PlantFiles: Norfolk Island Pine, Star Pine
Araucaria heterophylla

A fantastic architectural pine which surprisingly grows outside in this part of coastal UK (I'll post a photo to prove it).

It is not my plant but is grown in the local botanic gardens on the peninsula, it suffers mild damage in the frost but grows back strong each year. The specimen is around 7-8 feet tall and is an unusual site, locals don't understand the significance of this plant though!

These is another NIP growing in Llandudno in Wales (also in the Liverpool Bay area), and the other one is growing in Devon.

There are at most 4 Norfolk Island Pines growing in the UK, as they are far too tender to grow in most places.

Hi All member,

I request araucaria seed.
every body that have this seed please say to me
thank you.
esmflower@yahoo.com

I bought a potted NIP as a live Christmas tree in 2008. After the holidays, I kept it outside in the winter, in a sheltered corner of the patio. In early spring I planted it. I put large rocks on two sides of it to help shade the roots. It has survived the summer of 2009, in which temperatures orten reached 100 degrees. On dry days--and most days were dry-- I gave the NIP a deep drink of water (about a gallon) in the early mornings, and sometimes in the evening too. Our soil is very alkaline. I don't drink coffee, but I put by cans of ground coffee and occasional put a scoop at the base of the NIP to help acidify its soil. It is now Nov of 2009, and so far the NIP is doing great.

We bought one about three years ago for our Christmas tree. We have moved "Charles" outside but he is still in a pot which keeps him more contained than if he were planted in the ground. I've never had problems but know they are suseptable to mites. We bring him inside and decorate him every Christmas. I love their rich green color and ease of care.

I really had only one and it was an indoor plant, but I lived for a while in Venezuela and they grow very large there. More interestingly, one time when I was on the Big Island of Hawaii I bought a bowl made out of koa wood. The man who sold it to me also had a farm with Norfolk Island Pines. He made bowls of them. I was enchanted and gave one to each of my sons for Christmas. The way he does them, they become translucent and light shows through them and shows the markings. The guy's name was Scott Hare. '

I was on the island of Lanai, HI last year. These trees form a forest in and around Lanai City, population about 3,000.They also line both sides of the approaching road for a mile or more across a small valley, and are quite beautiful. Some the trees in town are of serious diameter, maybe two ft. or more.

I have a NIP that I have had now for over 12 years. It is about 6' tall and is doing well growing inside. It has lost numerous levels of lower branches over the years as its height has increased but it continues to produce new growth. Usually it goes out in the spring/summer months but this year it has remained in our new all season room. I can't imagine anyone disliking this "tree" as they are lovely and easily cared for!

I had two about 120' tall. Lightning struck one and knocked about 30' off the top. It shattered when it hit the roof. It is very brittle and very dangerous in a hurricane. When I had them taken down, they stunk so bad that I got to meet a lot of new neighbors. The core on one was rotten.

I live in south Florida (the lightning capitol of the nation) on high ground (about 20' above sea level). So lightning and hurricanes make these trees a real danger.

I am currently growing Two Araucaria heterophylla trees which in the wild can grow 200 ft in height. The person that I work for also grows Norfolk Island pine trees, one of which is 8 feet tall. It needs lots of humidity and warm to cool teperatures to thrive, I plan to feed mine Rhododendron food this spring. dogseadepression

I think they are pretty trees.

I do not recommend planting the Norfolk Island pine outdoors here in South Florida. They grow like weeds outdoors here and become giants in little time.
After the last hurricane the Norfolk Pine caused a lot of damage to buildings, power lines etc. because they grow over one hundred feet high and the ones that remained upright lost limbs and tops. It’s been over a year and they all look like some weird tree from another planet.
They have been noted by homeowner’s that the Norfolk are good conductors of lightening because of the large amount of sap they produce in their large trunks.
I know of several people that wish they didn’t have the Norfolk on their property but because of the trees size it is expensive to pay a certified person or company to remove. In the meantime the tree keeps growing larger even dividing into several trunks at the top making them more unstable and dangerous.
I would like to see the State of Florida restrict the Norfolk Island Pine from being planted outdoors in residential areas. I my opinion they are dangerous and not a good looking tree once damaged.

I had two of these trees at one time in containers as house plants. They didn't seem to like it inside, so I moved the container's out to the deck. Eventually they got too tall for the roof of the covered deck, so out into the yard went the trees, containers and all. Eventually, one went to my backyard neighbor who planted it in her garden ... still looks great! The other one sat in the plastic pot by the fence for years, eventually the plastic pot cracked and split and the tree took root and established itself right where it sat! I love the look of these trees.

Many years ago I would buy small ones at Christmas time, some I would decorate with little ornaments, some with little red bows, and some with small seashells .... and give them to co-workers for decorating their office cubicles!

There are quite a few of these growing in Santa Barbara, CA. My house has a terrific NIP in the front yard, more than 50' tall. I'm curious to know why they lean. The lower trunk seems fairly vertical, but the upper trunk leans to the south. Is this a heliotropic response?

I have seen people growing this outside here in the beaufort, s.c. area. none are really that big, though they seem to be large enough to be at least a few years out of the pot. some that are less protected than others have noticeable damage, but others that are more protected and in microclomates seem to be doing quite well for an area classified as 8b (actually most winters are like 9a or 9b. it rarely drops below twenty, even out in the open)

I bought these at Xmas about 10years ago for 25cents..they are about 40ft tall...withstood our hurricanes though bent...this is first time for seed pods...they are high on the trees....i'm in Palm Bay Fl...I have read that the seed pods turn red ...and that they can cause irritation to skin..

I was given a pot of NIP for Christmas two years ago, and it was about 4' tall. Since then, I haven't been able to really gauge its watering and light requirements. A lot of the lower branches get browned very easily, and I am not sure how quite to take care of it.

I tried growing this tree as a houseplant and I did have some success with it. I can't remember what happened to it or what I did wrong, but it died.

While I was in Puerto Penasco,Mexico (also known as Rocky Point) I got to see several of these trees being full size growing here and there, near homes and businesses. They looked quite well. I'd say they were over 10 ft. tall or at least 10 ft. tall. They sure are a pretty tree in their form.

I'm not sure how they can grow so well there, as the rainfall is low throughout the year. The soil in the area is very sandy based from what I observed. That would benefit the plants, besides higher humidity, being next to the ocean and getting sea breezes. I'm sure the weather is milder also, since the city is next to the ocean,and not getting extremes in heat or cold. I thought I saw someone growing a Norfolk Island Pine outside in my area. It couldn't have been over 6 ft.tall and it looked sick. It may have been the hot desert sun getting to it.

When I observed this was several years ago,and I doubt the plant is still there. I may experiment to see if I can grow one outside. I may also try growing one in a pot as a patio plant. If I do try to grow one outside, I will let this forum know how my results are.

I never made the connection from those pine trees sold at supermarkets during the holidays to those great big trees in yards. I always used to look at them in yards and just remark how neat they were - symetrical, star shaped and such dark foliage. I had one as a Charlie Brown Christmas tree one year and then put it out in my yard. Last years hurricanes made it lean about 45 degrees but has grown straight up about half way up. It looks a little weird but it still is nice and healthy. I love them!

There are very tall examples of Araucaria growing here in the Azores where we have hurricane force storms almost every winter. Although very wind resistant, if the pressure gets just too strong the whole tree does not fall but enough of the top breaks off to reduce the pressure. A few very tall specimens now have double or even triple tops.

My NIP is a house plant here in Montana. It is about ten years old and started as a little fella. It is now about 6 feet tall. It grows in my sun room and is a beautiful focal point. It requires about 4-5 feet of room.

These grow prolificly here in Corpus Christi, Texas. Some are probably 30-40 feet high. That is why I chose to plant one in my front yard. I have had a lot of lower limb loss. Have had to spray several times for spider mites. I love the look of this dark green tree against my white gravel lawn and white brick house. The verdict is still out on my success with this plant.

A 200' pipe cleaner! Neat!

This is obviously a bit of a novelty to have in your yard. They get very tall and keep a perfect symetry usually. Some have two or more leaders which can be fun to look at. I know they used to use a really tall one as a community christmas tree when I would visit my family in west palm beach, fl.

Aside from that, I don't know how practical it is. They don't give you any shade and since these grow almost exclusively in areas vulnerable to hurricanes, you might think about how many of these would wipe out an entire block if it fell.

How cool would it be to see a forest of these?!

I've had 2 -- the first was almost 5' tall when it sucumbed to my neglect. The new one I bought about 4" tall last christmas and it's almost 1 1/2 feet now. I love these little guys -- they're so hardy -- and can remain managable for a long time if kept potted. I've got friends with 10' tall one that had an atrium area specifically designed so they could bring in as a live christmas tree.

growing up my neighbor had a large one. there were few nicer sites than a crystal clear Hawaii "winter" morn seeing this tree against the back drop of sky and valley, stunning. I have been told the tree was originally brought to islands to use as a windbreak and they can be seen planted in rows along low ridges and lower areas. Don't know what altitude they can grow to but they are supposed to grow to height of 200'. when topped they will send up two new trunks(?) and it is common to see these split trees in peoples yds. can't imagine planting this in a small yd.... over time the spread at the base can become very large. Have had some in pots, but one day my dogs ate them (no adverse effects I could see). OK for Xmas tree if going for formal look, but not to my taste either. had a baby blue spruce for that for a few years til it went maki (dead).

This tree grows quite succesfully all over the islands. Some people use them as windbreaks around their orchards. I think they are beautiful and majestic, but don't care for them as Christmas trees (though they are popular here as such)......I prefer a denser tree for the Holidays. We sometimes use the topped off section of a Portuguese Cedar, which also grows well here, when a friend tops her "little forest" near the Holidays.

A great, fun Tree. I saw one at the San Francisco Zoo that was beautiful in structure. This tree had to be over 100 years old from the size of it. If I had my camera I would have taken photos, but unfortunately that wasn't the case.

In Australia this is THE coastal tree,almost every coastal town in the South East has them along their beachfront.It will take any amount of salt wind and will grow in virtually pure sand.
It may be temperature, these towns would mostly be zone 10, but the tree is often huge and80 years+.

My dad grew [with pretty good success] LOTS of Noroflk Island Pines when we lived in Tennessee; he put them on the stair landing with a huge bay window. Now my sister has bought her husband one for Xmas and they've put it in their (Dallas) kitchen in a similar spot -- big window with lots of indirect sunlight. We shall see!

My dad insisted that every Norfolk Island Pine was "Harry Steinfeld" [or maybe Stinefeld or Seinfeld.] Seems to me that I recall some sort of baseball connection or something.

The Norfolk Island Pine is all over the cities of Cape Canaveral and Cocoa Beach. It grows extremely well here, and can be seen towering above all other trees as you cross the causeways to this barrier island of Florida.

Being in Oklahoma, this is only grown as a houseplant here. I have one that I've had for many years that is looking abit "leggy", since I forgot to water it properly a few times, but it's still hanging in there. They do make great little Christmas trees and, with proper care and plenty of water, are such graceful and beautiful plants for many years. Our newer one is a great focal point in our den, and is doing great with filtered afternoon sunlight. Needless to say, I remember to water it regularly!

Personally think this tree is quite overwhelming and ugly when it grows up. It's okay as a novelty when it's small, but its two relatives--the bunya-bunya and the monkey puzzle tree--are much more interesting.

I have seen these growing in Ft Myers, Florida. I live in Jacksonville & don't remember ever seeing any except in planters. I believe the winters are too cold for this tree. I had a miniature one that came in a tiny pot for Christmas. I had to keep changing the pot as the tree grew. Eventually it was too large & heavy for me to get it in the house so I had to leave it outside. I covered it as best I could but it was too big. One winter it just got too cold & the tree was damaged. It never was the same after that & eventually died. Was a beautiful tree.

This is a really common tree in So Cal... commonly sold as an indoor plant, too, though it's hard to keep it happy as one. Many start it as a Christmas tree here, and then eventually plant it in the ground. They do well all over Southern California. They make a beautifully symetrical conifer and fit well in most smaller gardens. Here in So Cal, they eventually tend to lean and seem to have a life of only 15-25 years... then they need to be cut down.

It grows well here in Rio de Janeiro, specially near the sea. It´s a slow growing tree, though. There´s a 15 years old tree right there only 6-7m tall.