Georgia Wildlife Federation

Resources < Wildlife Habitats < Guide to Native Plants of Georgia for Wildlife < Pinus virginiana

The Virginia Pine is an excellent pine tree and truly stands out among its relatives. Perhaps the most prominent ornamental features are its unusually short needles and its small, rounded pine cones. This tends to makes its canopy appear as a collection of puffy green cotton balls, dotted with the dark speckles of its cones. It is especially pleasing as a contrast to the Longleaf Pine, whose long leaves and cones seem gargantuan by comparison. Virginia Pine, like its relatives, is adaptable to most dry, open locations. It requires no maintenance. Because of its shorter leaves, it bears less snow weight than other pines and resists breakage during ice storms. For this reason, it is much hardier than the Longleaf or Loblolly Pine and succeeds in the northern US and southern Canada.

Virginia Pines, as well as our other native pines, have unfortunately been completely overlooked as ornamentals. One way to add more ornamental value to pines is to plant vines nearby and allow them to climb. The crimson fall color of Virginia creeper and the prolific scarlet blooms of Trumpet Creeper pair well with the reddish bark of pines. Perhaps a more important purpose, however, is to add foliage interest. Pines tend to leaf out high in their crowns while pruning the bottom third as they grow, and vines mediate this greatly. Other great companions to Virginia Pine include Oaks, Eastern Redcedars, Hickories, American Hazelnuts, Buckeyes, Sumacs, and Sweetgums.

Virginia Pine’s fast growth is useful for reclaiming fields, starting a woodland, or where a quick effect is needed. Because great amounts of light penetrate their crowns, fruit and vegetable gardens as well as sun-loving plants easily grow under pine cover. Use pines when the dense shade of a hardwood forest is not desired.

Its needles, like all pines, are high in vitamin C and entirely edible. They make an excellent and nutritious addition to salads, soups, and have a wonderfully fragrant smell. Pine needles provide nesting material and food for many bird species. They also benefit plant life and make excellent mulch. They acidify the soil slightly when they decay, and are especially useful for acid-loving plants like Blueberries, Mountainlaurel, native Azaleas, and other Ericaceous plants. Virginia Pine is not as tall or fast-growing as its relatives, and has for these reasons been rejected as a plantation tree but still provides many of the same benefits. It is however planted for use in Christmas tree farms.

Family: Pinaceae (Pine)

Description: A small to medium-sized evergreen coniferous tree with a flat-topped, sparse crown. Bark is orange-brown and scaly on young trees; older trunks develop thin, small, scaly plates and cinnamon-colored patches. Flowers are monoecious; males are cylindrical, yellow, and occur near the terminal ends of branches. Females are yellow to red, with curved prickles. Fruits are conical to ovoid cones, 1 ½-2 ½” long, sessile and persistent, with red-brown scales with sharp, needle-like spines, maturing in fall.

Size: 40-70 feet tall and 20-30 feet wide

Habit: Small to medium-sized evergreen coniferous tree with a flat-topped, open crown

Growth Rate: Very fast

Light: Full sun to partial sun

Planting and Care: Pines are ideal for problem spots in virtually any landscape with poor and well-drained soil. Acid and sandy soils are preferable to calcareous or clayey ones. Virginia Pine requires no maintenance after planting and even prunes its own limbs as it grows. Because it is taprooted, transplants tend to establish poorly. Sow seeds in the tree’s final location or immediately transplant seedlings out of smaller pots to minimize this effect.

Ornamental Value: Virginia Pine, as well as other native pines, has ornamental value in the needlelike foliage which is studded with intricate brown cones throughout the fall and winter. Pines look best grouped with other pines or deciduous trees rather than as specimens. Good companions include Black, Post, and Southern Red Oaks, Eastern Persimmon, Sassafras, Sparkleberry, Flowering Dogwood, and Mountainlaurel. Virginia Creeper and Trumpet Creeper are both wonderful vining companions to allow to climb pines.

Landscape Use: Virginia Pines are ideal in places where a relatively quick result is desired. They establish easily in poor and dry sites and are extremely drought tolerant once their taproots establish. Its most substantial impact is in stands, but it may also be used as a specimen. Virginia Pine can be pruned and shaped for use as a living Christmas tree.

Wildlife Benefits: Seeds are eaten by the ground dove, quail, and wild turkey. Pine needles are eaten by grouse as well as used as nesting material by songbirds. Pine needles are consumed by the larvae of the Eastern Pine Elfin butterfly, the Southern Pine Sphinx moth, and the rare and magnificent Imperial Moth.

Native Habitat: Native to eastern North America from Georgia west to Mississippi, north through Missouri to Ontario, and southeast to New York. Naturalized populations occur in British Columbia and Alberta. It is a pioneer species in virtually any habitat, from river bottoms to open fields to forest edges.