When European settlers first arrived in the Southeast, they found something almost impossible to imagine today: a coastal plain forest of southern longleaf pine so vast that historical accounts describe it as essentially one forest covering the region. That forest made the colonial economy run — its lumber, pitch, tar and turpentine were so central to the trade that North Carolina still carries the nickname “The Tar Heel State.”
Very little of that forest remains. Old-growth virgin longleaf has been over-harvested to less than four percent of its original acreage, and conservation organizations across the Southeast are now racing to restore the ecosystem. In Fairhope, a fourth-generation Baldwin County tree farmer is doing his part — and turning a byproduct of the longleaf forest into a thriving local business.
The Tree That Defines Alabama
The longleaf pine — Pinus palustris, Alabama’s state tree — is a patient giant. It takes 100 to 150 years to reach full size and can live 500 years. Its ecology is built on fire: the species depends on frequent, low-intensity burns to maintain the open savannas where an extraordinary diversity of plants and animals — from gopher tortoises to red-cockaded woodpeckers — make their homes. The pine’s world connects everything around it, from the pitcher plant bogs of Splinter Hill to the water quality of the Perdido watershed, all the way to the last little islands before the river opens onto the Gulf of Mexico.
Why Longleaf Straw Is Different
While longleaf was historically harvested for lumber and pulp, its needles have become the prize for southern property owners. Longleaf pine straw is the ground cover of choice for residential, commercial and multifamily landscapes across the region, prized for qualities the alternatives can’t match: it holds soil moisture efficiently, suppresses unwanted vegetation, and returns nutrients to flower beds as it decomposes naturally.
It is also, simply, better behaved. Longleaf straw is less prone to washing away than other mulches and holds its place better on sloped or topographically challenged ground — a real consideration on the rolling terrain of Baldwin County. Aesthetically, it offers a warm, natural look many gardeners prefer to rock or bark mulch.
The Family Business
Richard Smith is a Fairhope native and fourth-generation Baldwin County longleaf pine tree farmer. His company, Smith Straw, sells locally harvested, fresh longleaf pine straw from its retail location in Fairhope and provides landscape services to property owners across the Mobile and Baldwin County area.
The model is flexible by design. Customers can pick up bales or rolls of straw at the yard, have it delivered to their homes, or let Smith Straw’s team handle installation from start to finish. Beyond the straw itself, the company offers a full line of landscape services: design and consultation, landscape installation, landscape contracting and land clearing — a one-stop operation for property owners managing everything from small gardens to acreage.
A Working Landscape With a Conservation Story
There is a quiet irony in the business: the pine straw trade depends on healthy, well-managed longleaf forests — the same forests conservationists are working to restore. Working tree farms keep longleaf in the ground and in production, and the land management they involve — thinning, burning, replanting — mirrors the practices restoration ecologists recommend for the ecosystem’s survival. A family that has farmed longleaf for four generations in Baldwin County is, in its own way, part of the species’ comeback story.
For Gulf Coast property owners, the practical takeaway is simple: a ground cover that is local, renewable, effective and beautiful, harvested from the state tree a few miles from where it gets spread. Smith Straw is located at 21905 Highway 181 in Fairhope, open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and can be reached at (251) 656-4220.