# Lodgepole Pine (Pinus contorta)

> Lodgepole pine, Pinus contorta: a large tree of 20 to 80 feet where planted, for zones 2 to 8, how fast it grows, and the natives we grow for the same ground.

Blue Whale Trees, a native tree nursery in the United States. Web version: https://bluewhaletrees.com/species/lodgepole-pine/

![Lodgepole pine branches with tufts of short yellow-green needles and many small closed cones along the twigs](https://bluewhaletrees.com/img/species/lodgepole-pine-1000.jpg?v=bcd95c92 "A lodgepole pine in Yellowstone National Park, its branches lined with closed cones. Rocky Mountain lodgepole pines live 150 to 200 years on average.")
*Photo: Diane Renkin, National Park Service, [Public domain](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ALodgepole_pine_tree_with_mostly_serotinous_pine_cones_on_branches_%28a538ba5c-4fab-4971-8447-0c9fc0e9d3a8%29.jpg) ([source](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ALodgepole_pine_tree_with_mostly_serotinous_pine_cones_on_branches_%28a538ba5c-4fab-4971-8447-0c9fc0e9d3a8%29.jpg))*

Large tree, 20 to 80 feet where planted, zones 2 to 8; full sun; dry, average or wet ground.

We do not grow lodgepole 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

| Fact | Lodgepole Pine |
| --- | --- |
| Other names | Shore pine, beach pine, coast pine, Sierra lodgepole pine, Sierra-Cascade lodgepole pine, Rocky Mountain lodgepole pine, interior lodgepole pine, tall lodgepole pine, Bolander pine, twisted-branch pine, tamarack pine |
| Form | Large tree |
| Height, feet | 20 to 80 where planted; up to 151 in its native stands |
| Spread, feet | Up to 35 |
| Zones | 2 to 8 |
| Sun | Full sun |
| Soil moisture | Dry, average or wet ground |
| Growth | Fast |
| Leaves | Evergreen |
| Traits | Wildlife value, erosion control |
| Pollen | May to July |
| Fruit | Cones, August to October |
| First crop | 5 to 10 years (15 to 20 in dense stands) |
| Pollination | Not known whether one bears alone |
| Lifespan | The oldest tree dated by its rings reached 628 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 | The coast, sandy barrens, rocky ground, swamps and wet flats |
| Native in | 11 states |

Lodgepole pine is native in 11 states: [Alaska](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=AK), [California](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=CA), [Colorado](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=CO), [Idaho](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=ID), [Montana](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=MT), [Nevada](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=NV), [Oregon](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=OR), [South Dakota](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=SD), [Utah](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=UT), [Washington](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=WA) and [Wyoming](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=WY). The states are the USDA PLANTS Database's records, with the native range read from Silvics of North America.

## What our tools say

- [How fast it grows and how big it gets, by site](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/growth/index.html.md?species=lodgepole-pine): the growth estimator
- [Whether it suits your zone, sun and soil](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/site-check/index.html.md?species=lodgepole-pine): the planting-site check
- [How far from a house, wires and a septic field](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/distance/index.html.md?species=lodgepole-pine&near=house,septic,pavement,wires,boundary,tree): the planting-distance tool
- [What grows with it in the wild and in a yard](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/companions/index.html.md?species=lodgepole-pine): the companion species tool
- [When to plant it where you live](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/planting-window/index.html.md?species=lodgepole-pine): the planting-window tool
- [When it sheds pollen and bears cones, month by month](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/calendar/index.html.md?plants=lodgepole-pine): the bloom and fruit calendar
- [How to sow its seed, with dates for your place](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/sowing/index.html.md?species=lodgepole-pine): the seed sowing planner
- [Whether one you have can be moved, and what the move takes](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/transplant/index.html.md?species=lodgepole-pine): the transplant planner
- [How old one is, from its trunk](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/tree-age/index.html.md?species=lodgepole-pine): the tree age calculator
- [How a big one scores against the champion trees](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/big-tree/index.html.md?species=lodgepole-pine): the big-tree measurer

## For the same ground, we grow

- [Pin Cherry](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/pin-cherry/index.html.md) (*Prunus pensylvanica*): small tree, 15 to 40 feet, zones 2 to 7. Shares sandy barrens and rocky ground in the wild.
- [Common Hoptree (Wafer Ash)](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/common-hoptree/index.html.md) (*Ptelea trifoliata*): small tree, 10 to 20 feet, zones 4 to 9. Shares sandy barrens and rocky ground in the wild.
- [American Elm](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/american-elm/index.html.md) (*Ulmus americana*): large tree, 60 to 80 feet, zones 2 to 9. Shares swamps and wet flats in the wild.
- [Common Hackberry](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/common-hackberry/index.html.md) (*Celtis occidentalis*): large tree, 40 to 60 feet, zones 2 to 9. Shares rocky ground in the wild.
- [Rock Elm](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/rock-elm/index.html.md) (*Ulmus thomasii*): large tree, 70 to 90 feet, zones 2 to 9. Shares rocky ground in the wild.
- [Tamarack](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/tamarack/index.html.md) (*Larix laricina*): large tree, 50 to 75 feet, zones 2 to 6. Shares swamps and wet flats in the wild.
- [Every companion of lodgepole pine in the companion species tool](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/companions/index.html.md?species=lodgepole-pine)

## 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, the Jepson eFlora, Rocky Mountain Tree-Ring Research and the Gymnosperm Database.