Knobcone PinePinus attenuataconiferbonsaiheat tolerantevergreendeer resistantornamentalwestern nativegood privacy hedgehostkeystone
Height: 30' average mature height Zones: 6-8 Find my zone Aspect: mostly sun to full sun Watering: needs little to no summer water once established, one or two deep watering cycles per summer Maximum Water: needs fairly well drained soil Habit: single stem or trunk Foliage: evergreen Native To: OR, CA
This plant can't be shipped to California, Hawaii, Montana
Size Availability
Out of season.
4 to 8 inch seedling - $5.97 each
Our main crop of most plants is available starting in late fall.
Additional batches of plugs and quarts are added throughout the year.
Many of our plants are propagated in limited quantities and can sell out quickly when posted, get on the notification list below so you don't miss out. Add your email to be notified as soon as we have them back in stock:
This does NOT subscribe your email to any mailing lists, our system will only send an inventory notification message.
Knobcone Pines are one of the best western native conifers for privacy screens as they have unusually dense foliage on young trees that are grown in the open and have rapid growth for the first few years that slows as the trees mature. When given some summer irrigation and fertilizer trees can push two or three flushes of growth per year and reach heights of 10-15 feet in only a few years before slowing their growth and focusing on cone production. This growth pattern makes Knobcone Pines an ideal western native for hedges, coupled with the trees' tolerance for drought and poor soils and deer resistance. When trees are grown in dense stands or are shaded by a mature canopy they will tend to grow tall and open but trees with full sun exposure will remain much shorter and stockier.
Knobcone Pines are an extremely tough species native throughout hot, dry sites throughout California and southern Oregon. It is one of the few trees that can grow in the nutrient-devoid and heavy metal rich rocks of the Siskiyou Range in Southern Oregon. Their heat and drought tolerance is also extremely impressive, matched by very few other Klamath Mountain conifers. In the landscape they are gorgeous for their persistent cones that are produced even on young trees and open branching habit that displays the trunk.
They have a very interesting adaptation to forest fires, which are common throughout the Knobcone Pine's native ranges. Unlike many other Pine species that open their cones and drop their seeds within a year of ripening, Knobcone Pine trees seal their cones shut with wax and hold them for decades. In fact the cones can be held on the trunk for 50-60 years with almost no decrease in seed viability. During a forest fire the heat melts the wax which allows the heavily armored and insulated cones to begin to open within a week of the fire. Once the cones are opened the unharmed seeds can disperse into a landscape where few other trees and seeds remain unburnt, and in huge quantities as the number of closed cones secured to tree trunks and branches increases every year without a fire.
The new generation of seedlings form dense carpets throughout the burned forest and have very little competition for the first few years, but seeds from other trees and shrubs blow in from unburned areas and start to grow alongside the Knobcones. Knobcone Pines are excellent at growing on harsh sites without shade and as they start to mature provide the necessary shelter for other plant species to get established. These other species would struggle to survive their first summer of blazing heat without the shelter provided by older Knobcones, but once they get established they will grow faster than the Knobcone Pines and start to outcompete them.
As time goes on the Knobcones will be slowly replaced by Firs, Oaks, and, other Pines, and Madrone trees until after hundreds of years only a few scattered Knobcone trees will be left standing.
All the Knobcones will be the same age, producing no new seedlings to replace dead and blown down trees without the heat of a fire. But o
nce another fire sweeps through the forest, the few remaining Knobcone pines will spread their seeds and start the whole cycle over again.
Unlike most pines which have one straight trunk and horizontal branches, the branches of Knobcone Pine trees grow upwards which leads to dense, multi-trunked trees.
Pinus attenuata - Knobcone Pine - rapid establishment after a hard fire
Pinus attenuata - Knobcone Pine - young trees growing with dense foliage without a competing overstory following a severe fire
Cones developing on a young shoot of Pinus attenuata
Source: Commons
The cones on Pinus attenuata are tough and armored to protect the seeds within
Source: Commons
Pinus attenuata - Knobcone Pine trees growing in southern Oregon and displaying their multiple-leader form, with ripe cones on the tops of the trees
Pinus attenuata - Knobcone Pine growing after a fire
Packing Plants For ShippingWe pack our plants depending on the needs of each species and size, most plants ship best with the roots packed in moist sawdust or bark fines but some species don't like root disturbance and are shipped in a soil-less growing media. Excess soil is washed from the roots in preparation for shipping (18-24" White Pines)  Plants are bundled together to fit in boxes  Bundles of plants are secured in long boxes. Plant Sizes 3 gallon Dawn Redwood  Standard quart shrub  Standard 14-18" multi-stem tree size  Standard deep plug pine tree Bamboo Plants Are Shipped In Their ContainersBamboo roots are not flexible and so plants have to be shipped in their containers. These plants are heavier and are shipped separately from bare root plants. Because they are potted they can handle longer transit times so can ship via UPS Ground instead of USPS Air Mail. Potted plants can also be shipped year-round.We regularly top our 1 gallon bamboo plants at 24-30 inches tall throughout the growing season. This results in dense, bushy foliage while allowing for economical shipping. From this size most running species will grow to 5-6 feet tall in the first spring and clumping species will usually grow to 4-5 feet tall.  1 gallon bamboo plants strapped in and ready to be sealed. Unpacking Bare Root PlantsYou will be sent tracking details as soon as your plants are shipped. Unpack your plants as quickly as possible after they are delivered. We use two types of boxes, side-sealing and top-sealing. For boxes that are taped along the whole length you can cut the tape on either side and remove the plant bundles by cutting the tape holding the bundle to the bottom. For boxes that are sealed on the top and bottom, it is easiet to open the bottom of the box (the shipping label is at the top) and pull the bundle of plants out straight out. Check that the box is empty as there can be a second bundle of plants stuck towards the top. A bundle of trees. What if I am not able to plant right away?You can usually leave the plants in their shipping container unopened for 1-2 days if there were no shipping delays and you have received your plants from late November through February. Plants shipped when it is warmer can't stay in their packages for as long.For longer term storage of plants you can pot them up or plant them in rows close together temporarily and then pull them out later in the spring to be planted again. This keeps the roots moist while allowing for air flow to the tops. The roots should have good contact with the soil to ensure they have access to adequate moisture. |
Size Availability
Out of season.
4 to 8 inch seedling - $5.97 each
Our main crop of most plants is available starting in late fall.
Additional batches of plugs and quarts are added throughout the year.
Many of our plants are propagated in limited quantities and can sell out quickly when posted, get on the notification list below so you don't miss out. Add your email to be notified as soon as we have them back in stock:
This does NOT subscribe your email to any mailing lists, our system will only send an inventory notification message.
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Red Panda Nursery