Dwarf Hackberry
Celtis tenuifolia Small tree Zones 4–9 15–30 ft
Shares dry uplands and rocky ground in the wild.
A native we do not grow
Colorado Pinyon
Pinus edulis. Small tree, 10 to 45 feet where planted, zones 3 to 8; full sun; dry or average ground.
We do not grow Colorado pinyon, and it is not in our shop. This page gathers what our tools say about it and the natives we grow for the same ground.
At a glance
| Other names | Pinyon, pinyon pine, piñon, piñon pine, twoneedle pinyon, two-leaf pinyon, two-needle pine, Colorado pinyon pine, nut pine, New Mexico pinyon, mesa pinyon, common pinyon, Rocky Mountain pinyon |
|---|---|
| Form | Small tree |
| Height, feet | 10 to 45 where planted; up to 56 in its native stands |
| Spread, feet | Up to 36 |
| Zones | 3 to 8 |
| Sun | Full sun |
| Soil moisture | Dry or average ground |
| Growth | Slow |
| Leaves | Evergreen |
| Traits | Wildlife value, edible |
| Pollen | May to June |
| Fruit | Cones, September to November |
| First crop | About 25 years (seed in quantity from 75 to 100) |
| Pollination | One bears; a second improves the crop. Each tree carries both male and female cones, and the wind carries the pollen. In one study, cones pollinated with a tree's own pollen survived less often and held fewer seeds than cones pollinated from other trees. |
| Lifespan | The oldest tree dated by its rings was at least 1,115 years. Only a tiny share of trees has ever been ring-counted or cross-dated. |
| Black walnut | Not named on the Morton Arboretum's lists |
| Ground | Dry uplands and rocky ground |
| Native in | 9 states |
Colorado pinyon is native in 9 states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah and Wyoming. The states are the USDA PLANTS Database's records, with the native range read from the Fire Effects Information System and Silvics of North America.
What our tools say
How fast it grows and how big it gets, by site Whether it suits your zone, sun and soil How far from a house, wires and a septic field What grows with it in the wild and in a yard When to plant it where you live When it sheds pollen and bears cones, month by month How to sow its seed, with dates for your place How many to plant for a crop of seed Whether one you have can be moved, and what the move takes How old one is, from its trunk How a big one scores against the champion trees
For the same ground, we grow
These trees we grow share the most of Colorado pinyon's natural communities in the wild, by the companion species tool's rules.
Little Walnut
Juglans microcarpa Small tree Zones 5–9 20–30 ft
Shares dry uplands and rocky ground in the wild.
Plateau Live Oak
Quercus fusiformis Small tree Zones 5–10 20–40 ft
Shares dry uplands and rocky ground in the wild.
Gum Bumelia
Sideroxylon lanuginosum Small tree Zones 5–10 15–45 ft
Shares dry uplands and rocky ground in the wild.
Rusty Blackhaw
Viburnum rufidulum Small tree Zones 5–9 10–20 ft
Shares dry uplands and rocky ground in the wild.
Ozark Chinquapin
Castanea ozarkensis Small tree Zones 5–8 15–30 ft
Shares dry uplands and rocky ground in the wild.
Read from
Its figures come from Silvics of North America, the Forest Service's Fire Effects Information System, the Woody Plant Seed Manual, the USDA PLANTS Database, NC State Extension, the Wildflower Center, Cal Poly's SelecTree, Oregon State University's Landscape Plants, Utah State University Extension, Colorado State University Extension, the Gymnosperm Database and the International Tree-Ring Data Bank.