Useful Definitions for Pine Straw Management. The fresh, undecomposed pine needles that have fallen to the forest floor. All the twigs, leaves, and other organic materials which rest on the soil surface which have not been mixed with the soil. All the plants growing under the main stand of pines. The time from planting of pine seedlings to the harvest of pine trees.
Introduction Managing for pine straw is a relatively new enterprise in Florida's pine forests.
Pine straw is composed of the needles that annually fall from pine trees. This freshly fallen pine straw can be raked, baled and sold to garden centers. Landscapers and homeowners use pine straw as a mulch or ground-cover in gardens and landscaping. The easiest way to get started in pine-straw management is in an already established stand of pines that is at least 8 years old. Slash and longleaf pines are the two Florida pine species that can be baled.