Willamette Valley Ponderosa - Pinus Ponderosa var. Willamettensis

Two year old tree. One year of plug growth and at least one year of growth in a tree pot.

• Conifer, evergreen tree, 60-100 ft., narrow, pyramidal when young, to an irregularly cylindrical, narrow crown.  Bark brown-black in young trees, but in older trees yellowish brown or cinnamon and in large, flat, scaly plates.  Needles long and in 3's or sometimes in 2's, crowded on branchlets, sharp at apex. Cones 2-6" long, conical or egg-shaped, almost stalkless, light, reddish-brown to gray-brown, armed with straight prickles.

• Sun.  Prefers well-drained, moist, deep site.  Resistant to drought and tolerates alkaline soil.                                                                                                                     
• Hardy to USDA Zone 3. British Columbia to Mexico, east to South Dakota and Texas.  In the Pacific Northwest it is most commonly found east of the Cascades, however in Oregon it is common in the western valleys of the Willamette, Umpqua, and Rogue Rivers. We source our seeds from the Willamette Valley.                             
• The Sequoia pitch moth attacks ponderosa pine.  Larvae of this insect bore into the tree's cambium layer, especially around injuries and pruning cuts, and this stimulates pitch and resin flow.   Only prune in the months of October through January.  In the Willamette Valley, trunks may produce much pitch in response to insect attack.  However, genotypes adapted to Valley conditions are reportedly less prone to serious injury by pitch moths.