Chestnut Oak
Quercus montana Medium tree Zones 4–8 50–70 ft
Shares the Appalachians and dry uplands in the wild.
A native we do not grow
Virginia Pine
Pinus virginiana. Medium tree, 15 to 80 feet, zones 4 to 8; full sun; dry or average ground.
We do not grow Virginia 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 | Jersey pine, possum pine, poverty pine |
|---|---|
| Form | Medium tree |
| Height, feet | 15 to 80 |
| Spread, feet | Up to 35 |
| Zones | 4 to 8 |
| Sun | Full sun |
| Soil moisture | Dry or average ground |
| Growth | Medium |
| Leaves | Evergreen |
| Traits | Wildlife value |
| Pollen | March to May |
| Fruit | Cones, September to December |
| First crop | About 5 years (open-grown trees; up to 50 in dense stands) |
| Pollination | One bears; a second improves the crop. Each tree carries both male and female cones and mostly takes pollen from other pines, though a lone tree can set some seed with its own. |
| Lifespan | Lives up to 200 years, and the oldest dated one reached 126. 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 | The Appalachians, dry uplands, old fields and edges |
| Native in | 17 states and the District of Columbia |
Virginia pine is native in 17 states and the District of Columbia: Alabama, Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, 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 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 Virginia pine's natural communities in the wild, by the companion species tool's rules.
Shingle Oak
Quercus imbricaria Medium tree Zones 4–8 40–60 ft
Shares dry uplands, old fields and edges in the wild.
Sassafras
Sassafras albidum Medium tree Zones 4–9 30–60 ft
Shares dry uplands, old fields and edges in the wild.
Slippery Elm
Ulmus rubra Medium tree Zones 3–9 40–70 ft
Shares dry uplands, old fields and edges in the wild.
Eastern Red Cedar
Juniperus virginiana Medium tree Zones 2–9 30–50 ft
Shares dry uplands, old fields and edges in the wild.
Winged Elm
Ulmus alata Medium tree Zones 6–9 40–60 ft
Shares dry uplands, old fields and edges 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, UF/IFAS Extension, the USDA PLANTS Database, the US Forest Service and Virginia Tech's dendrology site.