United States / Grow / eastern white pine

eastern white pine

Pinus strobus · Pinaceae · all Pinus records · also called White pine · Wikipedia

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Eastern white pine is not fire resistant; every source that rates it places it in a high-flammability or Not Firewise category.

The Forest Service and state Firewise programs give it the lowest placement on their four-step suitability scale: “Not Firewise.” North Carolina’s extension specialists rate it high on both their older and current statewide lists, while the live plant toolbox tags it as both high and extreme. Ohio State assigns H on a five-band scale, and Virginia Tech assigns H on its three-band scale. Although these systems use different labels, each places eastern white pine on the avoid side of its own system.

This agreement matters because the ratings were prepared for several parts of the tree’s native range, including the Northeast, North-Central states, and Southeast. They are practical landscape judgments, not just one number whose meaning must be guessed. Ohio and Virginia also describe eastern white pine as sensitive to heat and as requiring good drainage, but those growing conditions do not soften their high-flammability verdict.

Eastern white pine can reach about 75 feet at maturity and is hardy to USDA zone 4a. Its stature and ordinary landscape use do not change the fire guidance. For a homeowner choosing vegetation near a building, the plain conclusion is to keep this pine away from structures and choose a species rated for lower flammability instead.

Fire-resistant trees instead

Form: tree
Mature height: ~75 ft
Light: Full sun
Water need: moderate
Rated in: Global; NC; North Carolina; North Carolina / southeastern US +3

On this lot

1. Fire evidence and conditions

Fire evidence: Highly flammable — location does not change the cited classification.
Fire-performance conditions: 1 condition stated in cited fire-evidence rows.
Fire ecology context
Placement evidence: 3 source placement records; source schemes remain separate.
Evidence regions: Global; NC; North Carolina; North Carolina / southeastern US; Ohio / Midwest; Virginia / Mid-Atlantic; eastern US
Maintenance

Typed publication scope: 3 scopes across 3 cited fire sources

Fire-Resistant Landscaping in North Carolina (AG-874) · Official scoped edition
- NC; complete normalized coverage · 2025-03-26
  The complete three-table AG-874 plant list is explicitly for North Carolina and contains 202 low-, medium-, or high-flammability rows. FireApproved accounts for all source rows under its strict taxonomy and lineage rules; source scope does not establish local suitability at a particular North Carolina site.
Firewise Landscaping (OSU Extension Bulletin 921) · Official scoped edition
- OH; partial normalized coverage · 2006-03-01
  Ohio State University Extension Bulletin 921 is an Ohio publication that describes Ohio fire seasons and landscape conditions and labels nativity to Ohio. FireApproved publishes 352 exact source-owning plant records from its eight rated tables. This historical publication scope does not assert current extension endorsement or that a listed plant suits every Ohio site.
Virginia Firescapes — Firewise Landscaping for Woodland Homes (430-300) · Official scoped edition
- VA; partial normalized coverage · 2009-04-15
  Virginia Cooperative Extension's publication opens with Virginia wildfire conditions, identifies its Virginia Firewise Landscaping Task Force, and labels plants native to Virginia. FireApproved publishes 306 exact source owners. Publication scope does not establish parcel suitability or current endorsement of this archived 2009 list.

2. Why this plant is relevant here

State distribution: Documented in AL, AR, CT, DC, DE, GA, IA, IL, IN, KY, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, NC, NH, NJ, NY, OH, PA, RI, SC, TN, VA, VT, WI, WV.
Native range: Current cited native range in AL, CT, DE, GA, IA, IL, IN, KY, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, NC, NH, NJ, NY, OH, PA, RI, SC, TN, VA, VT, WI, WV.
Introduced / established: 1 sourced range or established record. This is not an invasive warning.
USDA hardiness: Documented minimum 3b; no upper limit is documented.

3. Legal, ecological, and broader status

Legal-list status
Seed-list status
Reported invasive here
Broader regional context
Federal context

How to read this page

The status above is computed from the cited rows below: independent recommendations can support a fire-resistant result, an avoid row can produce keep-away, and disagreement stays visible as conflict. Placement notes preserve each source’s own scheme rather than translating unlike rules into one scale. This is evidence about a plant, not permission to plant it in every part of the defensible space; Zone 0 remains noncombustible.

Native and introduced range evidence

These are exact U.S. botanical-area records from the cited range source. Native and introduced describe biogeographic relationship, not fire performance or planting approval. Doubtful and extinct rows stay visible but do not count as current presence.

Current native

26

exact source areas

Current introduced

1

exact source area

Qualified

0

doubtful or extinct source rows

26 native source areas · World Checklist of Vascular Plants, version 16 v16, as of 2026-06-04

Alabama (AL)
Connecticut (CT)
Delaware (DE)
Georgia (GA)
Iowa (IA)
Illinois (IL)
Indiana (IN)
Kentucky (KY)
Massachusetts (MA)
Maryland (MD)
Maine (ME)
Michigan (MI)
Minnesota (MN)
North Carolina (NC)
New Hampshire (NH)
New Jersey (NJ)
New York (NY)
Ohio (OH)
Pennsylvania (PA)
Rhode I. (RI)
South Carolina (SC)
Tennessee (TN)
Virginia (VA)
Vermont (VT)
Wisconsin (WI)
West Virginia (WV)

1 introduced source area · World Checklist of Vascular Plants, version 16 v16, as of 2026-06-04

Arkansas (AR)

The lossless worldwide derivative is retained once in the research corpus; object pages repeat only exact U.S. areas needed by the local lens. The JSON twin carries the same page assertions.

Plant hardiness evidence

These values describe the plant source. Your ZIP zone comes from the separate 2023 USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map. Whole-zone values stay whole-zone, and a single unresolved value is not treated as a tolerance range. Different source boundaries stay separate: overlapping statements are compared independently, while only ranges with no shared zone are called a conflict.

Eastern United States Fire Performance Plant Selector · record pinus-strobus · 2016-wayback · as of 2026-08-26

Source prints 4 · single-value meaning unresolved · whole zone precision · source stated

Source taxon: Pinus strobus · exact match.

Source location: Cold Hardiness Zone field in the recovered selector record.

Not used for comparison: The recovered selector prints one Cold Hardiness Zone value but does not define it as a minimum threshold or a one-zone range.
USDA PLANTS Database — Plant Characteristics · record PIST · PLANTS Help Document 2022; characteristics cache retrieved 2026-08-23 · as of 2026-08-26

Minimum 3b · no upper limit documented · half zone precision · derived containing band

Exact source measurement: -33°F; mapped only to its containing half-zone.

Source taxon: Pinus strobus · source identifier match.

Source location: PlantCharacteristics record 15568, Temperature, Minimum (°F).

Conditions in the fire evidence

These describe tested or rated plant material. They are not horticultural maintenance instructions.

dead material: FLAMITS: FLAMmability plant traiTS database evidence row (condition method), FLAMITS: FLAMmability plant traiTS database evidence row (condition method), FLAMITS: FLAMmability plant traiTS database evidence row (condition method), FLAMITS: FLAMmability plant traiTS database evidence row (condition method), FLAMITS: FLAMmability plant traiTS database evidence row (condition method)

Where its sources say to plant it

Placement rules below use each source's own distances or named zones, tied to its rating. They are not interchangeable with the directory's current Zone 0 guidance.

Eastern United States Fire Performance Plant Selector: Landscape Zone 3 — 10–30 ft from the structure; thin vegetation, remove debris, and minimize plant massing [Fire Performance Plant Selector landscape zone] (with its avoid rating)
Firewise Landscaping: keep 30 ft from the home (Zone 3) [OSU B921 source-category siting] (with its avoid rating)
North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox: pinus-strobus [nc-toolbox-flammability-facet] (with its avoid rating)

The evidence

Grouped by what each source concluded. Primary evidence rated the plant itself (a lab, field program, or original curation); corroboration compiled or republished another source's rating and resolves to its root lineage.

Avoids (6)

Eastern United States Fire Performance Plant Selector — USDA Forest Service Northeastern Area S&PF + state Firewise programs (WV, OH, PA, DE, DC, MD, NJ) · 2016-wayback · original source Primary evidence Keyed curation lineage: ufifas-srs-tree

“NOT Firewise (4)”

Heavily used in landscape-will not tolerate compacted, poorly drained soils-3-5 inch needles in bundles of 5.
Firewise Landscaping in North Carolina (E05-44596) — NC State University / NC Cooperative Extension + USFWS (Bardon, Van Druten) · 2005 · original source Primary evidence Expert-curated lineage: nc-tree

“High flammability rating”
Firewise Landscaping (OSU Extension Bulletin 921) — Ohio State University Extension (Sydnor, Steward, Kloss / Ohio DNR Division of Forestry) · 2006 · original source Primary evidence Expert-curated lineage: ufifas-srs-tree

“H flammability”

Sensitive to heat, air pollution, and salts; requires good drainage.
Virginia Firescapes — Firewise Landscaping for Woodland Homes (430-300) — Virginia Cooperative Extension / Virginia Tech (Appleton, Frenzel, Hillegass, Lyons, Steward — Virginia Firewise Landscaping Task Force) · 2009 · original source Primary evidence Expert-curated lineage: ufifas-srs-tree

“H flammability”

Sensitive to heat, air pollution and salts. Requires good drainage.
Fire-Resistant Landscaping in North Carolina (AG-874) — NC State Extension (Kays, Fawcett, Query, Thompson-Welch, Bardon) · 2025 · original source Primary evidence Expert-curated lineage: nc-tree resolves to Firewise Landscaping in North Carolina (E05-44596)

“high flammability”

Corroboration (1 rows from 1 source)

North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox — plant profiles and flammability ratings — NC State Extension (plants.ces.ncsu.edu) · live facet capture accessed 2026-08-23 · original source Corroboration Expert-curated lineage: nc-tree resolves to Firewise Landscaping in North Carolina (E05-44596)

“high flammability; extreme flammability (listed under both tags)” · original source

NC Toolbox facet capture lists "Pinus strobus" under the high and extreme flammability tags.

Listed without a rating (12)

Corroboration (12 rows from 1 source)

FLAMITS: FLAMmability plant traiTS database — Dryad / Global Ecology and Biogeography · Dryad version 9 · original source Corroboration Trait database lineage: meta-aggregator

12 cited rows from this source; its identity, lineage and tier are stated once.
- Primary study Varner2021: Varner, J. M., Kane, J. M., Kreye, J. K., & Shearman, T. M. (2021). Litter Flammability of 50 Southeastern North American Tree Species: Evidence for Mesophication Gradients Across Multiple Ecosystems. Frontiers in Forests and Global Change, 4, 727042. Primary-study method: freshly fallen litter was oven-dried at 50–60°C for at least 24 hours to constant mass; each trial used a 15 g dry litter fuelbed, with five to seven trials per species.
  
  Shared row context: plant part litter; fuel all; predrying yes; device burning bench; site Varner2021-1; sampling ND.
  - Shared measurement context: Combustibility measurement.
    - “flame height (cm): 64.2” · condition: dead material · condition method: Materials and Methods, Laboratory Burning
      
      FLAMITS record 13653.
    - “flame intensity (kW/m): 216” · condition: dead material · condition method: Materials and Methods, Laboratory Burning
      
      FLAMITS record 13657.
  - Shared measurement context: Sustainability measurement.
    - “flaming duration (s): 158” · condition: dead material · condition method: Materials and Methods, Laboratory Burning
      
      FLAMITS record 13654.
    - “smouldering duration (s): 129.2” · condition: dead material · condition method: Materials and Methods, Laboratory Burning
      
      FLAMITS record 13655.
  - “burnt biomass (%): 73.9” · condition: dead material · condition method: Materials and Methods, Laboratory Burning
    
    FLAMITS record 13656; Consumability measurement.
- Primary study Zhang2022: Zhang, S., Cornwell, W. K., Zhao, W., van Logtestijn, R. S., Krab, E. J., Aerts, R., & Cornelissen, J. H. (2022). Experimental evidence that leaf litter decomposability and flammability are decoupled across gymnosperm species. Journal of Ecology, 111, 761-772.
  
  Shared row context: plant part leaves; fuel all; predrying yes; device burning bench; site Zhang2022-1; sampling january and march 2011.
  - “maximum flame temperature (°C): 564.468”
    
    FLAMITS record 15571; Combustibility measurement.
  - “flaming duration (s): 1.6”
    
    FLAMITS record 15612; Sustainability measurement.
- “smouldering duration (s): 287.2”
  
  FLAMITS record 15763; Sustainability measurement; plant part litter; fuel all; predrying yes; device burning bench; site Varner2022-23; sampling ND. Primary study Varner2022: Varner, J. M., Shearman, T. M., Kane, J. M., Banwell, E., Jules, E., & Stambaugh, M. (2022). Understanding flammability and bark thickness in the genus Pinus using a phylogenetic approach. Scientific Reports, 12, 7384.
- Primary study Kreye2023: Kreye, J. K., Kane, J. M., & Varner, J. M. (2023). Multivariate roles of litter traits on moisture and flammability of temperate northeastern North American tree species. Fire Ecology, 19, 1-12.
  
  Shared row context: plant part litter; fuel live; predrying no; device burning bench; site Kreye2023-1; sampling ND.
  - “flame height (cm): 45”
    
    FLAMITS record 18748; Combustibility measurement.
  - “time to flaming (s): 109”
    
    FLAMITS record 18749; Ignitability measurement.
  - “smouldering duration (s): 170”
    
    FLAMITS record 18750; Sustainability measurement.
  - “burnt biomass (%): 66”
    
    FLAMITS record 18751; Consumability measurement.

Fire-resistant trees instead

northern red oak
Quercus rubra

American basswood
Tilia americana

red maple
Acer rubrum

black cherry
Prunus serotina

white oak
Quercus alba

white ash
Fraxinus americana

Fire-resistant trees listed above

Guides that discuss this plant

Last verified 2026-08-23. JSON (CC BY 4.0)

Profiles: USDA PLANTS · GBIF · iNaturalist · Wikidata · Wikipedia · ITIS

Pinus strobus (White pine). FireApproved. https://fireapproved.com/plants/pinus-strobus/. Last verified 2026-08-23.

1. Fire evidence and conditions

2. Why this plant is relevant here

3. Legal, ecological, and broader status

Native and introduced range evidence

26

1

0

Plant hardiness evidence

Conditions in the fire evidence

Where its sources say to plant it

The evidence

Avoids (6)

Related plants

Fire-resistant trees instead

Guides that discuss this plant