Can Torrey Pines Grow in Nevada
Question from Joe:
I grew up in San Diego and love the the Torrey Pine. I have collected some seed to try to plant. I live in Nevada and was wanting to know if they will grow in a soil that has a heavy mixture of clay, gravel, rock and alkali? Would you recomend direct planting or in a pot then trasplant under these conditions?
Answer from Pat:
Torrey pine (Pinus torreyana) cannot grow in Nevada. Your insurmountable problem is not soil, it’s climate zone. Torrey pine is adapted to Sunset Zones 8, 9, 14-24, of which Zone 24 is best, since that is where the pine is found growing wild. Nevada contains none of those climate zones. The main Sunset Climate Zones of Nevada are 2A (cold mountain and inter-mountain areas), 2B (warmer-summer intermountain zone) and Zones 10 (high desert),11 (medium to high desert), and 13 (low or subtropical desert.) Thus, there is no climate zone in Nevada in which the Torrey pine can survive.
Always check the climate zone for any plant you want to grow. Successful gardens are well designed and contain the finest easy-to-grow plants which are adapted to their particular area, soil, and climate. Look around and find things you love that grow well there and always choose the best. I sympathize with your desire to grow a plant you love that reminds you of where you grew up. This is a very human and natural feeling. Yearning to grow plants that are not adapted to the place where you live is often humorously called “climate envy”. It’s something any avid gardener might occasionally feel especially when its combined with nostalgia for a beloved plant and place, but there is always some way to create a delightful, perhaps even an impressive garden using plants well-adapted to the climate and soil where you live.
The gardens I most admire in Nevada combine hills, rocks, paths, walls, patios and carefully chosen desert plants to create a sculptured and stunning environment that catches the magical morning and evening light of the Southwest in enchanting and inspiring ways. This is such an important skill that I have included detailed instructions on how to create a satisfying desert landscape on pages 340—342 of my organic book.