Sun; evergreen with long needles and a very flat, very distinctive umbrella-like canopy. Famously slow-growing, Stone Pine is a huge, long-lived conifer often planted as a living Christmas tree. (Be sure to consider its mature footprint before placing it under power lines or eaves.)
Excellent specimens can be seen at Ft. Sam Houston and other San Antonio-area Air Force bases where they were planted in the mid-20th century.
Young plants can be affected by extreme cold. Prune dead and diseased branches only, and never remove more than 25% of the tree in any 5-year cycle. Stone pine is extremely slow-growing; cutting off the lower branches doesn’t speed it up.
