Jeffrey pine lateral roots are strong and extensive. Generally, Jeffrey pine trees grown from seed collected east of the Sierra Nevada are slower growing, more drought resistant, and less susceptible to cold damage than Jeffrey pine trees grown from seed collected elsewhere. Seeds collected from various areas require different periods of moist, cold stratification for rapid and complete germination. Most stored seeds germinate best after 60 days of stratification. Nursery stock seeds are sown in April and achieve a plantable size in one growing season.
Planting begins at the onset of spring conditions.
Jeffrey pine occupies many sites from the edges of moist high montane meadows to arid slopes bordering deserts. It generally occurs on the drier or higher elevation sites on soils derived from pumic or granite. Precipitation falls mostly as snow. On the western slope of the northern Sierra Nevada, and in the North Coast Range and Klamath Mountains, Jeffrey pine often dominates and is almost entirely restricted to soils derived from ultramafic rocks, peridotites, or serpentines. These soils are highly infertile and mostly shallow.