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Monterey pines growing on the edge of eroded sandstone cliffs under a deep blue sky
Monterey pines growing wild on coastal cliffs at Año Nuevo State Reserve, San Mateo County, California, on March 6, 2008. It rarely lives beyond 150 years. Photo: Brocken Inaglory, CC BY-SA 4.0 (source)

A native we do not grow

Monterey Pine

Pinus radiata. Large tree, 50 to 100 feet where planted, zones 7 to 10; full sun or part shade; average ground.

We do not grow Monterey 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 namesInsignis pine, radiata pine, Cambria pine, Guadalupe Island pine, Cedros Island pine
FormLarge tree
Height, feet50 to 100 where planted; up to 125 in its native stands
Spread, feetUp to 35
Zones7 to 10
SunFull sun or part shade
Soil moistureAverage ground
GrowthFast
LeavesEvergreen
TraitsWildlife value, hedge or screen, erosion control
PollenDecember to April
FruitCones, November to April
First crop5 to 10 years (good crops from 15 to 20 in the open)
PollinationOne 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.
LifespanUsually lives 80 to 90 years and can live up to 150.
Black walnutNot named on the Morton Arboretum's lists
GroundThe coast and rich moist slopes
Native in1 state

Monterey pine is native in 1 state: California. The states are the USDA PLANTS Database's records, with the native range read from Silvics of North America and the Fire Effects Information System.

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

None of the trees we grow shares Monterey pine's natural communities by the companion species tool's rules.

See all companions

More natives for this ground in the tree finder

Read from

Its figures come from Silvics of North America, the Forest Service's Fire Effects Information System, the USDA PLANTS Database, the Wildflower Center, Cal Poly's SelecTree, Oregon State University's Landscape Plants, Calscape, the Jepson eFlora and the Gymnosperm Database.