How to Landscape With Desert Pine

Some pine trees thrive in desert climates.

Although most people do not associate evergreen trees with desert landscape, some members of the pine family grow well in the dry heat, strong sun and alkaline soil of desert states. Afghan pine, Pinus eldarica, also is known as Mondell pine; it often is referred to as "desert pine." Other pines thriving under challenging desert conditions include some very tall pines along with a smaller number of yard-sized and shrub-sized trees.

Things You'll Need

• Soil test results
• Pine trees, preferably seedlings or young trees under 3 feet high*
• Shovel
• Organic compost (optional)
• Shredded pine bark or other bark mulch
• Water

Instructions

1. Measure your space. Allow plenty of space when planting pines that grow to tall heights; most attain heights between 60 and 100 feet, and can be 30 or more feet wide when they are full-grown. These trees include Afghan pine; limber pine, Pinus flexilis; and Ponderosa pine, Pinus ponderosa. Southwestern white pine, Pinus strombiformis, may tower above all the others.

2. Contact your local County Extension about soil testing before putting middle-sized pines (20-40 feet high and 15 to 30 feet wide) in your yard. Add organic mulch to increase soil nutrition if the soil is low in nitrogen.

3. Choose mid-sized pines for shade and wildlife shelter. Italian stone pine and bristlecone pine attain heights around 40 feet. Single-leaf pinon matures at approximately 30 feet. Aleppos, pinons and bristlecones are bushy, while Italian stone pines are an umbrella shape.

4. Plant dwarf varieties of pine as shrubs close to the house. Thoroughly mulch dwarf pines to protect the graft, and check on their water tolerance so you do not overwater.

5. Loosen soil and remove stones when planting your pine, to let tree roots spread and establish. In poor draining areas, dig in mulch and organic compost to a depth of 1 1/2 times the rootball and twice the diameter of the tree branches.

6. Water new trees according to the nursery or County Extension directions.

Tips & Warnings

• Deep watering from time to time approximates the water trees receive during desert rainstorms. Some pines find regular, lighter watering intolerable. Check with the nursery from which you obtain pine varieties.

• While large trees may tolerate indifferent soil, middle-sized evergreens benefit from proper soil enrichment.

• You may wish to move any dwarf pines that show graft damage. In the absence of the graft, original stock can turn into a larger-than-expected tree.

• Desert soil can be rich in mineral deposits, which may or may not be hospitable to trees.

References

• Arizona Landscaping Plants and Flowers: Afghan Pine
• Dona Ana County Master Gardeners; Tree Care Summary -- Mondell or Afghan Pine; 2009
• Vanderbilt University Extension: Plants of the Southwest U.S. Desert Region
• University of Nevada at Las Vegas: Wildlife Attracted to the Xeric Garden
• High Country Gardens: Pine Conifers
• Tree New Mexico: Pinon (Pine)