Characteristics

Evergreen conifer, with glaucous green needles gathered in pairs.
Reddish-brown bark cracking into plates; in the younger parts of the branches and trunk the colour tends to red-brown.
Fast growth; candle-shaped shoots apperaing in March/April.

Care

It prefers sunny and ventilated positions, with well-drained but humid growing soil.
Spring fertilization with slow-release organic fertilizer, alternating with a chemical one.
In winter, carry out an insecticide treatment with white oil.

Pruning

Prune the new candle shoots before they open into needles, lowering them all to the same size (about 0.5/1cm) and adjust any new candle shoot that lengthen during the growing season after the first pruning.

In winter, remove the old yellowed needles by hand, leaving only those from the new year.