• Home
  • Coniferous Animals
  • Coniferous Trees
  • About Us
  • Contact
Home > Pine > Virginia Pine

Virginia Pine

Once known as a ‘forest weed,’ the Virginia pine tree has come a long way, gaining a reputation as a Christmas tree, despite its sharp needles. Its tendency to grow in poor soils and apparent capability to grow in places, where most other pines won’t, have made it one of the most favored trees in North America.

Virginia Pines

Virginia Pines

Virginia Pine

Virginia Pine

Scientific Classification

Kingdom Plantae
Division Pinophyta
Class Pinopsida
Order Pinales
Family Pinaceae
Genus Pinus
Subgenus Pinus
Scientific Name Pinus virginiana
Virginia Pine Trees

Virginia Pine Trees

Virginia Pine Tree

Virginia Pine Tree

Quick Information

Also known as Scrub Pine, Jersey Pine, Spruce Pine
Size Usually between 9-18 meters (29.5-59 feet)
Looks like Table mountain pine, Shortleaf pine, Jack pine, Scots pine
Leaves (Needles) 1.5 to 3 inches long, with two twisted yellow-green needles on each fascicle; divergent in nature
Flowers A monoecious species; males are cylindrical, yellow and near the tips of the branches; females appear in yellow to red color, with a curved prickle
Tree Type Evergreen
Distribution/Range New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland and Delaware; naturalized in Canada at Alberta, Ontario and British Columbia
Hardiness Zone 4-8
Lifespan 65-90 years
Growth rate Slow to moderate
Growing Conditions Soil – Clay, loamy or sandy, well-drained soils with a pH level of 4.5-7.5; intolerant towards wet sites

Sunlight – Full sun, the growth is not impeded by droughts

Summer – Temperatures range between of 70°F to 75° F

Winter – 25°F to 40°F seem to be the ideal temperatures Water Requirements – Rainfall ranges between 35 to 55 inches and well distributed throughout the year

Diseases/Pests Generally hardy tree; susceptible to heart rot disease caused by the Phellinus pin, pitch canker caused by Fusarium moniliforme var. subglutinans and attacks by the pine beetle, pales weevil and sawflies
Flowering Season Male flowers appear with new shoots during mid-spring
Seed Production Seeds are produced every year by the cones, with the first seed-producing cones appearing at 5 years of age
Seedling Development Seeds germinate easily as long as they have a mineral soil seedbed and direct sunlight
Propagation By seed germination
Wildlife Value Serves as a food source for many animals like the wild turkey, meadow vole, mourning dove, white-tailed deer, Carolina Chickadee, American Goldfinch, among others; used as a shelter by the pileated woodpecker, eastern cottontail, barred owl, black rat snake, blue jay, ruby-throated hummingbird, etc.
Cultivars Wate’s Golden is the solitary cultivar that is commonly available for the Virginia Pine; the foliage is a brilliant shade of yellow in the winter, while it becomes green in the summer
Uses In reforestation and the lumber industry; provides wood pulp used in making paper
IUCN Conservation status Least Concern
Virginia Pine Needles

Virginia Pine Needles

Virginia Pine Christmas Tree

Virginia Pine Christmas Tree

Scrub Pine

Scrub Pine

Interesting Facts

  • Rare specimens of the Virginia pine have been known to live for more than 150 years, considerably more than its average lifespan.
  • Four members of the Pinus family, including the Sand Pine, Eastern Jack Pine, Virginia Pine, and Lodgepole Pine have remarkably divvied up territory among themselves such that, no territory of one overlaps with the others. The Virginia Pine has taken up the temperate regions in the east of the US.
Virginia Pine Cone

Virginia Pine Cone

Virginia Pine Bark

Virginia Pine Bark

References

  1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinus_virginiana
  2. http://dendro.cnre.vt.edu/dendrology/syllabus/factsheet.cfm?ID=113
  3. https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/pinus-virginiana/
  4. https://www.conifers.org/pi/Pinus_virginiana.php
  5. https://www.fs.usda.gov/database/feis/plants/tree/pinvir/all.html

Published on August 3rd 2016 by Sudipto Chakrabarti under Pine.
Article was last reviewed on 5th December 2022.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    • Recent Posts

      • Cedar Tree of Lebanon
      • Eastern Red Cedar
      • Black-backed Woodpecker
      • Eastern Gray Squirrel
      • Bohemian Waxwing
      • Norway Spruce
      • Douglas Squirrel
      • Northern Goshawk
      • Bighorn Sheep
      • Eastern Milk Snake
      • Ovenbird
      • California Redwood
      • Western Terrestrial Garter Snake
      • Foxtail Pine
      • Snow Goose
    • Categories

      • Coniferous Forest Animals
      • Coniferous Forest Plants and Trees
        • Cedar
        • Cypress
        • Fir
        • Hemlock
        • Juniper
        • Larch
        • Pine
        • Spruce
        • Yew

© 2023 (Coniferous Forest). All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.