Common Name: Jeffrey's pine
Type: Needled evergreen
Family: Pinaceae
Native Range: Southern Oregon to northern Baja California
Zone: 5 to 7
Height: 80.00 to 140.00 feet
Spread: 25.00 to 35.00 feet
Bloom Time: Non-flowering
Bloom Description: Non-flowering
Sun: Full sun
Water: Dry to medium
Maintenance: Medium
Leaf: Fragrant, Evergreen
Other: Winter Interest
Tolerate: Deer, Drought
Culture
Grow in moist well-drained loams in full sun. Established trees have respectable drought tolerance. Trees are generally tolerant of a wide range of soils, including both sandy and clay loams. Avoid poorly-drained soils. Also avoid shady conditions. These trees prefer cool summer climates. Trees are uncommonly planted in most of the southern U.S.
Noteworthy Characteristics
Pinus jeffreyi, commonly called Jeffrey pine, is native to mountainous areas, often on dry exposed slopes, from southwestern Oregon south through the Sierras in California to Baja California. It is a tall, erect, long-lived, single-trunk, evergreen conifer with a straight trunk and conic to rounded crown. It typically matures in its native habitat to 80-140' tall. Trunk diameter typically runs from 2-4'. Mature trees have no branches on the lower half of the trunk. Mature trees are noted for having cinnamon-brown bark that is divided into scaly plates separated by deep fissures. Bark has a pleasant aroma (often described as vanilla, violet, pineapple or butterscotch). Bluish-green needles (to 7-9" long) appear in bundles of three. Large, egg-shaped to cylindrical cones (to 5-12" long) ripen to reddish brown. Jeffrey pine is similar in appearance to pondersoa pine (Pinus ponderosa) except its cones are larger and longer, and the bark is a darker reddish brown.
Genus name comes from the Latin name for pines.
Specific epithet honors John Jeffrey (1826-1854), Scottish botanical explorer, who discovered Jeffrey pine in the Shasta Valley in California in 1852.
Problems
This pine can be difficult to grow well in the St. Louis area because of soil and climate requirements.
Uses
A large tree for a large space.