As the holidays approach, many homes across the country are decorated with evergreen boughs. In the Northeast, Northwest and Northern Midwest states, fir or spruce tree boughs are commonly used for making wreaths, swags and other decorations.
In Missouri, our own native pine, the short-leaf pine or Pinus echinata Miller, is used in many homes in a similar fashion to the more common fir or spruce branches. Short-leaf pine is the only native pine tree in Missouri.
Commonly found in the Ozarks, pine woodlands used to represent major portions of the natural land of the Ozarks. Logging of virgin pine forests in the Ozarks in the late 1800s and early 1900s drastically changed the pine forests of the Ozarks, but today some of the pine forests remain.
Many oak forests have combined into the more common pine and oak forests. Public land has also been planted with short-leaf pine trees to recreate wildlife habitat that has been lost and to provide us today with glimpses of what the original Ozarks may have looked like.
The short-leaf pine can grow up to 120 feet tall. A long, dark reddish-brown trunk rises to a broad, open crown. The long branches of the short-leaf pine are not spaced closely together, giving a very airy appearance to the tree.
The short-leaf pine flowers in March and April, with yellow colored flowers on the tips of the pine twigs. These flowers turn into small dark brown cones about one and a half to two and half inches long.
Each cone scale has two seeds. These seeds are important to the Ozark wildlife habitat; are least 26 species of birds and small mammals consider short-leaf pine seeds to be a food source. Additionally, white-tailed deer will eat new short-leaf pine growth.
The leaves of the short-leaf pine are long – about three to five inches – and a deep blue-green.
It’s not easy to find large short-leaf pine trees to transplant. However, the George O. White State Forest Nursery in Licking grows seedling short-leaf pines that can be bought by the bundle. I planted a couple of pine tree seedlings a few years ago and they are several feet tall now.
Pine seedlings don’t require a large hole for planting, but they do need regular watering in the first year of planting. They may also need some type of protection from deer, if they are known to graze where you plant your pine seedlings.
A short-leaf pine is a tree that is an important part of our Ozark heritage. This tree can be enjoyed in the garden landscape throughout the year, and short-leaf pine boughs can also be a natural addition to Ozark holiday décor.
Questions or comments related to gardening? Contact Joleen at missourigardener@hotmail.com
