This mugo pine is grown for its more open and unusual branch structure that resembles a trained bonsai. Its needles are evergreen and tightly clustered. It fills in more with age and will reach a little over 3 feet tall and wider in 10 years. It is a slow grower.

Pines are tolerant of a wide variety of soils except for saturated soils. It prefers full sun and is drought-tolerant once established. Pine tip moths can occasionally bother it. The Jakobsen Mugo pine is a specimen plant and should be used as such.