03/23/2023
Ever seen what resembles a cross on top of a pine tree? If you look at the tops of the pine trees a few weeks before [Easter], you will see the yellow shoots. As the days get closer to Easter Sunday, the tallest shoot will branch off and form a cross. By the time Easter Sunday comes around, you will see that most of the pine trees will have small yellow crosses on all of the tallest shoots.
"The yellowish vertical shoots, known as candles, form first and then the side buds which will eventually form branches develop leading to the new growth resembling a cross. The fact that this happens around Easter in parts of the U.S. is a coincidence—in warmer areas of the U.S., the new growth starts well before the Easter holiday. The crosses are more prominent on some species of pines than others, for example, they can be prominently seen on loblolly pines (found in the Southern U.S.) and the ponderosa pine (found in the West.)"
—Amy Enfield, Ph.D., consumer horticulturist at ScottsMiracle-Gro tells CountryLiving.com:
