Norfolk Island Pine Care Guide and Growing Tips

Growing guide for the Norfolk Island Pine (Araucaria heterophylla).

The Norfolk Island Pine is a distinctive and elegant evergreen houseplant known for its symmetrical, tiered branches that resemble a miniature Christmas tree.

It has soft, needle-like foliage that has a plastic like feel. The Norfolk Pine adapts well to indoor environments, and its compact size makes it suitable for various settings, from living rooms to offices.

Norfolk Island Pines will thrive in bright light consistently moist conditions, both of which help to maintain its vibrant green hue.

In this video, I share what I've learned and what works well for me over the last 5 years of ownership, along with some questions you've recently asked me.

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GROW WITH ME

[a_minelli]

I bought my 2’ Norfolk Island Pine 6 years ago at Home Depot to use as a Christmas tree for my then small apartment. Fast forward to now and after splitting the trees and planting them separately in 31 gallon pots a little over 3 years ago they are both over 10’ tall and still growing outside in my backyard. I have to split them again soon because they each have 2 more 4’ trees growing alongside them. Thank goodness I bought a house, because I would have run out of room! I’m in Southern CA and they LOVE it here.

[MadBotanist]

Hi! You can take a cutting it will take a lot longer. But it works! My friend has a 4 year old that he propagated and it’s going strong. It takes a long time for the new root system to develop though and I feel like a lot of people don’t leave them be long enough for them to actually reestablish. Which is the same for lots of plants. I have another friend who propagated a 16inch diameter oak log with nothing but a bucket of water and an air stone and 1 year of his time.

These things all work, it’s really wether you have the patience and ability to stick to a schedule

[trevajoslyn]

I was given a Norfolk 5 yrs ago. I pretty much ignor it and its in a poorly lit room and its doing amazingly well. I just repotted it as it was very root bound but aside form that i remeber to warer it maybe once a week.

[WilliamAndScout]

Great Program. Needed this. Christmas Greetings.

[sgtjameslindsey]

My local Walmart had a bunch of these on sale that were left over from Christmas and had went through a freeze, just below freezing for a couple of hours at night. The tips of the limbs have turned yellow but the tree itself looks to be in great shape. We also had a large rain here in Northwest Florida, so they were also sitting in water. I bought 6 of them for $1.79 each in the hopes of saving them. I'm wondering if I can snip the very tips of the limbs off that have turned yellow and save the trees, or should I just leave it and hope for the best? I'm also reporting them because I don't trust the waterlogged soil that they are in. If I'm fairly certain that I can save them, I may go get the other ten or so that they have left. Thanks.

[SH-jylc]

Can you please help me. I just bought a norfolk pine and decided to wash it. So I soaped the branches little bit and wiped them with a gentle sponge. The sponge became all green excessively! The soil too seemed like had some dyes. Can it be some kind of a dye? Or is it just the plant shedding color? Ive noticed the soil had green small balls in it like a fertilizer sprinkles. Is it possible that they sprayed it with a blue fertilizer? Is it toxic? Thanks

[Dphoto]

I bought mine for use as a Christmas Tree. I'd like to keep it living healthy. There are two maybe three stems (trunks) coming from the pot. One seems to be drying up and dying. Should I repot this tree and remove the drying one? Or is there a reason why they'd plant two or three in a single pot together? Because there are some brown and brittle arms I might have over watered it thinking it was to dry.

[Vkte]

I wonder what it means if the bottom cranches are curled down. I don't mean sloping down, like yours, but actually curled tips. No dropping or browning needles. And they're not drooping - the curls are firm like springs. The top branches are horizontal.

[stevejuststuff]

Looks like it would be a neat bonsai. I just bought one, might try it.

[benjamingagnon]

Hi! We accidentally left ours in sitting water for a few weeks. Became crispy, brownish green, it’s on our porch now. We live in Florida it’s consistently 70 degrees F with some flux. Will the tree come back? Do you have any advice on saving it. I don’t want to give up!

[shapeupwithgina]

Question: my norfolk pine broke almost in half during a storm...can I straighten it out and save it? It is green and thriving

[Yrutnec]

JUNE 2024 - JUST FOUND YOUR SITE - I'M YOUR NEW SUBSCRIBER FROM NORTH CAROLINA. I HAVE 2 BABY PLANTS, AND PLACE THEM ON MY PATIO, NOT IN FULL SUN - AND OUR TEMPS DROPPED TO 49 DEGREES AND ONE PLANT SUFFERED BADLY...BOO HOO - I DID CUT OFF THE DAMAGED/DEAD PARTS, WHAT THAT OKAY? TRYING TO SAVE THE PLANT. THANK YOU FOR THE VIDEO!

[jasonjungmann]

Has anyone ever split the bottom to make a bonsai of it

[BlueRidgeCritter]

I have one right now I'm trying to keep alive. It was given to me at Christmas, and I decided to try to give it a go. It has been in ICU since January... Repotted, new soil, I've tried different things for light, but he's just not happy right now. Although to be fair, I have noticed a little bit of new tips, but they are drooping bad and it's getting a little off color. I don't know, we'll see.

[Bayoupreppers]

I got my stick when it was 2 inches now my tree is 7 foot tall

[Lunaxoxo]

Wdym by feeding? Can you explain that a bit more?

[TupeloHoney]

I'm in California and my Norfolk pines love wet feet. They do not like to dry out.

[gulzareenali]

I have planted in direct ground and the temperature is below freezing cold in Jammu and Kashmir India ....and the plant growth almost 7 feet long

[davidyan]

You didn’t actually tell anything in the first 3 minutes…..all bullshit. I dropped