Hardiness zones
Sunset 5-24
USDA 6-11
Landscape Use: A symmetrical pine tree that castes a light to moderate shade, skyline accent tree, silhouette background tree for a mesic landscape appearance hinting at an urban forest in the desert.
Form & Character: Evergreen excurrent pine with symmetry, upright, woodsy, creates the feeling of being somewhere other than the desert.
Growth Habit: Slow to moderate when young to vigorous with age to 50 to rarely 80', spreading with age.
Foliage/texture: Needles 2 per fascicle, 5 to 6" long, singular (no bundle sheath) juvenile needles small blue, strongly present when young but not persistent like P. canariensis, fine texture.
Flowers & fruits: Monoecious (male and female strobili born on same tree), cones are small without a stalk, flowers in March with cones ripening following January, begins to flower and fruit at 7 to 10 years of age, seed in cone a single-wing achene.
Seasonal color: None
Temperature: Tolerant
Light: Full sun
Soil: Tolerant
Watering: Some supplemental irrigation once established is needed. Needle luster (length, density) and tree vigor (protection of needle canopy against sun injury to branches and trunk) are strongly stimulated with increased landscape water. Diminished supplemental irrigation given to large mature specimens can result in sudden late summer death.
Pruning: Elevate canopy base, but keeping in mind that pines are prone to trunk sunscald in Phoenix.
Propagation: Seed
Disease and pests: Green aphids in spring. Mysterious branch and shoot dieback during late summer/fall appears related to branch heat stress injury in summer which may be an after-effect of inadequate supplemental irrigation.
Additional comments: Performs well in heat, cold, drought and wind of desert. Once thought to be future "living Christmas tree"; however, canopies of young trees were found to be too open and resistant to shearing and shaping. Pines produce abundant yellow pollen in spring and needle litter in fall. Of the several species of pine for Phoenix landscapes, P. eldarica is the all around best choice because of its excurrent habit and stately form.
