Perhaps the issue is the type of pine, Canary Island? I am not familiar with that one or what kind of needles it has. I have used pine straw, Long Leaf and/or Loblolly, for 50 plus years and never heard of it piling up on plants. There are times of the year when there is heavy leaf (needle) drop but it has always easily blown off any plant material it fell on. It makes the best mulch and it is free if you have the trees.
