On the gravel? Gravel driveway? Gravel flower bed? or where? Pine needles won't hurt anything and are used as a great mulch everywhere.

tj

How quick do they burn? My neighbor has started piling up pine needles around outside of her stucco fence. It's about 8 in. thick. I'm wondering if someone tosses a match or cigarette in there if it won't act as kindling. These are the 8-10 in. long tan colored ones. Gardener might not like trying to get the needles off the gravel. They are a real pain in the neck. Some days I remove over 100 of them from my driveway, I don't want them on my property. Neighbor's cute little bonsai pine tree is now 30 ft tall. Once you put them in the ground,they revert back.

In the South-east, pine straw mulch is used very commonly because that is what is available. I don't think it is any more flammable than any wood-chip or shredded bark mulch. I love the look and smell of pine needle mulch, and it is no more difficult to get off of gravel than blossoms, leaves, or seed droppings of other trees. Plants are actively growing, living organisms that drop things. We have somehow come to expect an unrealistic neatness in our landscaping.

Martha