Pinus palustrus is not likely to be found in PA. Any pictures of the needle bundles, bark, cones?

Do the needles come in bundles of two, three, or five?

Looks similar to my longleaf as winds & snow-loads bend the branches like that. The "way" that it grows will vary.

Actually, beng, I do think it must be longleaf pine as I am not familiar with another species that has such ridiculously long needles. I wish I could get a closer shot but the branches are beyond my height. We do have some very heavy snows and I have not seen that as an issue with this tree (which does get full, southern exposure so snow might not linger in the tree). Whatever it is, it is very attractive and not that commonly planted in the area. It is mild enough in my area for Southern Magnolias and tree forming Crapes, so, it may be a longleaf pine. I will try to post more photos

Need to be showing crown structure, bark, buds, cones etc. for people here to have useful comments about pine species identification.

All of the Mexican pines have ridiculously long needles but are zone 9-10.

subtropix, my longleafs haven't had any issues directly w/the cold (-9F is the coldest so far). It's the snow/ice loads. You can see below one small branch yellowing from winter bending:

beng, interesting about the snow loads, and we do get those heavy, weighty snows; long-time, minimums are around 0 F.

Someone tried to establish a longleaf in another part of town but the poor thing shriveled up in the bad drought summers of 2015 and 16. Must not have watered while getting established. Whatever species my neighbor's is, it is healthy and been around for a number of years. Again, will try to get better pics (maybe a branchlet after the next big thunderstorm will facilitate that). If it is not a longleaf, I would like to know what other fairly cold hardy conifer offers such lush foliage.

Thanks for posting a pic of yours.

Not all Mexican pines have long leaves, there are 5-needled species for instance that don't have them.

Pinus wallichiana do also have very long needles but maybe not that long

subtropix, I'm almost positive what you show is a longleaf, but if you could get a pic of the entire tree, it'd help. And, longleafs have 3 needles in a bundle...

Here is a fuller pic, beng.

so many of the pics I see of them on line are tall but scrawny.

Could you get a bundle of needles and tell us how many are in a bundle? That's a very useful piece of information for identification.

subtropix, near 100% certain that's a longleaf, but a 3-needle bundle should confirm it. Just went out & took this pic -- shows the twisty branches just like on the one you show. What happens is they get bent down in winter (permanently), but the growing end next spring turns upward. The one you show may be bushier due to siting and/or genetics:

Thanks beng. Interesting point on how site affects the overall look of a tree. This site probably has fairly rich soil, is fairly moist and low lying and sun exposure is direct, unobstructed southern, year-round. Guessing it has to deal with salt as well as heavy snow (ice storms fortunately are not that common here). Now I wonder how far up the coastline they can be found growing in relatively protected microclimates. Next time any leaves, tiny branches fall off, I will definitely post it here to confirm the identification. Thanks again folks!

Longleaf is a lot hardier than is generally given credit.

The trees around here are BRIGHT green, winter and summer, brighter green than any other pine I've seen.

The needles are held in such a way that the sunlight causes them to glisten, especially when it is at a low angle. The last image shows this characteristic somewhat.

The dormant buds are large, prominent and fuzzy white.

The new growth is slow to expand and doesn't reach full potential here until Sept.

There is an ecotype that grows in the upland south, especially in the hills north of Birmingham, AL, that has a growth habit somewhat like the image.

Even in it's native haunts, young longleafs are rather thin and gawky. I once had one that was about 10 feet tall, had two 'arms' and a mop of 'hair'. It looked like a hairy saguaro.

On the other forum I mentioned apache pine. Its just as hardy as its eastern counterpart and has long needles in 3s

Pinus englemanni

Okay, I gathered up a fallen cluster of pine needles. Needles are in groups of three and just over one foot. What is it? (NJ/ zone 7a)

thanks in advance!

So, is it a Southern LongLeaf or Mexican Apache (englemanii)?

Very low probability it's Mexican Apache. Bet on Longleaf.

Definitely a P. palustris.

Back around 1999 I remember a posting on the HP&S board said these were regularly sold at a nursery on the Black Horse Pike outside of Camden, NJ...can't remember the name of the nursery but it was one that, back then, was famously involved in some kind of an familial dispute/rivalry with another nursery. I forget the details...something like two brothers who just hated each other. Funny story at the time. Just wanted to point out they were known to be sold even that far north at local nurseries, it didn't have to come from Woodlanders.

A somewhat well known collector has one in his garden outside Trenton, but the branching structure is frequently trashed by heavy snows this far north and it wasn't a very appealing specimen. Likewise the one in Vienna, VA, across from Cox's nursery (now called something else, of course) that probably isn't there anymore but I forgot to check the last time I was in the 703.

It's generally south of the DC area you start to see them looking 'non-trashed' by snow. Places like Norfolk or Williamsburg. Thus this one is quite distinctive, in my opinion, for having been able to fill-out and 'Chris Christify' a little bit LOL, so far north.

David, I've lived next to it for over a decade and did notice it years ago, but frankly, I thought it was other than longleaf because the ones I saw on google images (growing in much higher zones) were not particularly appealing to me; they looked scrawny and not as 'Chris Christie' full (but this tree is actually really attractive). Someone on the CONIFER forum mentioned a cultivar from the uplands of the South. Never have noticed any snow damage on it despite multiple blizzards.

Oh, that it is interesting...it definitely seems possible that a more inland collection could be more resistant to snow/ice.