The Loblolly Pine, otherwise known as the Pinus Taeda or Oldfield Pine, Bull Pine, Rosemary Pine, is a somewhat well-known tree plant native to the Southeast, Northeast, and the Southwest of the United States.
Best known for its low maintenance and fast growth, this tree will likely liven up your house (or garden) with its dark green colored leaves. But, only if you learn how to take proper care of it for it to thrive.
This is why all the topics you need to know in order to achieve this will be covered in this Loblolly Pine Care Guide. Ready? Let’s go!
The basic care guidelines you need to remember for your Loblolly Pine are the following:
- Water: The Loblolly Pine grows best with watering each week. Increase the frequency of watering when it gets hot.
- Light: Keep your Pinus Taeda in an environment where it can receive full sun on a daily basis.
- Soil: Make sure to keep the Loblolly Pine in soil with moist but well-draining to poorly draining properties, so ideally, one that is made of sand and loam.
And as with many other plants, these are the only three care factors you need to remember to make sure your Loblolly Pine is, for the most part, healthy and well to survive.
Scientific / Botanical Aspects
In botanical terms, the Loblolly Pine belongs to the Pinaceae family, the genus Pinus and the species Taeda, hence its scientific (or botanical) name Pinus Taeda.
Other popular Pinaceae plants include other species like Pinus Mugo ‘Mops’, Picea Abies ‘Nidiformis’, Picea Abies ‘Pumila’, Archer’s Dwarf White Fir, Alberta Spruce ‘Echiniformis’, Golden Deodar Cedar, Blue Atlas Cedar ‘Glauca Pendula’, Compact Tanyosho Japanese Red Pine, Pinus Contorta Var. Latifolia ‘Chief Joseph’, Abies Balsamea ‘Nana’, Dwarf Pine’, Mountain Pine ‘Carstens’, Pinus Mugo ‘Sherwood Compact’, Shore Pine, Subalpine Fir ‘Green Globe’, FIRE N ICE Pieris, Abies Koreana ‘Horstmann’S Silberlocke’, Lantana Camara ‘Monike’ Plant Patent #17,612, Physocarpus Opulifolius ‘Podaras 3’ Plant Patent #22362, Acrocona Norway Spruce, Picea Mariana ‘Nana’, Pinus Flexilis ‘Vanderwolf’S Pyramid’, Weymouth Pine ‘Nana’, Pinus Sylvestris ‘Glauca Nana’, Raspberry Lemonade™ Ninebark and Calabrian Pine.
As with other Pinus’s, the Loblolly Pine is an evergreen plant, which means it will be present year-round in your garden.
Growing Region
The Loblolly Pine is a plant native to the Southeastern United States. This is why the Pinus Taeda is used to growing in specific regions such as the states in Southeast, Northeast, and the Southwest of the United States.
Knowing your plant’s native region is very useful, as it can give you tips on which environment is best for your Loblolly Pine. If you keep it in mind, you can try to replicate these conditions at home, and you’ll likely end with a healthier plant.
With this in mind, the Pinus Taeda will be most used to regions where the plant hardiness level falls between 6b, 6a, 7b, 7a, 8b, 8a, 9b, 9a.
Growth and Size
Growth
In terms of size and growth, the Loblolly Pine is a relatively fast grower, which makes things tricky for any plant enthusiast.
Size
But, how big does the Loblolly Pine actually get? What should you expect in terms of size? Let’s dive right in…
The Pinus Taeda can grow up to 40′ – 80′ (12m – 24m) in 40′ – 80′ (12m – 24m) and 20′ – 40′ (6m – 12m) in 20′ – 40′ (6m – 12m).
Also, expect it to grow in a wonderful pyramidal shape, which is something worthwhile to remember when making your garden landscape plans.
Watering
In terms of watering, the Loblolly Pine is a fairly simple plant to take care of. This is mostly because it has a straightforward watering schedule and somewhat regular watering needs.
Specifically, most experts agree that the Pinus Taeda grows best with watering each week. Increase the frequency of watering when it gets hot.
Which is why it is considered a plant with relatively average to high needs in terms of water.
As a rule of thumb, you should remember to keep your Loblolly Pine in soil with moist but well-draining to poorly draining characteristics, as these will guarantee the right conditions for your plant to grow and thrive.
When you consider this, this is why you should aim to choose soil that has good drainage, moist, occasionally dry, and occasionally wet properties to keep the right moisture levels at all times.
In our experience, the famous ‘thumb’ or ‘finger’ test is what works best for the Loblolly Pine since with it, you will be able to give it the right amount of water, every time – regardless of the environment or placement where you do decide to keep it.
Soil Mix
As mentioned earlier, the Loblolly Pine prefers to have soil with good drainage, moist, occasionally dry, and occasionally wet properties at all times, reason why you need to make the soil mix out of sand and loam.
This is why most experts agree that the Loblolly Pine requires soil with clay, loam (silt), and sand, which will give you the right conditions it needs.
In addition to this, expert gardeners recommend having preferably neutral to acid soil.
Light and Exposure
In terms of light & exposure, the Loblolly Pine requires full sun in order for it to thrive under the right conditions.
Most experts agree that this tree will do well as long as you keep it in full sun, and it will be able to grow properly.
Specifically, we recommend that you place your Pinus Taeda in full and direct sun (more than 6 hours of direct sunlight per day).
Season
Being an evergreen plant, the Loblolly Pine will be present year round in your garden. But, you can expect it to have its ‘prime-time’ during the spring (early, mid, late), the summer (early, mid, late), the fall, and during the winter.
Flowers
You can expect your Loblolly Pine to flower around the spring months from April to June (spring).
The Loblolly Pine produces some wonderful purple/lavender, gold/yellow and red/burgundy flowers around this time of year.
Foliage
The leaves from the Loblolly Pine have a beautiful dark green color during most of the year.
In particular, they have a needles arrangement with a other/more complex organization in its leaves. You can expect the leaves from your Pinus Taeda to be around (> 6 inches) in size.
Attracts, Tolerance and Resistance
The Loblolly Pine is well known for being able to attract butterflies and birds, so keep that in mind when choosing your plant, as you’ll likely end up finding one or another in your garden.
Additionally, it has a special tolerance for animals like deer, so don’t worry if any of these come along, your Pinus Taeda will be fine.
Garden
Now, let’s talk garden and how your Loblolly Pine will look best in it.
In particular, the Loblolly Pine’s best location within your garden is in ponds and streams, others use it for landscaping in a very wet areas, or a windbreak.
Conclusion
And we’ve come to an end. Fortunately, that’s everything you need to know about your Loblolly Pine to keep it safe and sound in your garden or home. Enjoy planting!
