| Pinus virginiana is a medium to large evergreen conifer ranging from 15 to 40 feet in height, witha 10 to 30 foot spread. Growth habit is broad and openly pyramidal; can become low, and straggly with long branches, slow growing. Needles are in pairs, 2 to 3 inches long, yellow-green to dark green, can look sickly yellow over winter. Will grow in very poor soil where other pines will not, including heavy clay. Not very ornamental but has utility as a cover tree. Native from New York south to Alabama, Appalachia. Widely used as a christmas tree in the southern U.S.
Pines are one of the most diverse groups of evergreen conifers, over 90 species are distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere. Although most are large trees, they can take a low growing shrub form. Pines have been very important commercially, in timber production, as well as a variety of other manufactured products such as turpentine, and rosin. They tend to be more tolerant of varying soil types and urban environments than either Picea or Abies. Pines tend to develop tap roots, so one should not attempt to transplant them from the wild. All species are grown from seed, with highly variable seed stratification requirements. They can be subject to many diseases, such as damping off, root rot, dieback, blister rust, canker, blight, scale, pine needle miner, pine weevil, bark beetles and pinewood nematode. Well situated plants should be relatively trouble free.
They suffer salt damage along highways, and can get tip burn in areas of high sulfur dioxide or ozone. |
