As I looked back...

I like this photo as I love trees they give off so much oxygen.

Thanks Ann.

Are they Monterey pines? I know pines throughout the state are dying by the millions because of our severe drought. Hopefully, we'll get the rains which are expected this season!

Italian Stone Pines. As they mature- and these are on the cuspid- they develop a flat crown..lower branches falling off or going bare.
Sort of like some Auracaria's.

Okay, so it's drought tolerant.

My tall 85' tall Norfolk Island Pine is looking very sad! It's loosing some large branches because of this severe drought. During really horrible heat waves like we've had this past year it looses tons of leaves...which are so messy and look like snakes all over the place!

That's not good news for the NIP Andy. I've never seen a large one with large dead branches. If it has widely spaced tiers of branches and its wide spreading,THAT is the original NIP planted century's ago up to the last 40 years or so . Its been replaced by the look alike A.columnaris that is so narrow it can fit into a backyard pretty easy. Those are the indoor Christmas pines. I don't think they can go over 100' like the real NIP.

This Norfolk Island Pine is pretty tough. It's done this before in the past. I do feel sorry for it, though, because it really wants tons of water.

I remember the really tall one off Mission Blvd, close to Niles. It was most likely over 200' tall. Not, sure what the history was on it...It was located next to a very old farmhouse property. The whole tree died back in the early to mid-90's sometime. I think I have stills of that tree, somewhere. It could have been one of the first Norfolk Island Pines planted in the state. Most likely it purchased from the old California Nursery in Niles.

Its still there. Looked very old,but healthy when I drove by last summer. There is a Schefflera actinophylla of a good 3 storys? Something like that down the street. I've only seen two of those around here. I wish I could catch it flowering. Never seen one do that.
That neighborhood? Has a super microclimate. It felt warmer to me then Mowry a mile or so away. The air was very still..something blocks winds. Cold air probably drains well in winter.

There's several other large Norfolk Island Pines in that same area; however, the largest died around twenty years ago.

I have seen very large Schefflera actinophylla and Tupidanthus, also in the Bay Area. If they're in a protected area they can get very large.

I had a Tupidanthus in front of my house in Mission San Jose, Fremont. It grew slowly the first year then it went so wild and got so large...I had to constantly cut it back. The new owners of the house cut it down, it was way out of control. It ended having tons of surface roots, also.