Home
Advanced Search Map Locator
View Settings
Nurseries Carrying this Plant Add Current Plant To List Edit Current Plant
Show all Photos

About Calscape Nurseries
California Garden Planner Bay Area Garden Planner (NEW) Planting Guide
Butterflies My Plant Lists
Contact Calscape
Tap map to see plants native to location
Order by Popularity Order by Common Name Order by Scientific Name Order by # of Butterflies Hosted
Show nursery cultivars Hide nursery cultivars
Show plants not in nurseries Hide plants not in nurseries
Grid view Text view
Loading....
Ponderosa Pine
Pinus ponderosa
  
About Ponderosa Pine (Pinus ponderosa) 29 Nurseries Carry This Plant Pinus ponderosa, commonly known as the Ponderosa Pine, Bull Pine, Blackjack Pine, or Western Yellow Pine, is a widespread and variable pine native to western North America. It was first described by David Douglas in 1826, from eastern Washington near present-day Spokane. It is a dominant tree in the Kuchler plant association Ponderosa shrub forest. Like most western pines, the ponderosa is associated with mountainous topography. It is found on the Black Hills and on foothills and mid-height peaks of the northern, central and southern Rocky Mountains as well as the Cascades and Sierra Nevada. Modern forestry research identifies four different taxa of Ponderosa Pine, with differing botanical characters and adapted to different climatic conditions. These have been termed "geographic races" in forestry literature, while some botanists historically treated them as distinct species. In modern botanical usage, they best match the rank of subspecies, but not all of the relevant botanical combinations have been formally published.
Plant Description
Plant Type
Plant Type
Tree

Size
Size
40 - 223 ft tall
7 ft wide

Form
Form
Rounded, Upright Columnar

Growth Rate
Growth Rate
Fast, Moderate

Dormancy
Dormancy
Evergreen

Fragrance
Fragrance
Fragrant - Pleasant

Flower Color
Flower Color
Yellow

Flowering Season
Flowering Season
Spring

Wildlife Supported
 
Attracts beneficial butterflies, including the West Pine Elphin (Callophrys eryphon) and Pine White (Neophasia menapia) species; Many birds, including Red-winged blackbirds, chickadees, mourning doves, finches, evening grosbeak, jays, Clark's nutcracker, nuthatches, rufous-sided towhee, turkeys, and grouse.

Landscaping Information
Sun
Sun
Part Shade

Moisture
Moisture
Very Low

Summer Irrigation
Summer Irrigation
Max 1x / month once established

Nurseries
Nurseries

Ease of Care
Ease of Care
Very Easy

Cold Tolerance
Cold Tolerance
Tolerates cold to -10° F

Soil Drainage
Soil Drainage
Fast, Medium, Slow

Soil Description
Soil Description
Prefers sandy or loamy soils. Does not grow well in clay soils.. Soil PH: 5 - 7

Common uses
Common uses
Deer Resistant, Bird Gardens, Butterfly Gardens

Companion Plants
Companion Plants

Maintenance
Maintenance
Various insects are known to affect this tree, but the most common is the Western pine beetle (Dendroctonous), which commonly kills older trees. Also is host to the the grassy-winged sharpshooter (Homalodisca vitripennis).

Propagation
Propagation?
For propagating by seed: Fresh seeds need no treatment; stored seeds 1-2 mos. stratification ( USDA Forest Service 1974).

Sunset Zones
Sunset Zones?
1, 2*, 3*, 4*, 5*, 6*, 7*, 8, 9, 14*, 15*, 16*, 17, 18*, 19

Natural Setting
Site Type
Site Type
In pure stands or in mixed-conifer forests in the mountains, mainly in inland and drier areas.

Climate
Climate
Annual Precipitation: 4.5" - 133.8", Summer Precipitation: 0.18" - 4.08", Coldest Month: 23.3" - 55.1", Hottest Month: 46.0" - 83.0", Humidity: 0.32" - 36.12", Elevation: 34" - 10966"

Alternative Names
Common Names: Blackjack Pine, Bull Pine, Pinabete, Rock Pine, Western Yellow Pine


Sources include: Wikipedia. All text shown in the "About" section of these pages is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Plant observation data provided by the participants of the California Consortia of Herbaria, Sunset information provided by Jepson Flora Project. Propogation from seed information provided by the Santa Barbara Botanical Garden from "Seed Propagation of Native California Plants" by Dara E. Emery. Sources of plant photos include CalPhotos, Wikimedia Commons, and independent plant photographers who have agreed to share their images with Calscape. Other general sources of information include Calflora, CNPS Manual of Vegetation Online, Jepson Flora Project, Las Pilitas, Theodore Payne, Tree of Life, The Xerces Society, and information provided by CNPS volunteer editors, with special thanks to Don Rideout. Climate data used in creation of plant range maps is from PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University, using 30 year (1981-2010) annual "normals" at an 800 meter spatial resolution.

Links:   Jepson eFlora Taxon Page  CalPhotos  Wikipedia  Calflora


Sign in to your Calscape Account X




Once signed in, you'll be able to access any previously saved plant lists or create new ones.

Email Address
Password

Sign In