1 Gallon Chinese Pistache

Product: Chinese Pistache

Scientific Name: Pistacia chinensis

Type: Tree

Full Grown Size: 25’-40’ tall and 25’-30’ wide.

Lifespan: Can live as long as 150 years old.

Soil conditions: Grows in acidic, alkaline, loamy, moist, sandy, silty loam, well-drained and clay soils.

Light requirements: Full sun to partial shade

Water requirements: Water the trees twice a week for the next month. After that, check the soil weekly and water whenever the top 1 inch is dry, soaking the soil around mature trees to a depth of 30 inches.

USDA Zones: Hardiness zones 6 through 9. 

The Chinese pistache is a small to medium-sized tree native to central and western China. They are usually planted as a street tree in temperate areas worldwide due to its attractive fruit and autumn foliage. It can withstand harsh conditions and poor quality soils, and grows up to 65 feet. The leaves can be 20 to 25 centimeters long, with 10 or 12 leaflets, and the terminal leaflet usually being absent. The flowers are produced in panicles 15 to 20 centimeters long at the ends of the branches. The fruit is a small red drupe, turning blue when ripe, containing a single seed.

 The Chinese pistache is a deciduous tree that forms a spreading, umbrella canopy, growing 1-3 feet per year.  This is an ideal size to provide shade and landscape for single-story homes.  The textured foliage creates a light-textured shade pattern and remains a deep green color during the growing season, even in the rocky, highly alkaline, poor soils common to many landscapes across Texas.

 Fall colors can be wonderful with shades of orange, yellow, red-orange and even crimson.  This tree is one of the most reliable sources of fall colors.

 The Chinese Pistache tree is the first shade tree to receive the coveted “Earth-Kind®” Texas SuperStar tree, designation from the Texas AgriLife Extension Service for its high levels of genetic resistance to insect and disease problems.   It has superior drought, heat, and wind tolerance.

 Fruit is only on female trees, with clusters of small, round green berries which turn to red-purple in the fall.  The fruit is inedible for humans.