Apache pine is a large, stout-branched conifer native to the mountains of northern Mexico and the southwestern United States, grown mainly as a landscape or specimen tree. It needs full sun, good drainage and cold-hardiness rather than frequent care.
Family
Pinaceae (Pine family)
Grows as
Tree, Grass
Light
Full sun
Water
Water deeply during establishment, then rely mostly on rainfall; avoid waterlogged soil.
Soil
Well-drained, gritty or sandy soil; tolerates poor, mountainous soils.
Temperature
Hardy in cool-temperate to warm climates; tolerates winter cold well into subzero temperatures.
How easy
Moderate
Native range
SE. Arizona to SW. New Mexico and N. Mexico
Climate
temperate
About
Pinus engelmannii, commonly known as the Apache pine, is a tree of Northern Mexico, in the Sierra Madre Occidental with its range extending into the Southwestern United States. This pine is a medium-sized species with a height of 20–30 metres (66–98 feet) and a trunk diameter of 35–80 centimetres (14–31 inches).
The branches are sparse and very stout, giving the tree a distinct appearance. The needles, among the longest of any pine, are in bundles of three (occasionally five); typically 20–40 cm (8–16 in), though Mirov cites needles up to 50 cm (20 in) long, stout, and spreading to slightly drooping. The cones are 8–16 cm (3+1⁄4–6+1⁄4 in) long, green or purple when growing, maturing glossy brown, moderately oblique with stoutly spined scales on the outer side (facing away from the branch). The Apache pine sometimes shows a grass stage like the related Michoacan pine (P.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Pinus engelmannii by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.