Thrives in a light well-drained sandy or gravelly loam. Dislikes poorly drained moorland soils. Established plants tolerate drought. Succeeds in very acid soils in the wild. Often used in reforestation projects that are aimed at reclaiming exhausted soils in N. America. This species is not very hardy in Britain. Trees are very slow growing in this country, apart from the first few years, and rarely make more than a bush on a stem. Trees are short-lived in the wild, they can produce cones when 5 years old, though 8 - 10 years is the average. Large crops are followed by 1 - 2 years of low seed production. The cones take 2 years to mature, then open and shed their seed whilst still attached to the tree. The empty cones persist on the trees for 3 - 4 years. Plants are strongly outbreeding, self-fertilized seed usually grows poorly. They hybridize freely with other members of this genus. Leaf secretions inhibit the germination of seeds, thereby reducing the amount of plants that can grow under the trees. Plants in this genus are notably susceptible to honey fungus.

Seed - raw or cooked. Rich in oil with a resinous flavor. The seed is very small and fiddly to utilize, it is only about 4mm long. A vanillin flavoring is obtained as a by-product of other resins that are released from the pulpwood. A tea is made from the leaves.

It is best to sow the seed in individual pots in a cold frame as soon as it is ripe if this is possible otherwise in late winter. A short stratification of 6 weeks at 4°c can improve the germination of stored seed. Plant seedlings out into their permanent positions as soon as possible and protect them for their first winter or two. Plants have a very sparse root system and the sooner they are planted into their permanent positions the better they will grow. Trees should be planted into their permanent positions when they are quite small, between 30 and 90cm. We actually plant them out when they are about 5 - 10cm tall. So long as they are given a very good weed-excluding mulch they establish very well. Larger trees will check badly and hardly put on any growth for several years. This also badly affects root development and wind resistance. Cuttings. This method only works when taken from very young trees less than 10 years old. Use single leaf fascicles with the base of the short shoot. Disbudding the shoots some weeks before taking the cuttings can help. Cuttings are normally slow to grow away.

Barrens and sterile soils at low elevations from 50 - 850 metres. Found in a variety of soils, the best specimens grow in moderate to well-drained clay, loam or sandy soils.