Your main problem is going to be summer humidity - the western American and Mediterranean pines are adapted dry, low-humidity summers. Low humidity is also a very effective fungicide, so these pines have also generally not evolved very much resistance to the various needlecast diseases that are more prevalent where humidity is high (Diplodia, Dothistroma, Lophodermium, etc.). Resistance to these often varies from individual to individual; it can be worth planting a large group and then cull out the ones that get affected badly.

Then, with European and Asian species, there is the problem of Pine Wilt Nematode.

From your list:
Pinus arizonica - worth a try, but plant plenty to allow for selection of resistant individuals
Pinus armandii - susceptibility to PWN not known, but worth a try
Pinus ayacahuite - well worth growing; select origins from northeast of Mexico City (Hidalgo, northern Puebla)
Pinus cembroides - worth trying origins from the far NE of the range in NE Mexico, west Texas; I suspect it won't succeed though
Pinus edulis - suspect humidity is going to be a big problem, but give it a try
Pinus hwangshanensis - likely susceptible to PWN; otherwise climatically well adapted
Pinus jeffreyi - plant a large group to select for needlecast tolerance
Pinus lambertiana - never been successful in the eastern US
Pinus nigra (more heat tolerant Mediterranean source) - susceptible to PWN, but give a try with origins from the Croatian coast (humidity and summer rainfall is often higher there than elsewhere in the Med)
Pinus patula - not hardy in zone 7
Pinus pinaster - not hardy in zone 7
Pinus ponderosa - as P. jeffreyi; suggest seed origins from AZ or NM for best chances
Pinus radiata - not hardy in zone 7
Pinus sylvestris (Spanish source?) - very susceptible to PWN; Balkan or Caucasus origins might be better in terms of humidity tolerance

Resin

And don't forget Pinus glabra - I've seen several citations of this as the most attractive SE US native pine

Resin

I've read that the ponderosa pines do not stand up to heat very well.
Deodar Cedar might do well there. The needles seem pine-like.
Try to pick those with moisture and soil conditions that most closely match yours and good luck.
I'm about 150 miles west of where pines grow wild. Count your blessings! It is so good to travel back east and see that familiar pine tree green.

"I'm about 150 miles west of where pines grow wild"

So you can't be too far from Pinus remota on the Edwards Plateau? That's a nice tree, though it doesn't get very large.

Resin

RE: So you can't be too far from Pinus remota on the Edwards Plateau? That's a nice tree, though it doesn't get very large.

Texas A&M says 70 feet by 50 feet. (I dont now if thats correct or not, but if it is that's a large tree by Texas standards. Here is a link

Here is a link that might be useful: Texas native plants database

Hi Tcharles,

That is a lot larger than the other figures I've seen cited (9m [30 ft] according to Little in the original description, 8m according to Perry, 9m according to Farjon), and also than what I've seen myself (some in the Glass Mts between Marathon & Fort Stockton were only 2-5m tall; some southeast of Rocksprings were 6-8m, maybe 9m tall). It makes me very dubious of the A&M claim ;-)

Is 70 feet really "a large tree by Texas standards"? I'd say yes for the west of the state, but in the east, surely P. taeda gets quite a bit larger than that?

Resin

I believe Sheffields or Schumacher would have seeds from a suitable climate for alot of those pines. Also there is a Pinus pinaster in Raleigh at the JC Raulston Arboretum that I would say is around 25 feet tall so I think it is hardy to atleast zone 7b. Also I was thinking about placing an order from Porterhowse for Picea torano, Abies Vejari and a few others and came across a cross between Chinese White Pine and Sugar Pine (Pinus armandii x lambertiana). Pinus lambertiana was one of the pines I was specifically interested in so this might be a good alternative. Could you tell me if this is a legitimate cross or if it has a similiar appearance to Sugar Pine.

The P. armandii à P. lambertiana cross certainly exists, it was made in about the 1950s, and described in Little & Righter, Botanical description of forty artificial pine hybrids; USDA Tech. Bull. 1345 (1965). Presumably Porterhowse got scion material for propagation. Yes, well worth a try.

"there is a Pinus pinaster in Raleigh at the JC Raulston Arboretum that I would say is around 25 feet tall" . . . That would only be 10-15 years old or so; not a very reliable test for hardiness! (when did they have their last very severe winter?)

Resin

Hello Resin

RE: Is 70 feet really "a large tree by Texas standards"? I'd say yes for the west of the state, but in the east, surely P. taeda gets quite a bit larger than that?

The texas pinyon certainly would not be the largest, but if it does grow to 70feet by 50 feet it's fair to say thats large. P.Taeda absolutely gets taller. I lived in houston for a few years and am familiar with the loblolly pines. I would guess that is the tallest native texas tree. Am I right?

In central Texas (where I live now) we do not have a lot of very tall native trees.I've seen some pretty large taxodium, but not a whole lot more than 70 feet tall. Live oak, the ubiquitous shade tree here is wide and spreading but not that tall. Pecan trees can be very tall. I'm sure I've seen some 70 feet and taller.

The reason I made the comment about being a large tree by Texas standards is probably becuase I had been looking at nate's pictures of giant sequoias.

Hi Tcharles,

I've not seen any figures for Texas tallest trees, but I'd guess Pinus taeda, P. palustris, Taxodium distichum, and a fair few broadleaves would all get over 30m [100 ft] fairly easily. In the west. Pinus ponderosa probably also does occasionally in the Davis Mts.

Yeah, guess you have to accept that California wins on tall trees in the Texas-California rivalry stakes ;-)

Resin

There was perfectly healthy Pinus monticola on the campus of William and Mary in Virginia. It was about 30' high, growing on a sloping site. The soil there is a nice silt/sand and makes it easier for them to grow things that might choke on clay. Not sure if it would grow for you in Georgia but it is a western pine that was growing well somewhere on the East Coast. I wouldn't call it spectacular but it definitely looked unusual and different from the typical pines you see around here. Like a less shaggy eastern white pine.

Oh...I just found that tree in google images.

Here is a link that might be useful: http://www.wm.edu/leec/planttour/Millingtonside.html

Resin/tcharles26,

I have 2 pinus remota left. Planted 6 of them 3 years ago.
Their foliage has been a lighter green than what I would deem healthy for 2 years now. I planted them on top of a gentle rolling ridge in full sun on blackland prairie near Waco. They've grown from 30" to 36". Apparently they don't don't like either the blackland prairie clayey soil or the temperatures here or both or something else. Water them once a week when summer sets in and rains fail. My Eastern red cedar are thriving under these conditions.
Have seen these pines growing wild between Camp Wood and Leakey, Tx. They were about 25' high. Wish I was more successful growing them.
Have planted 3 loblolly pines from Lost Pines area as my latest conifer planting experiment in Central Texas.