Plant of the Month – December
0Aleppo Pine
Pinus halepensis
- Plant Form: Evergreen Tree
- Water Use: Very low
- Mature Size: 20-60 ft. tall x 30-40 ft. wide
- Exposure: Full sun
- Bloom Time: Spring (Apr-May); Fruit/Cones: Fall (Sept-Nov), Winter (Dec-Feb)
- Native to: Mediterranean Region
- Hardiness: Cold hardy to 10°F
Aleppo pine is a two-needle pine native to the Mediterranean region, so it is familiar with the challenges that our Southern California climate presents. This drought-tolerant, low maintenance evergreen tree has a spreading, irregular canopy, and may grow multiple trunks in age.
Aleppo Pine is a drought-tolerant, two-needle pine that is often sold in California as a living Christmas tree. It tolerates and even thrives in extreme temperatures, drought, high heat, frost, severe wind, and poor soil because it is native to arid regions around the Mediterranean Sea with climates similar to ours. Both male and female cones grow on the same tree; small, short-lived male cones produce copious amounts of pollen in spring, when the new female cones are receptive to wind-borne pollination. The much larger female cones develop through fall and winter, growing either singly or in whorls, changing from green to brown as they mature. When young, growth is symmetrical with upright branching from a single trunk. As it matures, the crown becomes more open, and the tree often develops multiple trunks. These resilient pines can live up to 150 years or more under ideal conditions. They are low maintenance, requiring watering only their first few years until established; after that, occasional deep water at their drip line (outer edge of their branches) is enough to protect them from any dieback from strong winds. Suited to large residential gardens, parks, and commercial plantings, looking at home with other traditional Mediterranean landscape plants.
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