Mature Height: Loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) will grow to 90 feet, usually smaller under landscape conditions (40 to 50 feet).

Growth Rate: This is one of the fastest-growing southern pines. It can grow more than 2 feet per year.

Ornamental Features: The needles grow in groups of three, are 6 to 10 inches long, and dark green. The cones are grouped two to five together and are 3 to 6 inches long. The tree looses its lower branches with age, forming a fairly open, oval-rounded crown at maturity.

Landscape Use: Loblolly pine is not a very graceful pine but it is very adaptable to extremes of soil and therefore valuable in the South where the more graceful species do not thrive. Loblolly pines are excellent for a fast screen in early years. This species is frequently container-grown, and it is easily transplanted. It prefers acid soils.

Problems: There are no particularly serious problems. Pine beetles, fusiform rust and butt rot may occur.

Cultivars: ‘Nana’ grows 8 to 15 feet tall with a dense, rounded crown.