Foothill Pine, Pinus sabiniana

About Foothill Pine (Pinus sabiniana) 35 Nurseries Carry This Plant

Add to My Plant List

Foothill Pine (Pinus sabiniana) is a native tree that grows in northern, southern and central California. It is slow growing in nature and moderately long-lived. It grows in an upright form to a height of 80 feet, with active growth during the spring and summer. Flowers are yellow and bloom in the early spring. Leaves are medium green, and remain on the plant throughout the year. It tends to grow in places with poor soils, at elevations from 0-4500 feet.

In landscaping applications, with irrigation even once per month, this tree will grow quickly to 40-60 feet. It's fairly lacey form allows plenty of light to come through, so you can plant understory plants below without much problem.

Plant Description

Plant Type

Tree

Size

20 - 80 ft tall
20 - 40 ft wide

Form

Upright, Pyramidal, Upright Columnar

Growth Rate

Fast, Slow

Dormancy

Evergreen

Fragrance

Fragrant - Pleasant

Flower Color

Yellow

Flowering Season

Spring, Winter

Wildlife Supported

Great wildlife plant
Bird gardens

Butterflies & moths hosted ( 3 confirmed

, 93 likely * ) SHOW ALL

Monterey Pine Shoot Moth Exoteleia burkeiExoteleia burkei

Chionodes retiniellaChionodes retiniella

Chionodes sabinianaeChionodes sabinianae

Pine White Neophasia menapiaNeophasia menapia

Western Pine Elfin Callophrys eryphonCallophrys eryphon

White-lined Sphinx Hyles lineataHyles lineata

Polyphemus moth Antheraea polyphemusAntheraea polyphemus

Landscaping Information

Sun

Part Shade, Full Sun

Moisture

Low, Very Low

Summer Irrigation

Max 1x / month once established

Nurseries

Carried by 35

Ease of Care

Very Easy

Cold Tolerance

Tolerates cold to -20 - -10° F

Soil Drainage

Fast, Medium

Soil Description

Poor soils, serpentine soils. Tolerates Serpentine Soil. Soil PH: 5 - 8

Common uses

Bank Stabilization, Hedges, Deer Resistant, Bird Gardens

Companion Plants

Quercus douglasii, Sanicula crassicaulis, Galium californicum ssp. flaccidum, Galium andrewsii, Quercus agrifolia, Quercus lobata, Achillea millefolium, Rhamnus ilicifolia

Maintenance

Fine to prune off bottom branches. Prune in winter when wood boring insects are less active.

Propagation?

For propagating by seed: 2-4 mos. stratification; for small lots, cracking seed coats first gives quicker germination ( USDA Forest Service 1974).

Sunset Zones?

3, 4*, 5*, 6*, 7*, 8, 9, 10, 11, 14*, 15*, 16*, 17*, 18*, 19*, 20*, 21*, 22*, 23*, 24*

Natural Setting

Site Type

places with poor soils

Climate

Annual Precipitation: 4.3" - 117.4", Summer Precipitation: 0.13" - 3.43", Coldest Month: 33.1" - 55.3", Hottest Month: 55.2" - 83.9", Humidity: 0.49" - 38.96", Elevation: 35" - 8867"

Alternative Names

Common Names: California Foothill Pine, Ghost Pine, Gray Pine

Print Plant Sign Print Plant Label

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

Foothill Pine

Pinus sabiniana

Sign in to your Calscape Account X

Foothill PinePinus sabiniana

Sign in to your Calscape Account X

Foothill Pine

Pinus sabiniana