Norfolk Island pine
Sources last read 14 September 2026.
Middling It gives warning, with time to act.
Also called Australian Pine, house pine, Living Christmas Tree, Norfolk Island Araucaria, Norfolk Pine, Polynesian Pine, Star Pine and Triangle Tree.
Toxicity is partly unassessed
What the sources say about its care
- Light
- High light 150–1000 fcClemson Extension · read 13 September 2026Full sun, Partial shadeRHS · read 13 September 2026
- Water
- Moist but well-drainedRHS · read 13 September 2026
- Humidity
No source read publishes a humidity figure for any plant on this site. What follows is general guidance for foliage plants.
ASHRAE recommends indoor relative humidity between 30% and 60% 30–60%Penn State Extension · read 13 September 2026- Temperature
How cold this tolerates, not what it prefers. No source read for this site publishes a preferred range for a plant indoors.
H2 — 1–5°C 1–5 °CRHS · read 13 September 2026- Soil
- Chalk, Loam, Sand; pH Acid or Alkaline or NeutralRHS · read 13 September 2026
- Toxic to cats
- Listed as non-toxicASPCA · read 13 September 2026
- Toxic to dogs
- Listed as non-toxicASPCA · read 13 September 2026
- Harmful to people
- No statement of harm to people is published for this plant; that absence is not evidence it is safe.RHS · read 13 September 2026
How it usually goes wrong
- Bleached patches on the side facing the glass
Affected tissue goes pale and then papery, and the boundary follows where the light falls rather than the shape of the leaf.
Full sun or partial shade is what its source names, and outdoors that sun comes with moving air that cools the foliage. Behind still glass the same light heats the tissue well above the room, and the exposed patches dry out first.
Telling it apart: Whether the patches grow. Scorch is done once it happens; a leaf spot keeps spreading.
RHSDiagnose spots on the leaves on this Norfolk Island pine- Dry, curled edges on leaves near a heater
Leaves on the side of the Norfolk Island pine nearest a heater or vent brown at the edges while those on the far side stay clean.
Dry air takes water from the leaf surface continuously, and the tissue at the edge is last in the queue for what the roots send up. Penn State Extension notes there is no single humidity figure that suits every indoor plant.
Telling it apart: When it started. Edges that browned as the heating came on point at air; edges that browned through a wet summer do not.
Penn State ExtensionNorfolk Island pine brown leaf tips and edges: causes- The older part of the canopy yellows while the compost stays soaked
Whole leaves yellow at once rather than browning at a margin, and the Norfolk Island pine looks deflated despite soil that has not dried since it was watered.
Water held around the roots for days leaves them without air, and a root without air stops working within a week. Its source describes moist but well-drained soil for good reason.
Telling it apart: Lift it from the pot. Firm pale roots mean the water is not the problem; brown soft ones that smell sour mean it is.
RHSNorfolk Island pine leaves turning yellow: causes
Not sure which it is? Ask the diagnosis questions for Norfolk Island pine.
Routine care
- Watering
- From spring to autumn water regularly, but avoid overly wet soil. In winter, water sparingly and mist the plant in heated rooms.NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026From March to September, the growing season, water generously; over winter keep the compost just moist.RHS · read 13 September 2026
- Feeding
- From spring to fall, dilute liquid fertilizer can be given every week or every two weeks.NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026Feed every two weeks with a balanced fertiliser while the plant is growing; do not feed in winter.RHS · read 13 September 2026
- Propagation
- SeedNC State Extension · read 13 September 2026Sow seed in a seedbed once ripe. In midsummer, take cuttings from upright shoot tips and root them in a cold frame; cuttings from horizontal side branches do not grow into an upright tree.RHS · read 13 September 2026
- Pruning
- Pruning group 1; prune little or not at all, since pruning can spoil the tree's shape permanently.RHS · read 13 September 2026
- Pests and diseases
- Usually free of pests. Diseases: honey fungus can occur.RHS · read 13 September 2026
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Photographs
About the plant
Araucaria heterophylla is a species of conifer. As its vernacular name Norfolk Island pine implies, the tree is endemic to Norfolk Island, an external territory of Australia located in the Pacific Ocean between New Zealand and New Caledonia. It is not a true pine, which belong to the genus Pinus in the family Pinaceae, but instead is a member of the genus Araucaria in the family Araucariaceae, which also contains the hoop pine and the monkey-puzzle tree. It is sometimes also called a star pine, Polynesian pine, triangle tree or living Christmas tree, due to its symmetrical shape as a sapling.
From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · read 13 September 2026
- Native range
- Norfolk I. (incl. Philip I.)World Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026Norfolk Island (off Australia's east coast)NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026Norfolk IslandRHS · read 13 September 2026
- Climate
- wet tropicalWorld Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026
- Growth form
- Perennial, Tree; habit columnar, erect, pyramidalNC State Extension · read 13 September 2026Bushy (evergreen)RHS · read 13 September 2026
- Size
- Height 720–960 in; width 144–240 inNC State Extension · read 13 September 2026Height Higher than 12 metres; spread wider than 8 metres after more than 50 yearsRHS · read 13 September 2026
- Flowering
- Flowers green in summerRHS · read 13 September 2026
- Uses
What sources record people using this plant for. A traditional or medicinal use listed here is a record of use, not advice to eat it or treat anything with it.
Indigenous people gathered the edible seeds and used the tree for lumber. Commercial use is discouraged so this vulnerable species does not decline. The seeds are edible and nut-like.NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Common problems with Norfolk Island pine
Plants with similar care
AvocadoDry scorched spots after a move into a sunnier spot
Chinese banyanFaded, yellow-white areas on the sunny side of the canopy
Coffee plantLeaf tips go crisp and brown
Crape myrtleCrisp margins that appear in winter
Japanese mapleDry, curled edges on leaves near a heater
OliveA thin dry rim that crumbles between the fingers
Sources
- ASPCA · read 13 September 2026
- Clemson Extension · read 13 September 2026
- Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026
- NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
- Penn State Extension · read 13 September 2026
- RHS · read 13 September 2026
- Wikipedia · read 13 September 2026
What this does not cover
The figures above are what published sources say, not measurements of the plant in your room. They say nothing about your pot size, your water, the season, or how far from the glass the plant stands, and those decide more than any figure here does.
Humidity has no species figure because no source read for this site publishes one, and the only temperature published for this plant is a cold floor. The simulator fills those gaps with general figures for its kind of plant, marked as general and listed on how we read sources. Where a toxicity row says the plant was not assessed, that is the absence of a finding and not a finding of safety.
If something is already wrong, the diagnosis tool asks about the soil, the window and the watering, which is where the answer usually is.