Soft Pine Pinus strobus
Other Common Name(s):
Previously known as:
- Leucopitys strobus
- Strobus strobus
- Phonetic Spelling
- PY-nus STROH-bus
- Description
-
Eastern white pine is an evergreen conifer tree in the Pinaceae (pine) family. This pine’s origin is in the northeastern United States and Canada. It may grow 50 to 80 feet tall and 20 to 40 feet wide.
Eastern white pine grows naturally in high, dry, sandy and rocky ridges and is tolerant of a wide range of soil conditions. It prefers full sun; moist, well-drained, fertile sandy loams; and cool, humid climates. It is intolerant of many air pollutants such as sulfur dioxide and ozone, salts, and alkaline soils.
This pine is an important timber tree (perhaps more so in the 18th and 19th centuries than now) valued for its lightweight, straight-grained wood. It is utilized as a Christmas tree in large areas such as parks, commercial areas, and estates. The pine cones are sold as tree decorations for models, model railroading, and Christmas decorations.
This plant is an attractive, ornamental, landscape tree, singly and in hedges, borders, or woodland areas. Alternatively, plant it in a native, butterfly, pollinator, or nighttime garden, as it will attract butterflies and other pollinators, songbirds, and small mammals.
Fire Risk: This plant has a high flammability rating and should not be planted within the defensible space of your home. Select plants with a low flammability rating for the sites nearest your home.
Quick ID Hints:
- Gymnosperm tree with branches and twigs whorled
- Needles are bluish-green, soft, pliable, and in fives
- Cones are narrow cylindrical, scales whiten at the apex
Insects, Diseases, or Other Plant Problems: It is susceptible to blights, canker, and rusts, especially white pine blister rust, which is usually fatal. Insect problems include white pine weevil, bark beetles, white pine shoot borer, Zimmerman moth larvae, pine sawfly, scale, and aphids. Spider mites are occasional visitors in some areas. This tree is susceptible to wind damage.
VIDEO Created by Homegrown featuring Jeff Owen, Area Extension Forestry Specialist for NC State Extension
- Profile Video:
- See this plant in the following landscapes:
- Mountain Ridge Top Garden - North Lawn and Upper Drive Border Bonsai Garden in Davidson County
- Cultivars / Varieties:
-
- 'Alba'
young needles are whitish-green in the spring, green during the summer - 'Fastigiata'
columnar, 40 feet tall, and 8 feet wide
'Nana'
- 'Sea Urchin'
dwarf shrub, compact, and needles are thin and blue - 'Umbraculifera'
Dwarf White Pine
Dwarf form, slow-growing 'Pendula'
Weeping branches, semi-dwarf - 'Alba'
- 'Alba', 'Fastigiata', 'Nana', 'Pendula', 'Sea Urchin', 'Umbraculifera'
- Tags:
- Cultivars / Varieties:
-
- 'Alba'
young needles are whitish-green in the spring, green during the summer - 'Fastigiata'
columnar, 40 feet tall, and 8 feet wide
'Nana'
- 'Sea Urchin'
dwarf shrub, compact, and needles are thin and blue - 'Umbraculifera'
Dwarf White Pine
Dwarf form, slow-growing 'Pendula'
Weeping branches, semi-dwarf - 'Alba'
- 'Alba', 'Fastigiata', 'Nana', 'Pendula', 'Sea Urchin', 'Umbraculifera'
- Tags:
-
-
Attributes:
- Genus:
- Pinus
- Species:
- strobus
- Family:
- Pinaceae
- Uses (Ethnobotany):
- Used for tar, furniture, christmas tree and bark used as astringent and expectorant or antiseptic.
- Life Cycle:
- Woody
- Recommended Propagation Strategy:
- Seed
- Country Or Region Of Origin:
- Central and Eastern Canada, Central and Eastern United States
- Distribution:
- Native: United States--AL, CT, DE, GA, IL, IN, IA, KY, ME MD, MA, MI, MN, NH, NJ, NY, NC, OH, PA, RI, SC, TN, VT, VA, WV, and WI; Canada--Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, and Quebec. Introduced: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Central European Russia, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Korea, Norway, Poland, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and Turkey.
- Fire Risk Rating:
- high flammability
- Wildlife Value:
- This plant supports Imperial Moth (Eacles imperialis) larvae which have one brood per season and appear from April-October in the south. Adult Imperial Moths do not feed. Its white pine seeds are favored by black bears, rabbits, red squirrels, and many birds. The bark is eaten by mammals such as beavers, porcupines, rabbits, and mice. The tree also serves as a shelter for many birds and small mammals.
- Play Value:
- Wildlife Cover/Habitat
- Wildlife Food Source
- Dimensions:
- Height: 50 ft. 0 in. - 80 ft. 0 in.
- Width: 20 ft. 0 in. - 40 ft. 0 in.
-
-
Whole Plant Traits:
- Plant Type:
- Native Plant
- Perennial
- Tree
- Woody Plant Leaf Characteristics:
- Needled Evergreen
- Habit/Form:
- Conical
- Horizontal
- Oval
- Pyramidal
- Spreading
- Growth Rate:
- Rapid
- Maintenance:
- Low
- Texture:
- Medium
-
-
Cultural Conditions:
- Light:
- Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)
- Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
- Soil Texture:
- High Organic Matter
- Loam (Silt)
- Sand
- Soil pH:
- Acid (<6.0)
- Soil Drainage:
- Good Drainage
- Moist
- Occasionally Dry
- Available Space To Plant:
- 24-60 feet
- more than 60 feet
- NC Region:
- Mountains
- Piedmont
- USDA Plant Hardiness Zone:
- 3a, 3b, 4a, 4b, 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b
-
-
Fruit:
- Fruit Color:
- Brown/Copper
- Fruit Value To Gardener:
- Showy
- Display/Harvest Time:
- Fall
- Fruit Length:
- > 3 inches
- Fruit Description:
- No fruits. Cylindrical, brown, resinous cones on the Eastern White Pine (4-8" long) are usually not produced until the tree reaches 5-10 years old. They fully mature by the summer of the second season, releasing seeds in July and August and persisting through September. The cones are stalked, curved, and have white lines on the lower side, the scales lacking spines. Often curved that browns with age. Umbo is blunt and obtuse.
-
-
Flowers:
- Flower Color:
- Gold/Yellow
- Green
- Insignificant
- Red/Burgundy
- Flower Bloom Time:
- Spring
- Flower Description:
- No flowers, cones. In spring, cylindrical, yellow, male strobili, and the female strobili are light green tinged with red that matures in clusters appear in April.
-
-
Leaves:
- Woody Plant Leaf Characteristics:
- Needled Evergreen
- Leaf Color:
- Blue
- Green
- Leaf Feel:
- Soft
- Leaf Value To Gardener:
- Fragrant
- Leaf Type:
- Needles
- Simple
- Leaf Shape:
- Filiform
- Leaf Margin:
- Entire
- Hairs Present:
- No
- Leaf Length:
- 3-6 inches
- Leaf Width:
- < 1 inch
- Leaf Description:
- Bluish-green needles (3" to 5" long) are flexible, soft to the touch, and appear in bundles of five (5 per fascicle). Each needle has 3-5 white lines of stomata on two surfaces of the needle. The needle clusters are deciduous, falling off after approximately two years.
-
-
Bark:
- Bark Color:
- Dark Brown
- Dark Gray
- Light Gray
- Surface/Attachment:
- Furrowed
- Smooth
- Bark Plate Shape:
- Round
- Bark Description:
- The bark is smooth and green with some lighter patches in young trees. As the tree ages, the bark turns reddish brown to dark gray with prominent finely-scaly, rounded, long ridges and darker furrows.
-
-
Stem:
- Stem Color:
- Brown/Copper
- Gray/Silver
- Green
- Orange
- Stem Is Aromatic:
- No
- Stem Description:
- The stems are grayish-green to orangish-brown. The buds are oval and reddish-brown.
-
-
Landscape:
- Landscape Location:
- Woodland
- Landscape Theme:
- Native Garden
- Nighttime Garden
- Winter Garden
- Design Feature:
- Hedge
- Screen/Privacy
- Shade Tree
- Specimen
- Attracts:
- Moths
- Small Mammals
- Songbirds
- Resistance To Challenges:
- Deer
- Rabbits
