Japanese black pine (Pinus thunbergiana and Pinus thunbergii) can be used as an ornamental garden specimen. It is a highly tolerant plant that does well in a variety of landscape conditions.
Planting the Tree: When your tree is a few feet tall, you may want to transplant it to a permanent location in the landscape. Early spring and early fall are especially good times for transplanting.
Light: Give the Japanese black pine full-sun exposure but don’t worry if its current location is in light afternoon shade. If it receives heavy shade any time of day, however, try to allow more sunlight to filter to the Japanese black pine or move it to a sunnier location. The tree should be away from larger plants that may drip water on it that will keep it damp and promote fungal infections.
Water: Japanese black pine is very drought-tolerant but performs best in soil with medium moisture. Water the black pine until the soil is soft and penetrable with a metal soil probe.