Afghan Pine
Pinus Eldarica
... for an outdoor Christmas tree in alkaline grounds.
Common name: Afghan or Afghanistan pine, Desert pine, Elder pine, Mondale pine
Latin Name: Pinus Eldarica
Design Tip: When planted in multiples, the dense habit can create a forest effect or barrier such as an attractive privacy screen, a western sun block, or tall a windbreak. A single tree in an open lawn provides area a large-scale specimen on spacious grounds.
Form: This symmetrical cone-shaped evergreen has a dense growth habit with short branches on the lower trunk that widen at the middle and narrow again towards the top.
Size: Depending on water availability, a healthy tree will maintain a rapid growth rate of three to six feet per year, maturing at 30 to 40 feet tall and 15 to 25 feet wide.
Foliage: The six-inch long, shiny green needles emit a crisp pine fragrance.
Seed Case: Seeds develop in classic reddish-brown pine cones, two to three inches long.
Soil: Provided it is situated with good drainage, this durable evergreen is tolerant of wide range of challenging terrains including rocky, un-amended alkaline soils of loam, clay or sand.
Water: It requires weekly watering the first year and becomes extremely drought tolerant when established.
Light Exposure: A full sun exposure is required.
Hardiness: It is tolerant of desert temperatures and is cold hardy in USDA Zones 6 - 10.
Grooming: If the lower branches are removed for pedestrian passage or underplantings, they will not regenerate. Matured trees require needle and cone cleanup. What may be considered yard litter to some is a windfall for nature enthusiasts; the dense branches provide valuable cover, nesting and breeding areas for songbirds and other wildlife; its fallen needles make an excellent garden mulch and ripened pine cones provide indoor Christmas decor.
Snippets: This fast growing pine tree is well suited to semi-arid conditions but will also prosper in well-drained irrigated yards. Texas A&M Horticulture department cites it as an outstanding tree for alkaline soils. Indigenous to limestone alkaline lands of Russia, Afghanistan and Pakistan makes it suitable for all parts of Texas except for the Panhandle and East Texas.
Cultivated, photographed and written by
Maggie Ross McNeely in Ft. Worth, Texas
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