Pinus Mugo Kobold

Pinus Mugo Kobold or Dwarf Mountain Pine Kobold is the perfect dwarf conifer shrub for tucking into small places. Hardy and reliable in almost any location, it will provide year-round colour and interest in even the smallest garden!

Pinus Mugo’s native home is the mountains of central Europe and the Balkans, and so its hardiness is built in! Pinus Mugo Kobold was developed in 1951 in the Netherlands by Hugo Hooftman. It has a spherical crown, forming a small, dense ball of bright green needles up to 3.5 cm long and 1 mm wide. In winter the buds of next season’s shoots, reddish-brown in colour, appear at the ends of the branches.

Fully hardy in the UK and even the most severe continental climates, Dwarf Mountain Pine Kobold will grow 5-10 cm a year to a height of 60 cm and spread of 80 cm in 10 years, and potentially will grow to 1 metre high and 1.5 metres across at full maturity. No pruning is required to maintain Pinus Mugo Kobold’s natural, attractive dense globe shape, slightly flattened at the top.

Plant Pinus Mugo Kobold in full sun in an exposed or sheltered position with any aspect, in any well-drained soil. Tolerant of salt, it is a good shrub for coastal regions, and highly tolerant of pollution, it will thrive in even inner-city gardens. Deer do not graze on Dwarf Mountain Pine Kobold, so it is safe for use on country properties.

The small size and year-round interest of Dwarf Mountain Pine Kobold makes it an ideal choice for the smallest of growing situations, where every plant has to earn its keep in every season. It is a perfect container plant for a roof terrace or balcony, where its extreme hardiness will guarantee its success. In the restricted space of a patio or courtyard garden, Pinus Mugo Kobold will give year-round colour and act as a foil for flowering plants, or help create a tapestry of green texture in a rock or gravel garden. It is a good foundation planting where low-maintenance is desired. Snow cover will not harm this tough, small shrub, so it will do well in an exposed position where more delicate plants would suffer damage. 

See also other Pinus Mugo varieties, such as Pinus Mugo Mops, Pinus Mugo Nana, Pinus Mugo Winter Gold and Pinus Mugo Pumilio. Lots more dwarf conifers in our collection of low-growing plants.