We’re these worth a punt?

mikejames2011

I’ve just bought these two large Scots pines tallest around 15ft (no labels to identify but I was told that’s what they were). They were at the back of a nursery in the graveyard and had both fallen over and been there for sometime. Anyway I got them for £20 each and plan on planting them at the bottom of our garden in a pair. Do you think they will recover and bush up as they grow? Looks like they've been in pots for years so may not establish? If it’s a lost cause I will get some proper specimens, it just I was looking for Scots pine and came across these! 

Any advice on how I should plant and stake to help them establish? 

pansyface

In the wild they live in some pretty inhospitable places. Should be OK.

I hope that you have some understanding neighbours, or own an acre or two, they grow very very tall.

And finally, when planting them, be sure to wear the correct clothing...

mikejames2011

pansyface said:

In the wild they live in some pretty inhospitable places. Should be OK.

I hope that you have some understanding neighbours, or own an acre or two, they grow very very tall.

And finally, when planting them, be sure to wear the correct clothing...

We don’t have any neighbours at the back of the garden, it’s just open countryside so shouldn’t be a problem and I’ll be planting around 3 / 4 meters away from the side boundary so they won’t be on the boundary line of next door. Our neighbours have no trees and hate gardening by the looks of it so I’m not too fussed what they think 

I don’t have anything that smart to wear sadly 

BobTheGardener

They naturally shed their lower branches as they grow, so I'd cut off any which are obviously dead.  I've grown them from seed with a couple kept in pots for about 10 years - at that size they will be extremely pot-bound so try and free some roots and spread them out when you plant them.  They'll need staking for a few years or wind-rock will prevent the roots from growing properly, or they may even get blown out of the ground.

Silver surfer

Smaller trees establish more quickly.
Hopefully your larger ones are not root bound.
Please give them plenty of space...they are after all large trees.


https://www.mailordertrees.co.uk/products/pinus-sylvestris-scots-pine

mikejames2011

Thanks for the replies, you’ve got me thinking do we have enough space! This is a picture of the garden, it’s a work in progress as you can see. The red lines are where I was thinking of planting, the idea is that as he trees grow the lower limbs will be removed and we will frame the view / be looking through the trees to the countryside beyond. A friend of ours had some lovely pines planted at the end of their garden which also backed onto fields and it looked lovely. I’m assuming it will take many years for them to get to their eventual height and spread?

p.s apologies for the grammar error in the title! Autocorrect on my phone.

Silver surfer

From a very personal point of view I would hate to plant anything that blocked that fab view.  Especially conifers.
I love trees..... but I love even more views, sunshine and light.
Conifers can make things dark, gloomy...you will lose that view if you plant  1 or both  Pinus sylvestris...Scots pines.
I would have a re think.

Dovefromabove

I agree with @Silver surfer ... pines can be so dark, especially when placed against the light ... I don’t think it would give you what you’re hoping for. 

I’m also not convinced that Scots Pines would be happy there, so close to a river/lake?  I see happy Scots Pines on the well drained sandy Breckland of the Norfolk/Suffolk border 
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breckland

Id be tempted to plant an elegant alder to the left of that view 

Fairygirl

On the plus side - they'll help soak up all the overflow when the river bursts. 

They get extremely big, but they can also be quite gappy in their habit. It really depends on how elevated the house is, and how much privacy you want.
There's plenty round this area - in gardens and nearby, but the growth is quite open, and if you remove the lower branches, as suggested, you can achieve a high crown, allowing a view. 
I'd agree with the advice about planting too - they'll be very pot bound.

Papi Jo

Totally agree with @Silver surfer and @Dovefromabove . Why on earth would you want to block that view?

Greenbird

A gardening blogger once wrote something that's always stuck with me:

"I taught my children two important rules:

1) Never marry anyone without first living with that person.

2) Every time you think of planting a tree, do it."

Have you ever walked through the countryside and thought, that view would be spectacular if that tree wasn't there? or through a grove of Oaks and thought, this shade is depressing?

In my opinion, trees always enhance the beauty of the landscape (apart from leylandii and such, which are literally green walls). 

Plant them. If you find they aren't delivering the desired effect in a few years, take them down. It's not the end of the world. But I'm 100% certain that your great grandchildren would find that view even more spectacular whilst sitting on a rope swing beneath the light shade of a Scotts Pine.