If you don't already have a Norfolk Island Pine, this holidays season may be the time to buy one. Choose a tree that has a straight trunk with a good balance of horizontal branches. A small tree should come with a stake in the pot to assure that the tree will grow staright.
The branches of a Norfolk Island Pine are soft and bendy; you should only use light weight ornaments. The smallest light bulbs on a strand of fine wire can be carefully draped on the branches; heat from the miniature bulbs will not damage the plant for the brief holiday use. Clear, blown-glass ornaments are relatively expensive, but with a string of clear miniature lights the total effect is an appropriate crystalline iciness. Do not overload the tree or you may burden it and mask its natural symmetry.
After Christmas, place your Norfolk Island Pine where it will have good light, such as an unobstructed north window or a south window during winter. Turn it regularly so it does not become unbalanced from growing toward the light. Norfolk Island Pine prefers a cool environment. The temperature should not be higher than 70 degrees. The needles will turn brown in hot dry air. Keep the soil evenly moist.
In summer, set the tree outside in light shade or on the patio or porch protected from sun and wind. Indoors, move it away from a sunny window to a cool, bright location. Summer is the growing season, so feed the tree with an all-purpose, water-soluble houseplant fertilizer every two or three weeks.
Norfolk Island Pine is a slow grower and probably will not require repotting for two or three years. Thus, you have acquired a perennial Christmas tree which can become part of your own Christmas traditions and still be a satisfying houseplant the rest of the year.
A great tree from a great island
A few resources all about this great place from whence hails the tree
 | Norfolk: Island of Secrets (Book)
In this well-researched analysis of a true and unsolved crime, the enigma surrounding the death of Janelle Patton—a 29-year-old Australian woman who disappeared while hiking on a ...more
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Lowest Used Price: $7.98 (as of 1/6/2009@7:16 AM)
Lowest New Price: $7.98 (as of 1/6/2009@7:16 AM) |
 | Joseph Foveaux: Power and Patronage in Colonial New South Wales (Book)
In this biography, Anne-Maree Whitaker uncovers the role of Joseph Foveaux, a neglected and sometimes unfairly criticised key figure in the development of the colony of New South ...more
Average Customer Rating: 5.0 out of 5 (See the reviews)
List Price: $15.00
Lowest Used Price: $18.03 (as of 1/6/2009@7:16 AM)
Lowest New Price: $14.94 (as of 1/6/2009@7:16 AM) |
From the Tree's native land
This Tree comes from a great place ...