Chinese Pistache :: Featured Plants :: Rollin Haas Master Landscapes Inc.

Featured Plants :: Chinese Pistache

Scientific Name: Pistache chinensis
Common Name: Chinese Pistache
Use: Accent or Medium Tree

Chinese Pistache, as its botanical name implies, originates from China and has been in use in the United States for well over 100 years. For many years pistache trees were grafted using selected male trees as the source of the graft / bad wood to avoid the seed production in street and parkway planting. Seeds are bright red, round to oval, 3/16 - 1/4" ball bearings when they fall on the sidewalk or pavement - thus making them potentially hazardous to unsuspecting pedestrians. However, because of slow growth and low grafting percentages seed growth trees are the predominant method of propagation.

Today this medium size tree (20 - 40' in height with a spread of 10 - 30') the small leaflets turn bright orange/red in autumn and their small size (1/2 - 1 1/4") make them easy to clean up.

When planting, large size containers are better because of the slow development of trunk diameter and ratio to crown mass. Smaller sizes (5 - 15 gallon) will need 2 - 3 years of double staking and yearly thinning to keep the crown in balance.

Chinese Pistache is an excellent choice for full color in most of Monterey County landscapes. However they do not like over watering and so are not a good selection for lawns or water needy ground covers.