A highly recommended High Desert shade tree with some of the best fall color you can grow here.
Get a Free Planting PlanYes. The SB County Guide to High Desert Landscaping calls Chinese pistache highly recommended, and it is hardy well below Victor Valley lows. It needs full sun, soil that drains, and moderate water, meaning deep soaks through summer, and in return it gives real shade and some of the best fall color you can grow here.
Top photo: Photo: Stickpen, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
Tree · Pistacia chinensis · Also called Chinese Pistache Tree, Chinese Pistachio · Native to China
| Chinese Pistache at a glance in the High Desert | |
|---|---|
| Type and size at maturity | Deciduous shade tree, 30 to 35 ft tall and 20 to 30 ft wide (UA Extension). The SB County guide says up to 50 ft with a 30 ft spread. [4] |
| Growth rate | Moderate. UA Extension says young trees grow slowly for about three years, then up to 2 ft a year. [1] |
| Water once established | Moderate (WUCOLS IV, Region 5, High and Intermediate Desert). UA Extension calls it very drought tolerant once established. [3] |
| Sun | Full sun [4] |
| Cold hardiness | USDA zones 6a to 9b (NC State; UA Extension lists zones 6 to 9), roughly -10F. Hardy for zone 8b. [2] |
| Heat | Very heat tolerant once established [4] |
| Wind | Very wind tolerant once established; young trees may need staking [4] |
| Soil | Tolerates a wide range of soils and some alkalinity; needs good drainage, not waterlogged soil [4] |
| Bloom | Separate male and female trees. Females bear small red fruit that ripens blue-black by October. [2] |
| Evergreen or deciduous | Deciduous, with brilliant orange fall color [1] |
| Pets | Not listed by the ASPCA; check with your vet [5] |
| Wildlife | Fruit on female trees attracts songbirds [2] |
| Where it fits | Street, lawn or patio shade tree [1] |
Cold is not a concern. NC State Extension lists Chinese pistache for USDA zones 6a through 9b, and University of Arizona Extension lists zones 6 to 9. Zone 6a runs down to about -10F. The Victor Valley is zone 8b, with an average coldest night of 15 to 20F and records near 0F, so this tree has room to spare. UA notes it is much more cold hardy than its relative, the pistachio nut tree.
Heat and wind are also fine once it settles in. UA says an established Chinese pistache is very drought, wind and heat tolerant, and that its wood is very hard. That matters in a place where July averages about 97F and spring wind blows from March into June.
The catch is the first few years. UA says young trees look spindly and awkward, may need staking, and grow slowly for about three years after planting. That is when wind can bend or scar a young trunk. General practice is to stake loosely with ties that let the trunk flex, then remove stakes once it stands on its own.
UA Extension says Chinese pistache tolerates a wide range of soils and some alkalinity, but not waterlogged soil. NC State adds that it adapts to soils from acidic to alkaline. The sandy, alkaline ground in most Victor Valley yards works. Caliche is the thing to watch, since a hardpan can hold water around the roots, which is the one condition this tree will not take. Our High Desert soils guide shows how to test and break through it.
In the Victor Valley, spring planting means after the last frost, and Victorville’s median last freeze is around March 18. Fall planting gives roots time to grow before summer heat. Our frost dates and growing zones guide has the details.
WUCOLS IV rates Chinese pistache moderate for Region 5, the High and Intermediate Desert. UA Extension calls it very drought tolerant once established. Both can be true: it will survive dry spells, but with only 5.57 inches of rain a year in Victorville, it needs regular summer water to give full shade and good fall color.
Do not keep the soil soggy. UA is clear that waterlogged soil does not suit it. Put it on a tree drip zone, not a lawn sprinkler schedule, and group it with other moderate-water plants. Our High Desert irrigation guide covers zone layout.
NC State Extension calls it carefree once established, with no serious pest or disease problems, and UA says it resists insects and many diseases. There are a few things to know:
For context, the California Invasive Plant Council evaluated Chinese pistache and did not add it to its invasive plant inventory.
The SB County guide recommends it near a street, in a lawn or as a patio tree, and names it with Arizona ash, goldenrain tree and African sumac as High Desert trees with showy fall color. NC State describes the fall leaves as fiery orange and red.
It also suits the energy advice in the same guide: plant deciduous trees on the south and west sides of the house for summer shade and winter sun. A pistache on the west side cuts late-afternoon heat in July and lets sun through in January.
It is a shade tree, not a desert accent, so it looks best in a yard that mixes a rockscape or xeriscape with a few shade trees on their own drip zone.
Good planting time after the last frost. Check stakes and ties on young trees, and start summer drip as leaves come out.
Deep, regular soaks (WUCOLS rates it moderate). Do not let the soil stay soggy.
Fall color season. Also a good planting time (UA Extension). Taper water as it cools.
Structural pruning on young trees while they are bare is general practice. Water only in long dry spells.
Yes. The SB County Guide to High Desert Landscaping lists it as highly recommended, and it is hardy well below local lows.
NC State lists USDA zones 6a to 9b, which reaches about -10F. That is far colder than the Victor Valley gets.
Once established, yes, according to University of Arizona Extension. WUCOLS still rates it moderate water for the High Desert, so plan on summer drip.
Moderate. UA Extension says it grows slowly for about three years after planting, then up to 2 ft a year.
Spring after the last frost, or fall. UA Extension recommends spring or fall planting.
We checked every number on this page against the public sources below. If a rule or date changes, the agency page is the final word.
Monarch designs and installs rockscape, drip irrigation and drought-tolerant plantings across the High Desert. We will check sun, wind and soil on your lot and tell you where a plant will do well and where it will struggle.
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