# Pacific Madrone (Arbutus menziesii)

> Pacific madrone, Arbutus menziesii: its height and zones, when it flowers and fruits, where it grows wild, 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/pacific-madrone/

![Clusters of orange-red Pacific madrone berries among glossy oval leaves on smooth red branches against blue sky](https://bluewhaletrees.com/img/species/pacific-madrone-1000.jpg?v=f2f5b7cd "Pacific madrone in fruit on Mount Tamalpais, California, on October 11, 2026. Large trees are estimated to be up to 500 years old.")
*Photo: Awinch1001, [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0) ([source](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AArbutus_menziesii_Mount_Tam_Blithedale_Ridge_Road_1.jpg))*

Large tree, 15 to 70 feet where planted, zones 7 to 9; full sun or part shade; dry or average ground.

We do not grow Pacific madrone, 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 | Pacific Madrone |
| --- | --- |
| Other names | Madrone, madrona, Pacific arbutus, Oregon laurel, laurelwood |
| Form | Large tree |
| Height, feet | 15 to 70 where planted; up to 130 in its native stands |
| Spread, feet | Up to 50 |
| Zones | 7 to 9 |
| Sun | Full sun or part shade |
| Soil moisture | Dry or average ground |
| Growth | Slow |
| Leaves | Evergreen |
| Traits | Showy flowers, wildlife value, honey tree, edible, winter interest, erosion control |
| Flowers | March to June |
| Fruit | Berries, September to January |
| First crop | 3 to 5 years (sprouts commonly from 8) |
| Pollination | Not known whether one bears alone |
| Lifespan | Can live 500 years, and the oldest one found reached 250. Only a tiny share of trees has ever had its age measured. |
| Black walnut | Not named on the Morton Arboretum's lists |
| Ground | Rocky ground, dry uplands and the coast |
| Native in | 3 states |

Pacific madrone is native in 3 states: [California](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=CA), [Oregon](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=OR) and [Washington](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=WA). 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](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/growth/index.html.md?species=pacific-madrone): the growth estimator
- [Whether it suits your zone, sun and soil](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/site-check/index.html.md?species=pacific-madrone): the planting-site check
- [How far from a house, wires and a septic field](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/distance/index.html.md?species=pacific-madrone&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=pacific-madrone): the companion species tool
- [When to plant it where you live](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/planting-window/index.html.md?species=pacific-madrone): the planting-window tool
- [When it flowers and fruits, month by month](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/calendar/index.html.md?plants=pacific-madrone): the bloom and fruit calendar
- [How to sow its seed, with dates for your place](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/sowing/index.html.md?species=pacific-madrone): 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=pacific-madrone): the transplant planner
- [How old one is, from its trunk](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/tree-age/index.html.md?species=pacific-madrone): the tree age calculator
- [How a big one scores against the champion trees](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/big-tree/index.html.md?species=pacific-madrone): the big-tree measurer

## For the same ground, we grow

- [Black Cherry](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/black-cherry/index.html.md) (*Prunus serotina*): large tree, 50 to 80 feet, zones 2 to 9. Shares dry uplands in the wild.
- [Chokecherry](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/chokecherry/index.html.md) (*Prunus virginiana*): small tree, 20 to 30 feet, zones 2 to 10. Shares rocky ground in the wild.
- [More natives for this ground in the tree finder](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/tree-finder/index.html.md?size=large-tree&sun=full&moisture=average)
- [Every companion of Pacific madrone in the companion species tool](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/companions/index.html.md?species=pacific-madrone)

## 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, the Missouri Botanical Garden, Oregon State University's Landscape Plants, Cal Poly's SelecTree, NC State Extension, the Wildflower Center and Calscape.