Caring for Pine Trees in North Texas

Pine trees are not native to the Lewisville area, yet they have been planted extensively, and in some areas do quite well. Slash Pine and Loblolly pine are the large pines that are seen growing in Lewisville and Flower Mound. These trees are native to the southern coastal plain (East Texas eastward to the Atlantic) but can grow in North Texas if the soil conditions are right. Lewisville is blessed with areas of soil that are higher in iron that the surrounding Blackland Prairie. These soils tend to be a little more acidic that the Blackland clays that are common to the east of Lewisville and in parts of Flower Mound.

Looking at these pictures, you’d think they were taken somewhere in East Texas. The first picture is a group of pines on Mingo Road in Denton and the second is a group of pines on Olympia Drive in Flower Mound near the Post Office. The pines in Flower Mound are a remnant of the old Flower Mound tree farm that was on the land bounded by Morris (FM 1171) and old Rippy Road before 2499 was extended north.

The point of these pictures is that the southern yellow pines (Slash and Loblolly) do well in the Lewisville area with the right soil. There are pines on I-35 near the Business 121 intersection on the east side. There are not many left, but these were planted int he early 1960s. There is even a Pines Hotel still there to commemorate the pines that once filled that area.

If you’re going to plant the southern yellow pines, remember that they can get large and are a fairly messy tree to care for in your yard, dropping pine cones, needles, and limbs in abundance at various times of the year. Don’t plant them if you have a pool. The needles will constantly blow into the pool.

However, if you have space and want a piece of East Texas in your yard, Slash and Loblolly Pine will do well in the Lewisville area.

Scott Geer

Scott Geer

Scott Geer has a master's degree in forestry from Stephen F. Austin State University and is an ISA Board Certified Master Arborist.® He is also a graduate of the American Society of Consulting Arborists Academy.