Border or Southwestern White Pine

Southwestern white pine is a native five-needle pine with a slender, straight trunk and an open, irregular crown. The USDA Forest Service describes mature trees about 15–30 metres tall and notes that the species hybridizes with limber pine in parts of its range. Such contact zones give this white pine a variable ecological context across the Southwest. ### Landscape character Its open crown and long-lived evergreen structure suit large naturalistic or woodland settings where a substantial pine can mature. Mature size varies across its range, so allow for its full height potential when choosing a planting site. ## Maintenance Use a site with room for a large tree and maintain healthy drainage while the root system establishes. Allow natural branching character to develop; remove only damaged or unsafe growth. Where southwestern white pine meets limber pine, botanical treatments discuss hybrid populations, so avoid assuming that every tree in the contact area has identical ancestry. Source: [USDA Forest Service FEIS, Southwestern white pine](https://research.fs.usda.gov/feis/species-reviews/pinsto).