Illustration
Shore Pine
Pinus contorta var. contorta
Also called beach pine and coast pine
Shore 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 Shore Pine
Plant it in full sun. It prefers low water. It is hardy in USDA zones 7–8. Expect it to reach about 43 ft tall and 21 ft wide at maturity, in roughly 15 years (a house reading).
Pets
- Not yet checked for pets.
Lists differ and none is complete. If a pet eats a plant and seems unwell, call a veterinarian or a pet poison helpline.
No toxicity note is on file for Shore Pine. That is not a clearance: check its safety for people and pets before planting.
What was checked
Nine facts were checked against named botanical sources, each recorded beside the sources that carried it: mature height and spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color, the trait tags, and years to mature size, which rests on a recorded house rule where no publisher states one and is marked so. Soil, diseases, pests, toxicity and the plant's own names have not yet been read for this plant, and its trait tags are the ones a feature uses rather than every word a page prints. Each fact above carries its own mark. 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 Shore Pine
Plant Shore 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 7, the middle of its hardy zones 7 to 8, that is March to May, or September on the fall side.
Month-by-month timing for your zone is on the planting calendar; if you garden near zone 7, the middle of this plant's hardy range, start with zone 7 in March. Derived from the plant's category, zones and bloom months plus typical zone frost dates, not checked separately.
How big does Shore Pine get?
43 fttall5 ft 7 inan adult21 ftwideSee Shore 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 Shore Pine
Derived from the mature spread above by a fixed rule, not checked separately: spacing is the spread, center to center.
Give Shore Pine about 21 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 Shore 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
Shore Pine's height, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water and trait tags were checked against 8 published sources on November 5, 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. Bloom was checked as well: Shore Pine bears no flowers, so there is no bloom window for a source to carry.
- calfloranursery.comCalifornia Flora Nurseryheight, spread, sun, water and trait tags
- extension.oregonstate.eduOregon State University Extension Serviceheight, spread and hardiness zones
- Oregon State UniversityLandscape Plantsheight, hardiness zones and trait tags
- plantdatabase.kpu.caKwantlen Polytechnic University, School of Horticultureheight, spread and sun
- research.fs.usda.govUSDA Forest Service, FEISheight, sun and trait tags
- seattle.govCity of Seattle, Trees for Seattleheight, spread and sun
- RHSRoyal Horticultural Societyheight and spread
- NC State Extensionsun
How the checking works, and what each standard covers, is on the verified plants page.
Where it grows wild
Native to 4 states and 1 province
United States: Alaska, California, Oregon, Washington
Canada: British Columbia
Range data from the World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 4.0, adapted) and USDA PLANTS. How the native range is credited.
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.