It forms plates that are reddish brown in color with shallow fissures or furrows. The bark has a coarse appearance. Cones begin forming in about the fifth year. They are about 2 inches long and are protected by quite prickly scales. Pollination occurs in early June and cones mature in late September to early November of the following year.
Open pollination is used in most Virginia pine seed production.
Virginia pine responds well to trimming. And, on Christmas tree plantations their foliage can become extremely dense. As with other pines, these show a tendency to self pruning when grown with competition from other trees. This characteristic becomes apparent after about the sixth year as the lower limbs begin to wither. Virginia pine has been the staple for the Christmas tree industry in the south since its inception.