Clammy Locust
Robinia viscosa Small tree Zones 3–8 30–40 ft
Shares sandy barrens, the Appalachians, old fields and edges in the wild.
A native we do not grow
Eastern White Pine
Pinus strobus. Large tree, 50 to 100 feet, zones 3 to 8; full sun, part shade or shade; dry or average ground.
We do not grow eastern white pine, and it is not in our shop. This page gathers what our tools say about it and the natives we grow for the same ground.
At a glance
| Other names | Weymouth pine, northern white pine, soft pine |
|---|---|
| Form | Large tree |
| Height, feet | 50 to 100 |
| Spread, feet | Up to 40 |
| Zones | 3 to 8 |
| Sun | Full sun, part shade or shade |
| Soil moisture | Dry or average ground |
| Growth | Fast |
| Leaves | Evergreen |
| Traits | Wildlife value, hedge or screen, erosion control |
| Pollen | April to June |
| Fruit | Cones, August to September |
| First crop | 5 to 10 years (good seed crops from 20 to 30) |
| Pollination | One bears; a second improves the crop. Each tree carries both male and female cones and the wind carries the pollen, but a lone pine tends to set less seed than pines in a group. |
| Lifespan | Can live 486 years, and the oldest dated one reached 408. Only a tiny share of trees has ever been ring-counted or cross-dated. |
| Transplanting | The Morton Arboretum's page on eastern white pine says: "Eastern white pine is easily transplanted, quick to establish and regain rapid growth." |
| Black walnut | Sensitive, on the Morton Arboretum's list as “white pine”, though Silvics of North America says it can grow in competition with black walnut |
| Ground | Sandy barrens, the Appalachians, rich moist slopes, old fields and edges |
| Native in | 25 states and the District of Columbia |
Eastern white pine is native in 25 states and the District of Columbia: Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin and the District of Columbia. The states are the USDA PLANTS Database's records, with the native range read from Silvics of North America and NatureServe Explorer. The USDA PLANTS Database also records it growing wild beyond that range in Alabama, Arkansas and Missouri, where it is naturalized, not native.
What our tools say
How fast it grows and how big it gets, by site Whether it suits your zone, sun and soil How far from a house, wires and a septic field What grows with it in the wild and in a yard When to plant it where you live When it sheds pollen and bears cones, month by month How to sow its seed, with dates for your place How many to plant for a crop of seed Whether one you have can be moved, and what the move takes How old one is, from its trunk How a big one scores against the champion trees
For the same ground, we grow
These trees we grow share the most of eastern white pine's natural communities in the wild, by the companion species tool's rules.
Northern Red Oak
Quercus rubra Large tree Zones 3–8 50–75 ft
Shares the Appalachians and rich moist slopes in the wild.
American Beech
Fagus grandifolia Large tree Zones 3–9 50–80 ft
Shares the Appalachians and rich moist slopes in the wild.
Black Cherry
Prunus serotina Large tree Zones 2–9 50–80 ft
Shares rich moist slopes, old fields and edges in the wild.
Eastern Hemlock
Tsuga canadensis Large tree Zones 3–7 40–100 ft
Shares the Appalachians and rich moist slopes in the wild.
Red Hickory
Carya ovalis Large tree Zones 4–8 60–100 ft
Shares the Appalachians and rich moist slopes in the wild.
Read from
Its figures come from Silvics of North America, NC State Extension, the Missouri Botanical Garden, the Morton Arboretum, the Wildflower Center, the Forest Service's Fire Effects Information System, the Woody Plant Seed Manual, the USDA PLANTS Database, the US Forest Service, Ontario's Old Growth Forests and Virginia Tech's dendrology site.