Shore Pine
Pinus contorta var. contorta
Height20 to 35 ftSpread15 to 25 ftGrowth1 to 2 ft / yrZones6 to 9
Low maintenance1 / 5
Mountain hemlock on a mountain slope · Photo: Walter Siegmund, CC BY-SA 3.0
Photo credits
- Mountain hemlock on a mountain slope. Photo by Walter Siegmund, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
- Mountain hemlocks in a subalpine meadow. Photo by Krzysztof Ziarnek, Kenraiz, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
- Mountain hemlock cones. Photo by Peter Stevens from Seattle, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
- Mountain hemlock foliage. Photo by Vertaholic, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Evergreen conifer
Mountain Hemlock
Tsuga mertensiana
A slow, sculptural alpine native with blue-green needles. Good for small gardens and rockeries.
- Max height
- 30 ft
- Typical height
- 20 to 30 ft
- Spread
- 10 to 15 ft
- Growth per year
- 6 in or less
- Growth rate
- Slow
- Light
- Sun to part shade
- Hardiness zones
- 5 to 8
- Native to
- Mountains of western North America, Alaska to California
MaintenanceLow
Wants cool roots, mulch and summer water. No pruning.
See it at scale
Mountain Hemlock, up to 30 ft tall and 15 ft wide
Compare with
Similar trees
Same use, closest in size
Weeping Alaskan Cedar
Callitropsis nootkatensis 'Pendula'
Height25 to 35 ftSpread8 to 12 ftGrowthAbout 1 ft / yrZones4 to 8
Low maintenance
Austrian Pine
Pinus nigra
Height40 to 60 ftSpread20 to 40 ftGrowth12 to 18 in / yrZones4 to 7
Low maintenance