Pinus strobus 'Josh's Ornament' is a recently-discovered miniature cultivar of Eastern white pine. Needles are the same Blueish green color as seen in the species, but are somewhat shorter. Typical rate of growth in most areas is less than one inch ( < 2.5 cm) a year resulting is a small globose tuft of soft needles after 10 years in the garden.
Josh Horky of Duluth, Minnesota discovered the witch's broom that was to become 'Josh's Ornament' while on a broom hunting expedition in January of 2012. It was little more than a dense ball of needles hanging from a branch nearly 60 feet off the ground along a highway pull-off on the east side of Marquette, Michigan, along Lake Superior. His team struggled to build an elaborate structure using a 20-foot extension ladder and pole saws in extremely cold and snowy conditions to retrieve the rare prize. Scion wood has since been distributed world-wide with hope of creating a new garden-worthy miniature pine.
