Pinus mugo Pumilo

This dwarf mountain pine comes from the high ground of Europe, from the Pyrenees and Alps through to the Carpathians, where it grows low and rounded against the weather. In the garden it keeps that naturally domed shape, adding small brown cones among the needles as it slowly builds year on year.

There is very little to do once it is in the ground. Pruning is rarely needed, since the plant holds its own tidy outline, though you can pinch back the soft spring candles by hand if you want to keep it more compact. Clear fallen leaves off the crown in autumn so light reaches the centre.