WateringTimesWatering plan, $19
Pinus flexilis ssp. & cvs., WUCOLS IV

How often to water limber pine in California

In July in the Central Valley, established limber pine in loam needs a deep watering about every 20 days: about 55 gallons each time under a 10 foot canopy, about 19 gallons a week. Limber pine is a conifer whose young shoots bend without breaking, giving it flexible branches that resist storm damage. Its dark bluish green needles come in bundles of five and live five or six years. It grows best in moist, well-drained soil but adapts to drier sites, and established trees resist drought and wind.

TreeCalifornia nativeRated for 2 of 6 zones

How often to water limber pine, month by month

Your city
Canopy width
10 ft
Your soil

Type your city above and the days between waterings and the gallons appear here, worked out from your city's climate table. Or read the figures by climate zone further down.

Every month, on your water days. The personal plan prints this for limber pine and the rest of your yard, on the days your water supplier allows.Get the plan for $19

How this is worked out: established roots fill the top 1.5 feet of soil, and you water again when that soil has dried halfway. Loam soil holds about 1.5 inches of water per foot. Water the whole area under the branches, and skip a watering after a good soaking rain.

Which soil do you have?

Dig down a few inches, take a handful of moist soil and squeeze it.

  • Sandy: gritty, falls apart when you open your hand, will not form a ball.
  • Loam: forms a soft ball that crumbles when you poke it.
  • Clay: forms a firm, sticky ball and squeezes out into a ribbon between thumb and finger.

Still not sure? Pick loam. Most garden beds sit between sand and clay.

How to measure canopy width

A tree with its canopy width marked across the widest branches and the circle under it shaded blue

Measure across the branches, from the tips of the outer leaves on one side to the tips on the other. A tape works, or pace it out.

Water the whole circle under the branches, shown in blue. The gallons here cover that circle.

A wider canopy means more gallons each watering, not more waterings. While the tree is young, measure again each spring.

How to tell it needs water

  • When the root ball edge of a young limber pine is dry 6 inches down, give it a deep soak
  • Tip yellowing on new needles of a young limber pine in hot, dry weather can mean its roots are short of water
  • Some older needles browning and dropping is normal, since each needle lives only five or six years
  • Orange blisters or cankers on branches point to white pine blister rust, a bark disease rather than a water issue
  • Yellowing throughout the crown in soggy soil points to poor drainage around the roots

How to water it

  • Water limber pine around the outer root zone with a slow soaker instead of a sprinkler
  • Soak the soil 18 inches deep, then let the top several inches dry before watering again
  • Plant in full sun to partial shade in well-drained soil, raising the planting area in heavy clay
  • Use fallen needles or wood chips as mulch, keeping the trunk base clear
  • Widen the soaker ring as the tree grows from a dense pyramid into an open crown

Through the seasons

Give a new limber pine regular deep soakings through its first two summers while roots spread into the surrounding soil. Established trees resist drought and wind, though long dry spells still call for a deep soak. The tree is evergreen, and its needles live for several years before dropping. Irrigation matters most from late spring through fall. Winter rain usually covers the cool months on the north-central coast and in the Central Valley. In the Central Valley it drops to low water, while the north-central coast rating is moderate water. WUCOLS has not evaluated it for South Inland, the high desert, the low desert or the south coast.

In pots

Limber pine, especially its blue or shrubby cultivars, can grow in a large container for some years. Give it a deep, free-draining pot and a coarse, gritty blend. Through summer, push a finger into the mix every few days, and when the top 2 inches feel dry, water until it runs out below. Never leave water in the saucer. Winter calls for sparing water, given only once the mix has dried, and the pot should not stand in rain puddles.

1 Your climate zone six WUCOLS zones, each from its own reference city
1.07gal per sq ft in JulyLow water use in the Central Valley zone
A year
6.84 gal per sq ft
Reference
Sacramento climate table
Counts
Plant need, before sprinkler losses
0.400.811.21.60.16JAN0.26FEB0.43MAR0.61APR0.83MAY0.99JUN1.07JUL0.95AUG0.72SEP0.47OCT0.22NOV0.14DEC0.400.811.21.60.16JFM0.61AMJ1.07JAS0.47OND
Gallons per square foot per month, Central Valley. Peak 1.07 in Jul, 6.84 a year.

Monthly water need by climate zone

Limber Pine: gallons per square foot per month, by WUCOLS climate zone

MonthN. CoastC. ValleyS. CoastS. InlandHi DesertLo Desert
Jan0.370.16––––
Feb0.530.26––––
Mar0.870.43––––
Apr1.180.61––––
May1.460.83––––
Jun1.610.99––––
Jul1.611.07––––
Aug1.490.95––––
Sep1.240.72––––
Oct0.870.47––––
Nov0.470.22––––
Dec0.310.14––––
Year126.84––––

How this is worked out: the WUCOLS water rating for each zone times that zone’s climate for the month. A dash means WUCOLS does not rate the plant there. The figures are what the plant uses, before sprinkler losses.

Plants with the same water needs 16

Rated low water in the Central Valley, like limber pine. Plants that drink alike can share one valve and one schedule.

Olive TreesOlea europaea ssp. & cvs.low water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyFig TreesFicus carica ssp. & cvs.low water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyCrape MyrtleLagerstroemia spp., hybrids & cvs.low water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyAloeAloe spp. & cvs.low water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyPomegranate TreesPunica granatumlow water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyEucalyptusEucalyptus polyanthemoslow water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyPine TreesPinus canariensislow water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyJunipersJuniperus spp. & cvs.low water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyTexas Red OakQuercus buckleyilow water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyPortuguese OakQuercus faginealow water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulySoapbark TreeQuillaja saponarialow water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyNecklace TreeSophora affinislow water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyBailey AcaciaAcacia baileyanalow water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulySilver WattleAcacia dealbatalow water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyGreen WattleAcacia decurrenslow water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulySydney Golden WattleAcacia longifolialow water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in July
Minutes for your sprinklers

Turn this into minutes on your water days

Every city page has a calculator that takes limber pine, your sprinkler type and the month, and gives the minutes per water day for that supplier's schedule. Or put it in a zone of the personal watering plan and get all twelve months printed.

Questions people ask

How much water does limber pine need per day?

In July in the Central Valley, established limber pine needs about 2.7 gallons a day under a 10 foot canopy and about 11 gallons a day under a 20 foot canopy. Give it in deep waterings spread days apart rather than a little every day, so the whole root zone gets wet.

Does watering for limber pine change across California?

Yes. WUCOLS rates limber pine separately for each of the six California climate zones: moderate water in the North-Central Coastal zone, low water in the Central Valley zone, not evaluated in the South Coastal zone, not evaluated in the South Inland zone, not evaluated in the High and Intermediate Desert zone, not evaluated in the Low Desert zone. The monthly table above shows how the same rating translates into different gallon amounts as reference evapotranspiration changes.

Why is it called limber pine?

Its young shoots are so flexible they can be bent without breaking. That helps the branches resist storm damage. It does not change how the tree should be watered.

What is white pine blister rust?

It is a bark disease, and limber pine is susceptible to it. Infections are usually fatal. Watering cannot cure it, so have an arborist confirm the problem before removing a tree.

Are there blue forms of limber pine?

Yes. Cultivars such as 'Extra Blue' and 'Glauca' have blue to blue-green needles, and 'Glauca Pendula' grows as a sprawling shrub. They share the species' need for good drainage.

Is limber pine drought tolerant?

Once established it resists drought well. Young trees need deep soakings while roots spread. On the north-central coast, WUCOLS rates it moderate water.

Can you overwater limber pine?

Yes. It needs good drainage, and soggy ground can damage its roots. Let the soil dry several inches down between soakings.

More plant watering guides

Chaste TreeRoger's Red GrapeWhite Rain LilyDouble Knock Out RoseCat ThymeWhite IronbarkCast Iron PlantLeather Oak

Sources