A Brief Description of a Virginia Pine Tree

Size and Form

• Maximum heights for the Virginia pine are in the range of 70 feet, but the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences notes that most cultivated forms are between 20 and 40 feet high. The spread of the branches is between 20 to 35 feet. Trunk diameters of Virginia pine are in the 12- to 18-inch range. The young specimens exhibit a pyramidal form, but as the tree ages, its top becomes irregular, often taking on a flattened look.

Needles

• The needles of pine trees grow from the branches in bundles (fasicles), with different species having different numbers of needles in their bundles. Virginia pine has two needles in each bundle, with the evergreen needles up to 3 inches long. The needles are pointy, stiff and look as if someone slightly twisted them. The needles remain on the tree for as long as four years before new ones grow in, with cold winter weather turning them a shade of yellow-green.

Cones and Bark

• A thin, long prickle protects each scale on the cones of a Virginia pine. Remaining on the tree for up to two years after maturing, these cones are egg shaped and narrow. The reddish-brown and shiny cones grow alone on a branch or in clusters of twos or fours. Virginia pine cones grow to just under 3 inches in length. The reddish-brown bark of this tree adds some ornamental value; the bark develops ridges and scales as the tree gets older.

Wate's Golden

• The most common cultivar of the Virginia pine is "Wate's Golden." Growing to between 15 and 30 feet high, Wate's Golden's needles are its main feature. The needles start out greenish-yellow, but in the winter they take on a brilliant yellow tint before changing back to green in warm weather. Wate's Golden will not produce cones until it is about eight to 10 years old.