Pinus taeda (Loblolly Pine)

One of the fastest-growing southern pines, Pinus taeda (Loblolly Pine) is a large evergreen conifer with a straight, slender trunk and a dense, rounded crown of wide-spreading branches. Pyramidal in youth, it loses its lower branches over time, leaving an open, rounded crown. Its fragrant resinous foliage of long, stiff and slender, dark green needles, 5-10 in. (12-25 cm), is borne in groups of three. The stalkless, buff to rust-brown, elongated cones, 3 to 6 in. long (7-15 cm), are held for 3-4 years. The bark is scaly gray and becomes ridged and furrowed on mature trees. Loblolly Pine is extensively cultivated in forest plantations for pulpwood and lumber. It loves moist areas with poor drainage and is a great pine of screening or massing for the Southeast. Beautiful in groves, it is not really suited as an isolated specimen. Loblolly Pine seeds are an important food source for birds and small mammals. More than 20 songbirds feed on them, and the seeds make up more than half the diet of the red crossbill. Loblolly pine provides nesting habitat for the endangered red-cockaded woodpecker.

• Grows up to 40-80 ft. tall (12-24 m) and 20-40 ft. wide (6-12 m).
• Performs best in full sun in medium to wet soils, acidic, well-drained soils. Performs best in climates with hot and humid summers and mild winters.
• Easy to grow, easy to care for and rarely browsed by deer.
• Susceptible to southern pine beetle, pine engraver beetle, fusiform rust and rots.
• No pruning required.
• Native to the southeastern United States, from southern New Jersey to Florida and west to eastern Texas.