Mugo pine 'Mops'
Pinus mugo 'Mops' · Pinaceae
A dense, almost perfectly round pine that reaches waist height in ten years, with resinous buds like candles in winter.
- Size
- 3 ft tall, 3 ft wide
- Zones
- 2 to 7
- Light
- Full sun
- Flowers
- Grown for its leaves
- Pets
- No toxicity recorded
- Job in a bed
- Anchor
A bed built around mugo pine 'Mops'
The planner designed this bed around mugo pine 'Mops' when this page was made: a 12 × 6 ft (3.7 × 1.8 m) English border in zone 6, full sun. It chose the other plants from the 966 that suit those conditions, and says below why mugo pine 'Mops' stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Mugo pine 'Mops' × 1, dark green leaves
- 2 Bloody cranesbill 'Max Frei' × 7, pink
- 3 Heath aster 'Snow Flurry' × 11, white
- 4 Brown-eyed Susan × 3, yellow
- 5 Columbine 'Nora Barlow' × 3, pink
- 6 Yarrow × 3, yellow
- 7 Hyacinth × 8, blue
- 8 Star of Persia × 3, purple
Why this plant
- The only plant grown for its leaves. Leaf lasts all season, where a flower lasts a few weeks.
- The bed's only structure. Shrubs and grasses keep their shape when the perennials die down, and it is the only one here.
Why here
- Anchors a back corner. At 3 ft it is one of the taller plants here, and the tallest close the ends of the bed, where they stand in front of nothing.
- A step in the back row. Next to yarrow (24 in): no two neighbours there are the same height, so the back steps up and down like a skyline.
- One plant, alone. A shrub is seen as an object, and needs clear ground around it.
Why now
- Here for its leaves, all year. They cover the 13 weeks between early March and late November when nothing on the plan is in flower.
- The only leaves in winter. From November to March it is what there is to look at.
Planned as an English border: 6 of the 6 groups (100%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. Heath aster 'Snow Flurry' repeats along the bed to tie it together. The flowering is at its height from mid June, with 4 kinds out together.
The planner's own design check: 14 Excellent, 3 Good. It flags one thing to watch: Nothing on this plan is highly poisonous or an aggressive spreader.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where mugo pine 'Mops' goes in a border
At 3 ft it belongs in the middle of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is medium tall (2½ to 3 ft).
Its job: anchor. A shrub that gives the bed permanent structure. Planted singly, as soon as the front edge is laid; everything else is arranged around it.
The most reliable dwarf mugo pine: seed-raised mugos grow to any size, but this stays small. A dark green ball for rock gardens, gravel and the corners of beds.
- A dwarf evergreen globe
- Rock and gravel gardens
- Year-round structure
What to plant with mugo pine 'Mops'
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Heather: adds the flowers, late July to mid September; spires rising out of its mound; low enough (16 in) to stand in front of it.
- Blue fescue: low enough (10 in) to stand in front of it.
- Creeping juniper 'Blue Rug': low enough (6 in) to stand in front of it.
Questions about mugo pine 'Mops'
Does mugo pine 'Mops' need sun or shade?
Mugo pine 'Mops' grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day).
It wants ordinary well-drained soil, on the lean side, with no feeding, and little watering once settled. Once settled in, it stands drought.
What zones does mugo pine 'Mops' grow in?
USDA zones 2 to 7. It is hardy to zone 2, which means it survives winter nights down to about −40 °F (−40 °C).
Above zone 7 it struggles: the zones measure winter cold, but a plant's top zone usually means the summers are too hot or the winters too mild for it to rest.
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
How far apart should mugo pine 'Mops' be planted?
2½ ft (80 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 3 ft (90 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 3 ft (90 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many mugo pine 'Mops' plants do I need?
At 2½ ft apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 2 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 4 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 5 to fill a 4 × 8 ft bed on its own
In a mixed border, plant it as one, planted singly: it is the bed's structure, and everything else is arranged around it.
In the bed above, the planner used one in one group.
Is mugo pine 'Mops' poisonous to dogs and cats?
No toxicity is recorded for dogs, cats, horses or people, according to NC State Extension.
"Not toxic" is not "edible": a pet that eats a lot of any plant can be sick.
Is there a native plant like mugo pine 'Mops'?
Mugo pine 'Mops' comes from Mountains of central and southern Europe. These North American natives come closest to doing its job:
- Arborvitae 'Hetz Midget': the same job in a bed; 4 in wider, wants moist soil.
- Shrubby cinquefoil: the same job in a bed; 4 in wider, flowers early June to mid September.
- Inkberry 'Shamrock': the same job in a bed; belongs at the back, not in the middle, 12 in taller.
Matched the way the planner's Swap button matches plants: the same job in a bed, then size, then flowering time.
Do deer eat mugo pine 'Mops'?
Mostly not. NC State lists it as resistant to deer. No plant is proof against a hungry deer in a hard winter, but this one is low on the menu.
What does mugo pine 'Mops' look like in winter?
Mugo pine 'Mops' keeps its dark green leaves all winter, so it is one of the plants that hold a bed together from November to March, when the perennials have gone.
Is mugo pine 'Mops' good for bees and butterflies?
Mugo pine 'Mops' is visited by moths and songbirds.
It is a host plant: the caterpillars of imperial moth feed on its leaves. A butterfly can only lay its eggs on its host plants, so these do more for it than any nectar flower.
More Pinus
- Dwarf white pine Pinus strobus 'Nana'
- Mugo pine Pinus mugo var. pumilio
In these guides
Every fact on record
- Type
- Shrub
- Size
- 3 ft (90 cm) tall, 3 ft (90 cm) wide
- Plant
- 2½ ft (80 cm) apart
- Height class
- Medium tall (2½ to 3 ft)
- Place in the bed
- Middle
- Flowers
- None: grown for its foliage
- Leaves
- Fine texture, evergreen; dark green
- Shape
- Rounded, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 2 to 7
- Light
- Full sun
- Soil
- Lean, well-drained
- Water
- Low
- Feeding
- None needed
- Family
- Pinaceae
- Comes from
- Mountains of central and southern Europe
- Attracts
- Moths, songbirds
- Host plant for
- Imperial moth
- Stands up to
- Deer, drought, salt, pollution
Checked against NC State Extension and VASCAN (plants of Canada). Flowering times are for zone 5: later in colder zones, earlier in warmer ones. Toxicity and spread information is a general gardening guide, not veterinary or medical advice, and invasive status varies by region. If a person or pet eats a plant, contact poison control or a vet. Check your local invasive species list before planting anything with a spread warning.