zone 9 conifer
zone 9 conifer
(Image credit: picture_istock)

Conifers are wonderful ornamental trees to plant in your landscape. They are often (though not always) evergreen, and they can have spectacular foliage and flowers. When you’re choosing a new tree, the number of options can sometimes be overwhelming. One easy way to narrow things down is to determine your growing zone and stick only to trees that are hardy in your climate. Keep reading to learn more about choosing conifer trees for zone 9 and growing conifers in zone 9.

What Conifers Grow in Zone 9?

Here are some popular zone 9 conifers: White PineWhite pine trees tend to be hardy up to zone 9. Some good varieties include:

  • Southwestern white pine
  • Weeping white pine
  • Contorted white pine
  • Japanese white pine

JuniperJunipers come in a huge variety of shapes and sizes. They are often fragrant. Not all junipers can survive in zone 9, but some good hot weather choices include:

  • Mint Julep juniper
  • Japanese Dwarf Garden juniper
  • Youngstown Andorra juniper
  • San Jose juniper
  • Green Columnar juniper
  • Eastern red cedar (this is juniper not cedar)

CypressCypress trees often grow to be tall and narrow and make great specimens on their own and privacy screens in a row. Some good zone 9 varieties are:

CedarCedars are beautiful trees that come in all shapes and sizes. Some good zone 9 specimens include:

ArborvitaeArborvitae make very hard specimen and hedge trees. Some good zone 9 trees include:

  • Oriental arborvitae
  • Dwarf Golden arborvitae
  • Thuja Green Giant

Monkey Puzzle – Another interesting conifer to consider planting in the zone 9 landscape is the monkey puzzle tree. It has unusual growth with foliage consisting of spiky, sharp tips growing upward in whorls and produces large cones.

Liz Baessler
Senior Editor

The only child of a horticulturist and an English teacher, Liz Baessler was destined to become a gardening editor. She has been with Gardening Know how since 2015, and a Senior Editor since 2020. She holds a BA in English from Brandeis University and an MA in English from the University of Geneva, Switzerland. After years of gardening in containers and community garden plots, she finally has a backyard of her own, which she is systematically filling with vegetables and flowers.