WateringTimesWatering plan, $19
Pinus montezumae, WUCOLS IV

How often to water Montezuma pine in California

In July in the Central Valley, established Montezuma 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. Montezuma pine is a tall evergreen conifer from the mountains of Mexico and Guatemala, where summer rains are normal. Very long, drooping needles hang in tufts at the branch tips, giving it a soft, weeping look. In gardens it becomes a large tree, and it is a low water pine once its roots are deep.

TreeRated for 4 of 6 zones

How often to water Montezuma 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 Montezuma 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

  • A young pine's root zone gone dry 18 inches down during its first summers means the tree is due for a long soak
  • Older needles yellowing and dropping in large numbers during a long dry spell can indicate drought stress
  • Pitch tubes or fine boring dust on the trunk point to bark beetles, which attack drought-stressed pines
  • Yellowing new growth with soggy soil at the trunk suggests overwatering or poor drainage

How to water it

  • Lay soakers in a broad ring well outside the trunk, where the feeder roots spread
  • Run water slowly until it reaches about 2 feet down, then wait for the upper soil to dry out
  • Give it full sun and well-drained ground with space for a tree 70 feet tall or more
  • Leave fallen needles as mulch under the canopy, clear of the trunk
  • Widen the soaker ring each year as the long branches reach farther out

Through the seasons

Water a young Montezuma pine deeply through its first few summers while roots go down. Established trees need only deep soaks in long dry spells, since a stressed pine is a target for bark beetles. It is evergreen, holding its long needles year round. It comes from mountains with summer rain, so in a long, dry California summer an occasional deep soak helps. From the north-central coast and Central Valley to the south coast and South Inland, WUCOLS assigns this pine a low water rating. Neither desert suits it: WUCOLS marks it as not suited to the high desert or the low desert.

In pots

Montezuma pine is a large forest tree, so a container is only a short stop for a seedling. Keep it in a deep pot no more than a year, then plant it out while the taproot is still young. Feel the mix a few inches below the surface; when that layer has dried, soak it until water escapes the holes. Tip out the saucer afterward. Through winter, rain often keeps a pot moist enough, so check before adding more.

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
0.270.540.801.10.16JAN0.26FEB0.43MAR0.61APR0.83MAY0.99JUN1.07JUL0.95AUG0.72SEP0.47OCT0.22NOV0.14DEC0.270.540.801.10.16JFM0.61AMJ1.07JAS0.47OND
Gallons per square foot per month, Central Valley. Peak 1.07 in Jul, 6.84 a year.

Monthly water need by climate zone

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

MonthN. CoastC. ValleyS. CoastS. InlandHi DesertLo Desert
Jan0.150.160.310.31––
Feb0.210.260.320.35––
Mar0.350.430.460.52––
Apr0.470.610.560.64––
May0.580.830.640.78––
Jun0.640.990.690.92––
Jul0.641.070.791––
Aug0.60.950.740.93––
Sep0.50.720.60.74––
Oct0.350.470.460.53––
Nov0.190.220.330.36––
Dec0.120.140.260.27––
Year4.86.846.27.37––

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 Montezuma 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 Montezuma 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 often should I water Montezuma pine in summer?

In July, established Montezuma pine in loam needs a deep watering about every 20 days in the Central Valley, about every 27 days on the south coast and about every 22 days in the South Inland zone. Sandy soil holds less water, so waterings come closer together. Clay stretches them. Check the soil before each watering and skip one after a soaking rain.

How much water does Montezuma pine need per day?

In July in the Central Valley, established Montezuma 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 Montezuma pine change across California?

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

How big does Montezuma pine get?

It can reach 70 to 90 feet tall and 30 to 40 feet wide. Plant it only where it has that room. Keep it well away from power lines and the house.

Why are my pine's needles so long?

Long needles are the signature of this pine. They can reach about 10 inches long and droop in tufts at the branch tips. The weeping look is normal, not a sign of thirst.

How do bark beetles relate to watering?

Bark beetles attack trees under stress, and warm, dry summers raise that stress. Deep soaks during long droughts help keep the tree vigorous. Look for pitch tubes and boring dust on the trunk.

Does Montezuma pine have big cones?

Yes, it bears large, spiny brown cones. Rake them up where people walk. Cones do not change its water needs.

Can Montezuma pine grow in a lawn?

Turf sprinklers wet the ground around the trunk far more often than a pine wants. A broad ring of needles or wood chips is better than grass beneath it. Give the tree its own slow, deep soaks.

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Sources