Pinyon pine

Sun

Full sun.

Water

Low once established. Water deeply during establishment, then allow the soil to dry between waterings; established trees may need occasional deep watering during prolonged drought.

Soil

Well-drained sandy, gravelly or rocky soil; tolerates alkaline soil. Avoid waterlogged ground, heavy compacted clay and regularly irrigated lawns.

Height

15-25 ft (4.6-7.6 m)

Spread

10-20 ft (3-6.1 m)

Foliage

Evergreen. Stiff, short, yellow-green to blue-green needles, usually held in pairs; a dense crown when young becomes more open and irregular with age.

Growth

Slow, often only a few inches of new growth a year.

Care needed

Low

• Drought tolerant
• Wildlife
• Edible

Northern hemisphere months. In Australia, shift them by six.

Difficulty

Moderate

Toughness

Very tough

Pick your zone, country, light and whether you have pets.

1. Planting day

   7 ft (2 m)

2. After 1 year

   7 ft (2.1 m)

3. After 2 years

   7 ft (2.3 m)

4. After 3 years

   8 ft (2.4 m)

5. After 5 years

   9 ft (2.6 m)

About 32 years to full size.

From a typical nursery size, at an average rate for this kind of plant. A rule of thumb, not a forecast.

Cats and dogs

Mildly toxic: may upset a stomach

Native to

the US

Growth rate

Slow

• Plant while dormant or during a cool season, keeping the root flare at ground level.
• Water the root ball and surrounding soil deeply during the first two growing seasons, allowing the soil to dry between waterings.
• Keep lawn sprinklers and frequent irrigation away from the root zone.
• Apply a shallow gravel or coarse organic mulch, leaving the trunk clear.
• Avoid routine fertilizer; rich feeding does not suit this slow-growing pine.

Pruning. Prune only to remove dead, damaged or crossing branches, preferably in late winter during dry weather. Keep its natural outline; do not top it or cut back into bare old wood expecting new growth.

Collect mature brown cones in late summer or autumn as their scales begin to open, then dry them in a ventilated place and shake out the hard-shelled nuts. Seed-grown trees often take 25 years or more from planting to give a meaningful crop, and heavy crops occur only at intervals. Nearby pinyons improve the prospects of pollination and filled seed.

Late winter

Remove dead or damaged branches with clean tools; avoid unnecessary shaping.

Spring

Plant young trees when the soil is workable and drainage is good.

Late spring

Check new growth and the trunk for needle browning, boring dust or fresh masses of resin.

Summer

Check soil moisture around young trees and water deeply when dry; avoid frequent light watering.

Late summer

Watch developing cones and collect them as they turn brown and begin opening.

Autumn

Clear fallen needles away from the trunk and nearby structures where wildfire is a concern.

• Use as a small specimen tree in a sunny gravel garden, allowing room for its broad mature crown.
• Combine with yuccas, dryland grasses and low drought-tolerant shrubs for a southwestern planting.
• Plant in loose groups on a well-drained slope for evergreen structure and wildlife food.
• Include in a dry-climate edible landscape where pine nuts are a long-term bonus rather than a dependable crop.

Garden styles it suits: Southwestern, Desert / xeriscape, Dry gravel garden, Mountain lodge, Wildlife garden and Edible landscape.

Plant it with: Big sagebrush, Rubber rabbitbrush, Banana yucca, Blue grama, Indian ricegrass and Apache plume.

Wildlife: The large seeds feed pinyon jays, Clark's nutcrackers, squirrels and other wildlife. Birds cache the seeds and help establish new trees; the evergreen crown provides shelter and nesting cover.

• Pinyon bark beetles: drought-stressed trees are especially vulnerable. Maintain appropriate deep watering during severe drought and ask a local arborist promptly about boring dust, resin and rapid crown browning; badly infested trees generally cannot be saved.
• Root rot and decline in wet soil: improve drainage before planting and keep the tree away from lawn irrigation; move young trees out of persistently wet sites.
• Pinyon needle scale: insects can cause needle loss and weaken young trees. Confirm identification and seek locally timed treatment advice, since control depends on the insect's life stage.
• Pinyon pitch mass borer: resinous lumps on branches or the trunk can indicate larvae beneath the bark. Have an arborist assess substantial damage and avoid unnecessary bark wounds.

Not known to be toxic to people, cats, dogs or horses; the shelled seeds are edible, although pine nuts can cause serious allergic reactions in susceptible people. Needles, resin and hard shells are not food and can cause irritation or digestive upset if swallowed. Do not assume it has the same documented livestock toxicity as ponderosa pine.

• Singleleaf pinyon (Pinus monophylla)

  Usually has one stout, rounded needle per bundle, rather than the paired needles typical of pinyon pine.

• Mexican pinyon (Pinus cembroides)

  Usually has three needles per bundle, though counts vary; pinyon pine usually has two, so examine several bundles.

• Ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa)

  Has much longer needles, usually in bundles of three, and develops into a substantially larger tree.

The name pinyon comes from Spanish piñón, meaning pine nut, while the Latin edulis means edible.

Propagation. Grow from fresh, filled seed, usually after a period of moist cold stratification. Sow in deep containers with a freely draining medium and protect seeds from rodents; transplant while young to limit root disturbance.

Accepted botanical name

Pinus edulis

In the US and Canada

Native in the lower 48 states.

Native range

Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah and Wyoming.

Measured

Soil pH 6.5 to 8.5. Average height 380 cm.

Sources: GBIF (CC BY 4.0), USDA PLANTS and Trefle (CC BY 4.0). The care and design notes are LandscapeGPT's own.