Cold hardiness

Future

2050

2100

These values are location-based: this location's current hardiness is the baseline, and the 2050 value is a projected future climate for this same location.

Now

Zone 6b

USDA

Published baseline for this location from 1991-2020.

Source: USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map 2023 (1991-2020 climatology) via ArcGIS FeatureServer

Won't grow here

2050

Zone 7a

Plotwright

Projected zone for this same location in 2050 (2041-2070) using SSP3-7.0 (regional rivalry).

Won't grow here

In plain terms: This location is in Zone 6b today. Its hardiness profile is cold winters, and coldest nights are typically around -3°F. By 2050, the projected hardiness zone is Zone 7a based on SSP3-7.0 (regional rivalry). That is a +0.5-zone shift from Zone 6b to Zone 7a by 2050.

✕

Out of range today and still out of range in 2050.

Heat tolerance

Future

2050

2100

Heat tolerance values are location-based too: heat days today are observed at this site, and the 2050 value projects this same location under a future climate.

Loading AHS heat-zone data for this location...

Where this plant fits

Suitable across 39 ecoregions — 34 climate-resilient through 2070 · 5 newly possible by 2070. Best matches first.

Appalachian mixed mesophytic forests

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Appalachian-Blue Ridge forests

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Arizona Mountains forests

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Atlantic coastal pine barrens

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California coastal sage and chaparral

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Canadian Aspen forests and parklands

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Central Pacific Northwest coastal forests

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Central-Southern Cascades Forests

What it needs

Conditions

Light

Full sun

Water

Moderate water

Spacing

360"

Habit

Huge evergreen conifer with the classic candelabra form: a tall bare trunk crowned by upswept whorled branches and stiff, sharply pointed leaves. It is dioecious — separate male and female trees, so two are needed for seed. Slow, very long-lived, wind-pollinated, and demanding space and a cool-subtropical highland climate. HONESTY: a Critically Endangered (IUCN) keystone of southern Brazil's heavily logged Araucaria forest, and a true conservation-notable species.

Care tips

•

Give it room from the start — plan for an 80-130 foot tree with a wide crown, and never plant it tight against buildings or paths.

•

Plant both a male and a female tree if you want the edible pinhão seed; a single tree is dioecious and will not set seed alone.

•

Site it in a cool-subtropical highland climate (zones 8a-10b) in deep, free-draining soil; it dislikes prolonged heat and drought.

Lifecycle

Planting

Plant in full sun in deep, free-draining soil with room for an eventual 80-130 foot tree. It prefers a cool-subtropical highland climate (USDA zones 8a-10b) and is not for small or hot-lowland gardens.

Transplanting

Set out young container-grown plants while small; like most conifers it resents root disturbance, so disturb the rootball as little as possible and avoid moving established specimens.

Early growth

Slow-growing, especially early on. Water through dry spells to establish and shelter young plants from hard frost; growth is steady but unhurried over many years.

Maturity

Very long-lived, maturing over decades into a huge candelabra-crowned tree of roughly 80-130 feet. Because it is dioecious, you need both a male and a female tree for the female to set the pinhão seed.

Propagation

Grow from fresh pinhão seed, which loses viability quickly and is best sown soon after collection; cutting propagation is difficult and rarely practical.

Pollination

Dioecious — needs male pollinizer

Dioecious and wind-pollinated: male and female cones are borne on separate trees, so you need both a male and a female within range of the wind for the female to set the pinhão seed. There is no insect pollinator and no point relying on a single tree for seed.

For people

Edible with preparation

The large seeds, the pinhão, are a traditional and prized southern-Brazilian food — but only edible when cooked (typically boiled or roasted), not raw. Female trees in fruit are needed to produce them, and a male tree must be nearby to pollinate.

Climate notes

•

USDA hardiness zones 8a-10b; native to the highlands of southern Brazil and just into Argentina and Paraguay, the keystone tree of the Araucaria moist forest (POWO, Kew; native status per Flora e Funga do Brasil).

•

Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List — its southern-Brazilian Araucaria forest has been reduced by well over 90% by logging and land conversion (IUCN). Planting it is a small act of conservation as much as gardening.

•

It belongs to a cool-subtropical highland climate, not a hot lowland tropical one; it tolerates real frost better than most South American trees but resents prolonged heat and drought.

•

Give it deep, free-draining soil, full sun, and a great deal of room — this is a forest giant, not a patio tree, and siting it tight is the most common mistake.

In the designer

Growth over time

384-624" tall · 108-216" spread

Developing the candelabra crown and clear trunk; decades from full height but already a strong structural presence.

Design roles: Structure · Focal point

Seasonal interest

Spring

Summer

Fall

Winter

Filled = the plant has seasonal interest · ▾ now = your current season

Paraná pine

At a glance

Why it matters

Cold hardiness

Heat tolerance

Where this plant fits

What it needs

Lifecycle

Pollination

For people

Climate notes

In the designer

Seasonal interest

Sources & citations