Norfolk Island Pine
Araucaria heterophylla
Through the year 🗓️
☀️ Summer now
Steady growth. Keep moisture even, feed monthly, and shield it from scorching afternoon sun through glass.
🍂 Fall
Taper feeding, keep watering consistent, and start the humidifier before the heating season browns the tips.
❄️ Winter
Rest it bright, cool and humid: water a little less, skip fertilizer, and keep it well away from radiators and cold drafts.
🌱 Spring
Resume monthly feeding, repot if roots are crowded, and let it acclimate gradually to any brighter spot.
The details
Light & placement
- Light
- Bright light with some direct sun; rotate weekly or it leans hard toward the window
- Ideal PPFD
- 200–400 µmol·m⁻²·s⁻¹
- Grow-light distance
- 12–18 in below LED
Water & feed
- Watering method
- Keep the soil lightly, evenly moist, watering when the top inch dries and draining well. Bone-dry spells cost you lower branches, and they never grow back.
- Fertilizer
- Balanced feed at ½ strength, monthly in spring–summer.
Home & habit
- Soil
- Slightly acidic, well-draining mix (peat/coco + sand or perlite); pH 4.5–5.5
- Humidity
- High (50%+); dry winter air browns the branch tips
- Temperature
- 60–75 °F; frost-tender, never below 45 °F
- Mature size
- 3–8 ft indoors (200 ft in the wild)
- Repotting
- Every 2–3 yrs in spring; a heavy pot keeps it from tipping
- Propagation
- Seed only, practically speaking; cuttings from side branches never form an upright tree.
When something looks wrong
- Overwatering signs
- Yellowing needles, soggy soil, soft stem base
- Underwatering signs
- Browning, crisping branch tips; whole lower branches drying and dropping
- Common pests
- Spider mites, mealybugs, scale
Common problems 🩺
The usual suspects when Norfolk Island Pine looks unhappy. Most houseplant trouble is watering or light, not disease — see all plant problems if you are not sure which plant is the culprit.
Lower branches browning and dropping
Likely cause
Dry indoor air, or the soil drying out. Lost branches never grow back.
What to do
Raise humidity and keep the soil lightly moist. Prevention is the only cure here.
Needle tips going brown
Likely cause
Dry air, especially near winter heating.
What to do
Run a humidifier and move it away from vents and radiators.
Leaning or growing lopsided
Likely cause
Light coming from one side only.
What to do
Rotate it a quarter turn every week so it grows straight.
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