Pinus strobus is an iconic Eastern White Pine known for its soft bluish green needles and graceful pyramidal form that matures into a broad crowned shade tree. This fast growing native conifer provides year round visual structure, serves as an essential windbreak, and supports a variety of native fauna. Its evergreen foliage and flaking gray bark add ornamental appeal across all seasons making it a keystone plant for larger landscapes and rewilding projects.
Height & Spread: 50 - 80 ft x 20 - 40 ft
Bloom Time: Non flowering; produces male and female cones in spring
Light Requirements: Full sun
Soil Preference: Moist, well drained, acidic soils; tolerates sandy or loamy substrates
Watering Needs: Moderate; water during establishment and prolonged droughts
Deer Resistance: Low; young saplings may be browsed
Native Status
Pinus strobus is native to eastern North America and plays an important ecological role in temperate forests and mixed woodland habitats.
WILDLIFE & INSECTS
Birds
- Provides food and cover for chickadees, nuthatches, crossbills, and pine warblers that feed on seeds or forage in the needles.
Mammals
- Red squirrels and voles harvest and cache the seeds from fallen cones.
Butterflies
- Used as cover habitat by Mourning Cloaks and anglewing butterflies overwintering in tree bark crevices.
Beneficial Insects
- Supports lacewings, predatory beetles, and other beneficial insects attracted to the complex structure of mature pines.
Spacing & Landscape Use
Spacing Recommendations:
- Allow 25 - 40 ft between trees for windbreaks and naturalized groupings.
Landscape Placement:
- Ideal for large properties, restoration plantings, or as a specimen tree in expansive lawns or woodland edges.
Companion Plants
- Vaccinium angustifolium (Lowbush Blueberry) - Spreads well under pines providing edible fruit and fall color in acidic soils.
- Maianthemum canadense (Canada Mayflower) - Woodland groundcover that adds spring bloom beneath open pine canopy.
- Arctostaphylos uva-ursi (Bearberry) - Trailing woody groundcover that forms dense mats, tolerating dry acidic pine understory.
- Gaultheria procumbens (Wintergreen) - Evergreen groundcover with red berries and fragrant leaves that thrive in dappled pine shade.
- Comptonia peregrina (Sweet Fern) - Aromatic shrub adapted to sandy soils and dry woodland edges near white pine groves.