Norfolk Island Pine

The soft, symmetrical "living Christmas tree" that brings tropical evergreen elegance indoors and to the patio year-round.

The Norfolk Island Pine (Araucaria heterophylla) isn't a true pine at all, but an ancient South Pacific conifer prized for its tiered, almost geometric symmetry. Soft, feathery needles in a rich emerald green radiate from horizontal branches arranged in neat whorls, giving the plant a stair-stepped, pyramidal silhouette that looks hand-shaped. Growth is slow and orderly, so it holds its handsome form for years. In its island home it can soar to 200 ft. with a 20-30 ft. spread, but in cultivation it is grown almost entirely as a graceful container tree: a tabletop accent when young, a striking floor specimen as it matures, and an outdoor patio or landscape tree only in frost-free climates.

Why growers choose the Norfolk Island Pine

• Year-round soft evergreen. Lush, fine-textured needles stay green through every season, indoors or out, with none of the prickliness of a true pine.
• Architectural symmetry. Branches grow in tidy horizontal tiers around a single straight trunk, creating a sculptural, perfectly conical shape.
• Beloved as a living holiday tree. Its naturally pyramidal form takes lights and small ornaments beautifully, then returns to being a houseplant the rest of the year.
• Slow and forgiving. Modest, unhurried growth means it stays in scale with its pot and rarely needs aggressive intervention.
• Tropical character anywhere. Grown as a patio or indoor tree from zone 3 up, planted outdoors only in the warmest regions (zones 9-11).

Use it as a focal-point container tree on a bright porch or sunroom, a sophisticated floor plant in a well-lit room, a seasonal indoor holiday tree, or, in frost-free coastal and tropical gardens, an elegant landscape specimen. It is a specimen plant, not a hedge or screening conifer.