Illustration
Mugo Pine
Pinus mugo
Mugo Pine is grown for its foliage rather than flowers, giving the garden structure and color all season long.
Months here are Northern Hemisphere months; in the Southern Hemisphere, shift them by six months.
Growing Mugo Pine
Plant it in full sun. It prefers moderate water. It is hardy in USDA zones 2–7. Expect it to reach about 5 ft tall and 8 ft wide at maturity, in roughly 15 years (not yet checked).
No toxicity note is on file for Mugo Pine. That is not a clearance: check its safety for people and pets before planting.
What was checked
Mature height and spread, hardiness zones, sun and the trait tags were checked against named botanical sources for this plant. The bloom months and water need on this page were not, and each fact above says which. The planting, spacing and size sections are derived from these checked facts by a fixed rule, not checked separately, and the plant type is the library's own classification.
When to plant Mugo Pine
Plant Mugo Pine in spring once the soil is workable, or by very early fall at the latest: an evergreen needs its roots down well before the ground freezes. In zone 5, the middle of its hardy zones 2 to 7, that is April to June, or August on the fall side.
Month-by-month timing for your zone is on the planting calendar; if you garden near zone 5, the middle of this plant's hardy range, start with zone 5 in April. Derived from the plant's category, zones and bloom months plus typical zone frost dates, not checked separately.
How big does Mugo Pine get?
5 fttall5 ft 7 inan adult8 ftwideSee Mugo Pine in a garden plan: the planner shows it in 3D beside everything else you add, growing toward this size over the years.
How far apart to plant Mugo Pine
Derived from the mature spread above by a fixed rule, not checked separately: spacing is the spread, center to center.
Give Mugo Pine about 8 ft of clear ground in every direction, measured from its center. It is one plant with room around it, not a row, and a raised bed is too small for it.
Add Mugo Pine to a garden plan and the planner draws it at its full width, so you see the spacing before you buy.
Where these facts come from
Mugo Pine's height, spread, hardiness zones, sun and trait tags were checked against 5 published sources on July 29, 2026. Each one is linked below with every fact it carried, which can include a fact this page still marks as not yet checked, because a source carrying a value is not the same as the value being held to the standard. Facts not in that list, and the planting, spacing and size sections, are not covered by these sources.
- NC State ExtensionPlant Toolboxheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun and trait tags
- The Morton Arboretumheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun and trait tags
- Missouri Botanical Gardenheight, spread, hardiness zones and sun
- Oregon State UniversityLandscape Plantsheight, spread and hardiness zones
- conifersociety.orgAmerican Conifer Societyheight and hardiness zones
How the checking works, and what each standard covers, is on the verified plants page.
Explore similar plants
You might also like
Foliage
Foliage
Foliage
Foliage
Foliage
FoliageDesign a garden with this
Drop this plant onto a 3D plan, see how it fills in, and watch your whole garden bloom across the year.