American Elm
Ulmus americana Large tree Zones 2–9 60–80 ft
Shares floodplain forests and stream banks in the wild.
A native we do not grow
Western White Pine
Pinus monticola. Large tree, 40 to 100 feet where planted, zones 3 to 8; full sun or part shade; dry or average ground.
We do not grow western white 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 | Mountain white pine, Idaho white pine, silver pine |
|---|---|
| Form | Large tree |
| Height, feet | 40 to 100 where planted; up to 239 in its native stands |
| Spread, feet | Up to 25 |
| Zones | 3 to 8 |
| Sun | Full sun or part shade |
| Soil moisture | Dry or average ground |
| Growth | Fast |
| Leaves | Evergreen |
| Traits | Wildlife value, hedge or screen |
| Pollen | June to July |
| Fruit | Cones, August to October |
| First crop | 7 years (frequent and abundant from about 70) |
| Pollination | One bears; a second improves the crop. Each tree carries both male and female cones and the wind carries the pollen. Most trees resist their own pollen, and seedlings of a tree's own pollen grow more slowly. |
| Lifespan | Typically lives 300 to 400 years, and the oldest dated one reached 707. Only a tiny share of trees has ever been ring-counted or cross-dated. |
| Planting season | Spring. Silvics finds bare-root seedlings survive better planted in spring, while container seedlings do well in either season. Fall plantings grew less in height, the Fire Effects Information System reports. |
| Black walnut | Not named on the Morton Arboretum's lists |
| Ground | Rich moist slopes, floodplain forests and stream banks |
| Native in | 6 states |
Western white pine is native in 6 states: California, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon and Washington. The states are the USDA PLANTS Database's records, with the native range read from Silvics of North America, the Fire Effects Information System and the Gymnosperm Database. The USDA PLANTS Database also records it growing wild beyond that range in Utah, where it is naturalized, not native.
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 western white pine's natural communities in the wild, by the companion species tool's rules.
Balsam Poplar
Populus balsamifera Large tree Zones 2–5 30–100 ft
Shares floodplain forests and stream banks in the wild.
Peachleaf Willow
Salix amygdaloides Medium tree Zones 2–8 35–60 ft
Shares floodplain forests and stream banks in the wild.
Read from
Its figures come from Silvics of North America, the Woody Plant Seed Manual, the USDA PLANTS Database, the Wildflower Center, Cal Poly's SelecTree, Oregon State University's Landscape Plants, Calscape, the Jepson eFlora, the Gymnosperm Database, Utah State University Extension, NC State Extension, the Forest Service's Fire Effects Information System and Rocky Mountain Tree-Ring Research.