Old Growth Heart Pine is the name given to the heartwood of mature Southern Yellow Pines. It is a beautiful wood with many unique characteristics which clearly set it apart from other woods. Moreover, insects cannot eat it due to its unique resins and decay resistance. In addition, it has an amazing color which ranges from honey to burnt orange in color.

There are several species of Old Growth Heart Pine, including Loblolly Pine, Slash Pine, Shortleaf Pine, and Longleaf Pine. Of these, Longleaf Pine was the most abundant and significant. However all of these varieties have a good size heartwood content at maturity. Old Growth Heart Pine has been widely used in the southern United States since early colonization.

After the Civil War, major lumber production of the Longleaf Pine rebuilt the South.  During the late eighteenth century and the early nineteenth century, the South was producing nearly half of all timber being cut in the United States. Most of that timber was Longleaf Pine which had a larger heartwood and tighter grain than the other species. This large, tight grained heartwood quickly took on the name “heart pine”.

The one difficulty with “Heart Pine” presents itself when it is installed unfinished and requires sanding. The abundant resin found within the wood can cause some difficulty during the sanding phase. This can be counteracted with frequent changes in the sanding paper.