Pinus strobus aka Eastern White Pine

Pinus strobus, also known as the eastern white pine, northern white pine, white pine, Weymouth pine (British), and soft pine, is a large pine tree native to eastern North America. It can be found from Newfoundland, Canada, through the Great Lakes region to southeastern Manitoba and Minnesota in the United States, and south along the Appalachian Mountains and upper Piedmont to northernmost Georgia. The Haudenosaunee Native Americans named it the "Tree of Peace", while in the UK, it is known as the "Weymouth pine" after Captain George Weymouth of the British Royal Navy, who brought its seeds to England from Maine in 1605. The eastern white pine belongs to the Pinus subgenus Strobus and has flexible, bluish-green leaves that occur in bundles of five, occasionally three or four. The leaves are finely serrated and 5-13 cm long, and the fascicle sheaths persist for 18 months. The seed cones are slender, 8-16 cm long, and have scales with a rounded apex and slightly reflexed tip. The seeds are 4-5 mm long, with a slender 15-20 mm wing, and are dispersed by wind. Cone production peaks every 3-5 years. Mature eastern white pines can live to over 400 years, with some trees in Michigan and Wisconsin dated to approximately 500 years old. The branches are spaced about every 18 inches on the trunk, with 5-6 branches appearing like spokes on a wagon wheel. Eastern white pine is self-fertile, but seeds produced this way tend to result in weak, stunted, and malformed seedlings. While relatively rare as a houseplant, Eastern White Pine is easy to grow and needs regular watering to thrive. It prefers long-lasting, direct light and should be less than 1 foot from a window. Eastern White Pine likes well-draining soil and should be repotted each time it doubles in size.