Your Norfolk Island Pine Plant Can Live for Years!
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Have you ever brought a holiday plant, such as a poinsettia, home with high expectations—only to see it fade away within weeks? We’ve all been there! But there’s one holiday favorite that will last for years when you add it to your houseplant collection: The Norfolk island pine plant is an inexpensive tree that’s easy to grow indoors in any brightly lit room.
Strangely enough, this handsome little tree isn’t found in some snowy forest. It’s native to the South Pacific, and it’s not even a pine. It’s part of an ancient plant family named Araucariaceae, which had its heyday during the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods.
Norfolk Island pines have beautiful branches in a whorled pattern with soft, touchable foliage. In its natural habitat, it can reach up to 200 feet tall, but indoors, it maxes out at 6 to 10 feet tall. Best of all, this plant does fine with minimal care, though you do need to find a nice, bright spot in your home or it tends to reach for the light and look more Dr. Seuss-like than you might prefer.
Ahead, here’s everything else you need to know about how to grow the Norfolk Island pine plant:
Norfolk Island Pine Plant Basic Info:
Common Name: Norfolk Island pine, Norfolk pine, Australian Pine
Botanical Name: Araucaria heterophylla
Plant Family: Araucariaceae
Type of Plant: Houseplant
Native Origin: South Pacific, specifically Norfolk Island off of Australia’s coast
Sun Exposure: Full sun outdoors, bright light indoors
Mature Size: 200 feet tall outdoors, 6 to 10 feet indoors
Toxic to pets: No
How to Care for Norfolk Island Pine Plant
Norfolk Island pines are not difficult to care for. The biggest challenge? They need very bright light, preferably with some direct morning sun to keep the growth dense. To keep the growth compact and even, rotate the pot every few weeks.
A grow light is helpful if you don’t have bright, sunny windows. Otherwise, if it’s not getting sufficient light, Norfolk pines tend to get weirdly leggy with droopy branches. This doesn’t causes them to die necessarily, but simply to appear more whimsical.
To keep your Norfolk pine healthy, fertilize it once or twice a year, with any general-purpose houseplant food.
Also, do not place this plant directly in front of heat vents or drafty windows. It will dry out and drop branches, and once the lower branches are gone, they’re gone! They will not regrow, leaving you a very spindly-looking specimen.
How Do You Water Norfolk Island Pine?
Norfolk Island pines prefer to stay lightly moist. It’s okay if it feels dry on the surface of the soil, but don’t let it dry out any further. This plant gets annoyed if it doesn’t receive ample, consistent moisture and will start dropping those lower branches.
Norfolk pines also like high humidity levels (higher than 50 percent), which is tough to achieve indoors in the winter in most homes. Help it out by grouping it with other houseplants so that their transpiration (when they release water vapor) can be mutually beneficial, or run a small humidifier nearby. FYI, no matter what you’ve heard, misting your houseplants does not raise humidity levels.
Can You Decorate a Norfolk Island Pine?
Absolutely! But make sure you choose one that isn’t already dropping branches or dried out because it’s not going to recover. Also, the delicate branches aren’t sturdy enough for heavy ornaments, so use mini ornaments and LED lights, which also are less likely to dry it out.
Should You Prune a Norfolk Pine?
You can cut off dead lower branches or uneven tips to neaten it up, but it’s not going to stimulate growth, as pruning does when trimming other houseplants such as pothos or philodendron.
And this is a no judgment zone: It’s totally fine to add it to your compost bin and start over if it starts to look gangly and icky. Treat yourself to a new one next year!
Can You Grow Norfolk Island Pine Outdoors?
You can grow Norfolk pine outdoors in USDA Hardiness zones 10 and 11 (find your zone here). But because of its vulnerability to wind damage due to its mature height and shape, it’s typically not recommended as a landscape plant in hurricane-prone places, such as South Florida. It also tends to develop large surface roots, so it’s not a good shade tree.
Are Norfolk Island Pines Toxic to Pets?
According to ASPCA, Norfolk Island pines are not toxic pets. However, any plant can cause GI upset if your pet chows down on enough of it, so call your vet right away if you suspect your pet has eaten this plant. It’s always better to be safe than sorry!
Why Trust Us?
I’m a garden writer with more than 15 years of experience growing houseplants, edibles, and landscape plantings. I also trial new plant cultivars for performance and reliability, and test garden products to evaluate practicality and durability. My houseplant collection consists of more than 60 plants, including several Norfolk Island pines that are more than a decade old.
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