Pinus kesiya Seeds | Khasi Pine
LATIN NAME: Pinus kesiya
COMMON NAME: Khasi Pine
Plant Profile
Khasi Pine (Pinus kesiya) grows as a tall, evergreen conifer. It likes sun, and well-drained soil. The blooms are worked steadily by bees for as long as they are open. Together these qualities explain its long-standing appeal to gardeners.
Science & Biotechnology
The species features in the wider study of the Pinus group, and its traits make it a useful subject for work on germination biology, cultivation and ornamental selection. Drooping needles of the Khasi pine give it a recognised place in research on tropical highland pines of great pine group, and kesiya species appears in studies of fast timber conifers and warm-slope growth. With present-day seed handling, raising this species well within the reach of any careful grower.
Uses & Benefits
Khasi Pine brings genuine presence to the garden and earns its keep across the growing season. In warm, open ground, the Khasi pine sways warm garden with long, drooping needles. Timber serves building, boxes and resin trade, cones feed birds, and tree makes fine windbreak. It grows well in well-drained, sunny ground. It takes hold quickly and asks for no special treatment from then on.
Pines are a materia medica of their own: vitamin-C-rich needle teas saved explorers from scurvy, pine pollen is a tonic food in China, bark proanthocyanidins are studied for circulation, and resin gave turpentine, rosin and naval stores to history.
Growing from Seed
Seed is the natural starting point for Khasi Pine, and the process is uncomplicated. Use a fine, free-draining seed compost, scatter the seed evenly, cover it lightly and hold it just moist in good light. When the young plants are big enough to handle, space them into pots or a nursery row and let them size up before their final move.
Our Take
Given the right start, Khasi Pine is a long-term garden companion. The only critical period is germination, when the compost must stay evenly moist.
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