Loblolly Pine

Loblolly Pine (Pinus taeda)

Old Field Pine, Bull Pine, Rosemary Pine

Full sun, medium to moderately dry, grows in a wide range of soils including clay, loam, and sandy loam, pH 4.5–6.5; drought-tolerant once established; does not tolerate prolonged flooding.

60–90 feet tall by 25–35 feet wide; needles in bundles of 3, 15–23 cm long; reddish-brown cones 7–12 cm with sharp spines; produces first seed crop at 5–10 years. Growth rate fast — one of the fastest-growing native pines.

Native region: Southern and Middle Tennessee, most abundant in the Coastal Plain and lower Highland Rim; a characteristic tree of abandoned fields and disturbed ground in Maury and surrounding counties.

P. taeda is the most commercially important timber pine in North America and a significant component of Middle Tennessee's rural landscape, colonizing old fields and disturbed roadsides rapidly from bird-dispersed seed. Southern pine beetle (Dendroctonus frontalis) is the most devastating pest — mass attacks can kill mature trees within weeks; drought-stressed trees are most susceptible. Pitch canker (Fusarium circinatum) and annosum root rot (Heterobasidion annosum) are serious diseases on stressed or wounded specimens. In lawn settings, falling needles and large cones require regular cleanup. The species is not suited to small residential lots due to mature size and storm damage risk from brittle wood.