerant and need less frequent watering.

People sometimes plant mugo pine trees under the false assumption that they are all dwarfs. The result of this poor plant selection is that the homeowners end up with plants too big for the space in which they are growing. This drawback is somewhat offset by mugo pines' slow growth rate. But if you find yourself with a mugo pine that is growing beyond the dwarf size you were expecting, you can shape the plant in spring by removing the central shoots of new growth (called "candles"). Pruning these central candles by half their length will create a very dense, compact plant.

You can fertilize your mugo annually with compost or another organic soil amendment. They typically do not need applied fertilizers, though a spring application may help those grown in containers.

While mugo pines will tolerate part shade at the northern end of their range (zones 2 to 5), these regions will see better performance if they are planted in full sun. Part shade may be preferable when growing them at the southern end of their range (zones 5 to 7).

Mugo pine trees are not fussy about soil pH and can tolerate slightly acidic to slightly alkaline soil. They are also tolerant of various soil types, provided it drains well; they do not like wet, dense soil. These shrubs do well in sandy soil, provided it has some organic matter in it.

Dwarf cultivars generally can survive both hot summers and cold winters. They rarely suffer winter burn on the foliage from the drying winds of winter, as do arborvitae and some other evergreens.

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