Redbay
Persea borbonia Medium tree Zones 7–10 30–60 ft
Shares sandy barrens, the coast, swamps and wet flats in the wild.
A native we do not grow
Pitch Pine
Pinus rigida. Medium tree, 40 to 80 feet, zones 4 to 7; full sun or part shade; dry, average or wet ground.
We do not grow pitch 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 | Torch pine, candlewood pine, northern pitch pine |
|---|---|
| Form | Medium tree |
| Height, feet | 40 to 80 |
| Spread, feet | Up to 50 |
| Zones | 4 to 7 |
| Sun | Full sun or part shade |
| Soil moisture | Dry, average or wet ground |
| Growth | Medium |
| Leaves | Evergreen |
| Traits | Wildlife value, salt tolerant |
| Pollen | April to May |
| Fruit | Cones, August to December |
| First crop | 8 to 12 years (open-grown trees; sprouts bear at 3 to 4) |
| Pollination | One bears; a second improves the crop. Each tree carries both male and female cones and is mostly cross-pollinated by the wind, and seed a lone tree sets with its own pollen can give weak seedlings. |
| Lifespan | Lives up to 450 years, and the oldest dated one reached 398. Only a tiny share of trees has ever been ring-counted or cross-dated. |
| Black walnut | Not named on the Morton Arboretum's lists |
| Ground | Sandy barrens, the Appalachians, the coast, swamps and wet flats |
| Native in | 19 states and the District of Columbia |
Pitch pine is native in 19 states and the District of Columbia: Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia 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 Illinois, Indiana and Minnesota, 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 pitch pine's natural communities in the wild, by the companion species tool's rules.
Pond Pine
Pinus serotina Medium tree Zones 7–9 40–70 ft
Shares sandy barrens, the coast, swamps and wet flats in the wild.
Pond Cypress
Taxodium ascendens Medium tree Zones 5–10 30–70 ft
Shares the coast, swamps and wet flats in the wild.
Atlantic White Cedar
Chamaecyparis thyoides Medium tree Zones 3–9 40–60 ft
Shares the coast, swamps and wet flats in the wild.
Balsam Fir
Abies balsamea Medium tree Zones 2–7 40–75 ft
Shares the Appalachians, swamps and wet flats in the wild.
Loblolly Bay
Gordonia lasianthus Medium tree Zones 7–9 35–60 ft
Shares sandy barrens, swamps and wet flats in the wild.
Read from
Its figures come from Silvics of North America, NC State Extension, 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, the University of Georgia's forestry school and Virginia Tech's dendrology site.