--- title: Austrian Pine in Reno and Carson City | Tree Guide url: https://battleborntreeservice.com/tree-guide/austrian-pine/ business: Battle Born Tree Service address: 6301 US Highway 50 East, Carson City, NV 89701 phone: 775.232.8243 hours: Office Monday-Friday 8:30 am-5:00 pm; phones answered seven days a week; 24-hour emergency service credentials: ISA Certified Arborist WE-11728A on staff; Nevada Business License # 20131580674; fully insured type: Tree service (removal, crane work, pruning, stump grinding, defensible space, snow removal, firewood) --- - [Home](https://battleborntreeservice.com/) - [Tree guide](https://battleborntreeservice.com/tree-guide/) - Austrian pine # Austrian pine Austrian pine is a dark, dense, two-needle pine from Europe that was planted widely as a windbreak and screen on Northern Nevada lots. It copes with our cold and wind, but it is only moderately drought tolerant, and a line of Austrian pines that thins out or browns from the inside needs an arborist's assessment. - **Botanical name:** Pinus nigra - **Type:** Introduced evergreen pine, two needles per bundle - **Height:** 66 to 165 feet at about 80 years in its native range (USFS) - **Lifespan:** Long lived; European forests were managed on up to 360-year cycles - **Drought tolerance:** Intermediate (USFS) - **Where it is found here:** Planted windbreaks and yards on valley and foothill lots These are the dark evergreens along property lines, ranch roads and subdivision edges. Many were planted as a row, which means one failure often turns into several. ## How do you identify an Austrian pine? Needles are in bundles of two, stiff, dark green and long. The crown is dense and pyramidal when young, and flattens and spreads with age. Bark on older trees is gray-brown to nearly black with deep plates, and the buds at the shoot tips are pale and resinous. A row of dark, dense pines with two-needle bundles in Reno, Carson City or the Carson Valley is most likely this species. - Two stiff needles per bundle - Dense, dark crown, flat-topped with age - Thick, furrowed, dark bark - Often planted in straight rows ## Where does Austrian pine grow here? It is a planted tree, not a native. It does well in the valleys of Reno (4,500 feet), Sparks (4,400 feet), Carson City (4,700 feet) and Minden (4,700 feet), and in foothill neighborhoods up to Washoe Valley (about 5,100 feet). Those towns sit in zones 6b to 7b on the USDA map. Nearest NOAA stations record about 7 to 9 inches of precipitation a year, so any Austrian pine that is not watered deeply is working with very little. ## What goes wrong with it in Northern Nevada? The Forest Service rates Austrian pine drought tolerance as intermediate. In a dry year, rows with shared roots show it first: inner needles turn yellow and fall, and branch tips die back. Needle diseases are a known problem for the species too; the Forest Service names Dothistroma needle blight as the most damaging foliage disease of mature trees. Browning needles can have several causes, which is why an arborist should identify the cause before anyone decides to cut. See [drought stress and dieback](https://battleborntreeservice.com/tree-guide/drought-stress-and-dieback/). Stressed pines are easy targets for bark beetles, see [bark beetles in pines](https://battleborntreeservice.com/tree-guide/bark-beetles-in-pines/). A tall windbreak row also holds snow load and catches wind, and individual trees in a row can lean once a neighbor is removed. ## Pruning timing and fire behavior Dead wood can come off at any time. Otherwise, early spring and summer is the usual window for conifers. Austrian pine does not need heavy shaping; remove dead branches, lift low limbs and thin where trees crowd a house. Do not cut a pine back to bare wood, because it will not regrow from old branches. Like other evergreens, pines are among the most combustible plants in a yard. University of Nevada Extension advises keeping evergreen woody plants at least 30 feet from the house. A row of dense pines along a fence line is a fuel line; see [defensible space and fire mitigation](https://battleborntreeservice.com/tree-services/defensible-space-fire-mitigation/). ## When is removal the answer, and what do we do? Removal is usual when a tree is dead, when the crown has gone mostly brown, when the trunk has decay or a lean, or when a row has thinned so much that the remaining trees are unstable. We assess the trees in person on a free estimate, and the estimate covers [tree removal](https://battleborntreeservice.com/tree-services/tree-removal/), [stump grinding](https://battleborntreeservice.com/tree-services/stump-grinding/) and hauling the debris. Two ISA Certified Arborists are on staff; credential WE-11728A belongs to one of them. ### Sources - [USDA Forest Service, Fire Effects Information System: Pinus nigra](https://www.fs.usda.gov/database/feis/plants/tree/pinnig/all.html) (read October 17, 2026) - [University of Nevada Cooperative Extension: Gardening Guide for High-Desert Urban Landscapes of Great Basin Regions in Nevada and Utah (SP-13-09)](https://naes.agnt.unr.edu/PMS/Pubs/2013-3170.pdf) (read October 17, 2026) - [USDA Agricultural Research Service: USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map 2023 (PRISM, Oregon State University)](https://planthardiness.ars.usda.gov/) (read October 17, 2026) ### Talk to the office [775.232.8243](tel:775.232.8243) | Monday to Friday | 8:30 am - 5:00 pm | |---|---| | Saturday and Sunday | Office closed, phones answered | Phones answered seven days a week. 24-hour emergency service. [Free estimate](#quote) ### Keep reading - [Ponderosa pine](https://battleborntreeservice.com/tree-guide/ponderosa-pine/) - [Bark beetles in pines](https://battleborntreeservice.com/tree-guide/bark-beetles-in-pines/) - [Drought stress and dieback](https://battleborntreeservice.com/tree-guide/drought-stress-and-dieback/) - [Tree removal](https://battleborntreeservice.com/tree-services/tree-removal/) - [Watering mature trees in the high desert](https://battleborntreeservice.com/guides/watering-mature-trees-high-desert/) ## Questions people ask Still have a question? Call [775.232.8243](tel:775.232.8243). Phones are answered seven days a week. ### Is an Austrian pine a good windbreak for Nevada? It has been used that way for decades because it handles cold and wind. It needs deep watering in dry years, and a row can lose several trees at once when drought or beetles hit. ### Why are the inside needles of my pine turning yellow? Some inner needle drop is normal each fall. A lot of yellowing, or browning that spreads from the inside out, can be drought, a needle disease or insects, and an arborist should identify the cause. ### How tall does an Austrian pine get? The US Forest Service gives 66 to 165 feet at about 80 years in its native range. Trees in our dry climate are often shorter but still tall enough to reach a house. ### Can you take out a whole row of pines? Yes. We use a chipper, trucks and a crane where needed. Tell us the length of the row and what is under it on the free estimate.