‘Patton’s Silver Splendor’ white pine was selected after a decade of screening by U of M researchers following propagation by Robert F. Patton at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. It has exceptional resistance to white pine blister rust, which threatens to destroy native white pines.

One of its resistance mechanisms is thicker than usual waxy deposits that inhibit the disease and give the blue-green needles a distinctive silvery look. Its cones develop with age, enhancing the tree’s ornamental value.

• Species: Pinus strobus ‘Patton’s Silver Splendor’
• Introduction: 2011
• Height: 50-80 feet
• Spread: 20-40 feet
• Zones: 3-8