Pinus ponderosa (Ponderosa Pine)

Long-lived (up to 600 years), Pinus ponderosa (Ponderosa Pine) is a large evergreen coniferous tree of conical habit. The branches are short and pendulous, often turned up at the ends. Borne in bundles of three, the yellow-green to dark green needles, 10 in. long (25 cm), are mostly clustered at the branch ends. The oval, light brown to reddish-brown seed cones, up to 6 in. long (15 cm), grow upright but turn upside down at maturity. Quite attractive, the bark on young trees is dark brown to black, becoming bright cinnamon-brown to reddish-orange and irregularly furrowed on mature trees. Thanks to its deep taproot, Ponderosa Pine is very wind-resistant. A moderate to fast grower, it is the State Tree of Montana. Useful for groves, great for bonsais or containers.

• Grows up to 60-100 ft. tall (18-30 m) and 25-30 ft. wide (7-9 m).
• Performs best in full sun in medium moisture, well-drained soils. Good in coastal areas and sandy soils. Will adapt to a wide range of soil conditions. Drought tolerant once established.
• Keep an eye out for adelgids, conifer aphid species, pine sawfly, and pine shoot moth. Deer resistant.
• No pruning is required.
• Native to western North America. This is one of the most widely distributed tree species in the West, growing from southern Canada into Mexico, and from Nebraska and Oklahoma all the way to the Pacific Coast.
• Toxic to horses.
• Find where this species is invasive in the United States.