# Loblolly pine (Pinus taeda)

> The fastest-growing southern pine and the backbone of the East Texas timber industry, reaching 60-90 feet with a tall bare trunk and an oval crown of 6-10 inch needles in threes. It gives quick height and screening on acidic soils but is wind-prone, sheds needles and cones constantly, and is highly flammable near structures. Not suited to Austin's alkaline limestone.

Source: https://treerm.org/trees/pinus-taeda · Updated 2026-11-08 · License CC BY 4.0

## Facts

- Also called: Oldfield pine, Bull pine
- Family: Pinaceae
- Type: Conifer
- Mature height: 25 m; spread 10 m
- Growth: Fast growing
- USDA hardiness zones: 6 to 9
- Light: Full sun
- Water: Moderate water
- Soil: Acidic sandy or clay soils, moist to poorly drained; tolerates some alkalinity but not thin limestone
- Native range: Southeastern coastal plain and Piedmont from New Jersey to Florida and west to east Texas and southeastern Oklahoma

**Benefits:** Fast canopy, Wildlife, Birds, Stores carbon well, Windbreak

**Good for:** Timber, Reforestation, Windbreak, parks, Screening

**Watch out for:** Pest prone, Weak wood, Heavy litter

## Care

Plant small seedlings in full sun on acidic, well-drained to moist soil; water through the first summer. Little pruning is needed beyond removing dead lower limbs. Watch for southern pine beetle and pine engraver beetle, especially in drought-stressed trees, and fusiform rust galls. Keep it at least 30 feet from the house for fire and wind safety.

## Where it stands

- **Native:** United States (Also native in: DC, DE, IL, KY, MD, NJ, VA (USDA PLANTS distribution)); AL, United States; AR, United States; FL, United States; GA, United States; LA, United States; MS, United States; NC, United States; OK, United States; SC, United States; TN, United States; TX, United States (Native to the pineywoods of east Texas and the Lost Pines near Bastrop; not suited to Central Texas limestone)
- **Recommended:** Washington, DC, United States (On the Casey Trees Tree Rebate eligible species list); Atlanta, GA, United States (On the Trees Atlanta Top 50 Atlanta Trees list); Dallas, TX, United States (On the City of Dallas Article X Approved Tree List); Houston, TX, United States (On the City of Houston Planning and Development Department Street Tree List)

## Sources

- https://plants.usda.gov/plant-profile/PITA
- https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=PITA
- https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/pinus-taeda/