Hop Hornbeam
Ostrya virginiana Medium tree Zones 3–9 25–40 ft
Shares rocky ground and dry uplands in the wild.
A native we do not grow
Limber Pine
Pinus flexilis. Medium tree, 30 to 60 feet where planted, zones 3 to 7; full sun or part shade; dry or average ground.
We do not grow limber pine, 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 | Rocky Mountain white pine, limbertwig, limbertwig pine, Rocky Mountain pine |
|---|---|
| Form | Medium tree |
| Height, feet | 30 to 60 where planted; up to 92 in its native stands |
| Spread, feet | Up to 40 |
| Zones | 3 to 7 |
| Sun | Full sun or part shade |
| Soil moisture | Dry or average ground |
| Growth | Slow |
| Leaves | Evergreen |
| Traits | Wildlife value, edible, erosion control |
| Pollen | June to July |
| Fruit | Cones, August to October |
| First crop | 20 to 40 years |
| Pollination | One bears; a second improves the crop. Each tree carries both male and female cones and the wind carries the pollen, but a lone pine tends to set less seed than pines in a group. |
| Lifespan | The oldest tree dated by its rings reached 1,697 years. Only a tiny share of trees has ever been ring-counted or cross-dated. |
| Transplanting | The Morton Arboretum's page on limber pine marks it as one that does not transplant well. |
| Black walnut | Not named on the Morton Arboretum's lists |
| Ground | Rocky ground and dry uplands |
| Native in | 13 states |
Limber pine is native in 13 states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah and Wyoming. The states are the USDA PLANTS Database's records, with the native range read from the Fire Effects Information System, Silvics of North America and the Gymnosperm Database.
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 limber pine's natural communities in the wild, by the companion species tool's rules.
Western Soapberry
Sapindus saponaria var. drummondii Medium tree Zones 5–9 20–50 ft
Shares rocky ground and dry uplands in the wild.
Eastern Red Cedar
Juniperus virginiana Medium tree Zones 2–9 30–50 ft
Shares rocky ground and dry uplands in the wild.
Chinquapin Oak
Quercus muehlenbergii Medium tree Zones 3–9 40–60 ft
Shares rocky ground and dry uplands in the wild.
Common Hackberry
Celtis occidentalis Large tree Zones 2–9 40–60 ft
Shares rocky ground and dry uplands in the wild.
Rock Elm
Ulmus thomasii Large tree Zones 2–9 70–90 ft
Shares rocky ground and dry uplands 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 Missouri Botanical Garden, the Morton Arboretum, the Wildflower Center, Cal Poly's SelecTree, Oregon State University's Landscape Plants, Calscape, the Jepson eFlora, the Gymnosperm Database, Rocky Mountain Tree-Ring Research and the International Tree-Ring Data Bank.