Pinus sylvestris 'Calle' / Calle Scots pine

Pinus sylvestris 'Calle' is a miniature, globose selection of Scots pine with slightly irregular branching that gives mature plants a bit of a bumpy outline, creating the effect of ancient, tortured krummholz. Nice, bright green needles are short, one-third the length of those seen on the typical species. After 10 years of growth, a mature specimen will measure 10 to 12 inches (25 - 30 cm) tall and somewhat wider, an annual growth rate of around 1 inch (2.5 cm).

This cultivar originated as a witch's broom found in the late 1990s by Karl-Erik Johannsen of Helsingborg, Sweden. He collected the mother broom on the Halleberg, a small mountain in south-central Sweden. There is probably no better dwarf Scots pine for the rockery or trough garden. It thrives in full hot sun, challenging soil, drought and cold winters.