Cones are 4-8 inches in length, usually slightly curved and mature at the end of the second season. Cone scales are rather thin and never have prickles. Cones also have exudations of a fragrant gummy resin. Bark on young trunks and branches is smooth and tends to be greenish-brown in color. On older trunks, the bark becomes dark gray and shallowly fissured.
Limbs tend to persist, particularly on trees grown without severe competition.
White pine is intermediate in shade tolerance and is commonly associated with eastern hemlock and various northern hardwoods. It is found on many different sites including dry rocky ridges and wet sphagnum bogs, but best development is on moist sandy loam soils. Extensive logging has destroyed most of the original pine forests, but the species is aggressive in reproducing itself and may be found throughout its original range. Due to its desirability and relative ease of nursery production it has also been a major species for reforestation in the northeastern United States and Canada. White pine weevil is the major insect pest, and one which deforms trees by killing the terminal shoots.