Norfolk Island Pine

The Norfolk Island Pine is a spectacular tropical Christmas tree! While not a true Pine, it is reltated to Pine by being a conifer. It is not cold hardy. So it can not tolerate temperatures below freezing. The only places this can be grown outdoors year round is from Central to southern Florida, southern Texas, California along the coasts from San Fransisco to San Diego. I have seen specimens as far north as Tampa, but not any farther north than that. Even there they can get severe damage or death from the cold. On occasion it can dip to freezing or slightly below. If the plant is mature and well established, it may survive those temps very briefly with only some damage. Young plants not matured will most likely completely die from temps at 32°F or colder. In true tropical places like Southern Florida and Hawaii they are really popular Christmas trees! They are grown on farms and cut down and decorated for the holidays! In the north they make perfect houseplants and are sold as potted plants from little 4 inch containers to 40 inch containers usually only a few feet tall at the most. In my area in Indianapolis they have them at Lowe's. I bought a nice one that is in 40 inch pot and around 3'-4' tall or so. To add some height I put it on a raised stand. I had one for many years I bought at that same size. For almost 7 years I had it. I accidentally killed it with too much fertilizer. It was about 7' or 8' tall when it died. So in another sveral years this one should get big! It may take over 2 decades before the plant becomes too big for the home if bought small. So no need to worry that it will outgrow your home anytime soon!

Light: Indirect light to full sun. If grown in shade, make sure it is within 10 feet from a window, and is well lit, not dark in a room without a window. Very adaptable to full shade to full sun. Make sure if you change it from full shade to sun you give it mostly shade with some sun for several weeks then slowly bring it to more sun. Do the opposite when bringing from full sun to shade. If you bring it immediately from sun to shade or shade to sun, the plant will go through shock and will die. It needs to slowly adapt to drastic changes.

Water: Good drought tolerance. Outside it grows in California with near desert conditions. Inside with a decent size plant at least 1'-2' tall when established in a big pot, water once every 2 weeks or so. As a small plant under 1' tall in a small pot water weekly. Make sure the soil completely dries out in between waterings. Stick your finger in the first several inches of the soil to be sure. Also make sure there are drainage holes at the bottom of the pot. Also be sure the pot is under a saucer. If no drainage holes are present it will sit in water, it will get root rot, and it will die.

Prune: The Norfolk Island Pine rarely need any pruning. On occasion if a branch is growing outward, or in an awkwardly position, it may be pruned. It should naturally form a nice pyramidal Christmas Tree shape. After many many years indoors, if the tree becomes to tall for your home, but you don't want to throw it away, you can cut the crown (top off). But to warn you, it will never have a pyramidal Christmas tree shape again. It will be a ball on a stem. It will send new shoots from the sides and fill out wide not tall. You can also prune the sides of the tree when old indoors, to prevent from widing too much. When grown outdoors in may never need any pruning.

Repot: Repotting Norfolk Island Pine needs to be done every 2-3 years or so. If the roots are compacted it will grow significantly slower, and may become slanted, or grow uneven.

Size: Norfolk Island Pine matures to 60'-100'+ by 20'-30' wide. Some of the tallest specimens have been reported at nearly 200' tall!