Pinus contorta 'Rand'

Pinus contorta subsp. latifolia 'Rand' is a tight, globose dwarf selection of Lodgpole pine. It is quite choice and distinctive with its tight, prickly needles and relatively large buds as compared to the species. Typical rate of growth for most areas is around 1 inch (2.5 cm) a year producing a small round bun up to 16 inches tall and wide (40 x 40 cm) after 10 years of growth.

Jerry Morris of Ft. Collins, Colorado found the original witch’s broom from which this cultivar came about near Willow Creek Pass, north of Granby, in the Routt National Forest of the Colorado Rocky mountains in the late 1990s. The original broom was very small, 10 x 14 inches (25 x 35 cm) and very prickly. He provisionally named it ‘#6′ for the seventh Pinus contorta witch’s broom he selected. Interesting to note that Jerry found this broom with 500 ft (150 m) of the original broom of Pinus contorta subsp. latifolia 'Willow Creek' on the same day.