Is Ponderosa Pine deer resistant?
Pinus ponderosa
Light browsing at worst; rarely ruined.
Not listed by Rutgers NJAES. Rated deer-resistant by El Paso County CSU Extension, whose list is a single category, mapped conservatively to Seldom Severely Damaged.
About Ponderosa Pine
You can smell it before you reach it: resin, off stiff yellowish-green needles five to ten inches long and bundled in threes. The crown lifts clear of browsing height within a decade or two, and established trees are left alone. Scale is the mistake, and it is made every year. Sixty to a hundred and twenty-five feet, with a twenty-five to thirty foot spread - put that near a house and someone pays to take it down inside a generation. It is drought-resistant and wants deep sandy, gravelly or clay loam with real drainage; standing wet brings on root rot, and the tree is susceptible to wind damage on exposed sites. Site it once, well out, and outside any watered turf. From seed, sow fresh and untreated in late autumn; seedlings raised in containers survive planting out better than bare-root ones. Blister rust and needle blight are the other things to watch.
Tolerances and uses
- Evergreen
Similar to Ponderosa Pine
Other trees with the same deer rating.
- Allegheny ServiceberryAmelanchier laevisZones 4–8Seldom damaged
- American PlumPrunus americanaZones 3–9Seldom damaged
- Austrian PinePinus nigraZones 4–7Seldom damaged
- Chinese Fringe TreeChionanthus retususZones 5–9Seldom damaged
- Chinese Paper BirchBetula albosinensisZones 5–7Seldom damaged
- ChokecherryPrunus virginianaZones 2–6Seldom damaged
Where Ponderosa Pine grows
Hardy across most of these 48 states on zone range alone. Mountain and coastal areas sit outside the ranges used here, so check your own zone before ordering.
- Pennsylvania
- New Jersey
- New York
- Connecticut
- Massachusetts
- Virginia
- Maryland
- Michigan
- Wisconsin
- Ohio
- Indiana
- Illinois
- Minnesota
- Missouri
- North Carolina
- Tennessee
- Georgia
- Texasnative
- Coloradonative
- Californianative
- Oregonnative
- Washingtonnative
- New Hampshire
- Vermont
- Maine
- Rhode Island
- Delaware
- West Virginia
- Kentucky
- South Carolina
- Alabama
- Mississippi
- Arkansas
- Oklahomanative
- Kansas
- Nebraskanative
- Iowa
- North Dakotanative
- South Dakotanative
- Montananative
- Wyomingnative
- Idahonative
- Utahnative
- Nevadanative
- Arizonanative
- New Mexiconative
- Alaska
- District of Columbia
Highlighted states are within its native range according to the USDA PLANTS database, where it is native to 16 US states in total.
Browse from here
Every list Ponderosa Pine belongs to.
Hardy in these zones
Common questions about Ponderosa Pine
- Is Ponderosa Pine deer resistant?
- Ponderosa Pine (Pinus ponderosa) is rated Seldom Severely Damaged on the Rutgers NJAES four-tier scale. Light browsing at worst; rarely ruined.
- What hardiness zones does Ponderosa Pine grow in?
- Ponderosa Pine is hardy in USDA zones 3 to 7. Outside that range it will either not survive winter or will struggle with summer heat.
- Does Ponderosa Pine grow in shade?
- Yes. Ponderosa Pine tolerates part shade, which makes it one of the options for a shaded bed where deer also browse.
- How big does Ponderosa Pine get?
- Mature height is roughly 1800–1800 in. Growth rate is moderate.