A Gardeners Forum Forums General Discussion The House Plant Forum Need Help with Norfolk Island Pine

Hi everyone-I need help with a Norfolk Island Pine I have had for 23 years-it is getting quite large but every year I put it outside on a covered porch for the summer. I live in Northern Wisconsin. It might have been out a little too long this year but it seemed fine when brought inside in early October. Within about a month though, it now looks funny. First the whole plant seemed to get a grayish cast. It seemed a bit droopy so I went to water it and the soil was quite wet. (Thank my husband for that because he's ALWAYS watering my plants despite my protests that he not touch them!) So i did not water it, I cultivated the soil close to the pot to help it dry out a bit faster but it has continued to droop at the tips, particularly at the top sprout of the plant and the second tier down. These droopy tips are gradually turning brown, seem soft, not dry. I cannot figure out if this is from overwatering by my lovely husband or if this perhaps was damaged from being left on the porch perhaps in a bit too cold of weather. Either way, what do I do? I am quite emotionally attached to this plant having owned it for so long. I have never hurt it before and now I feel terrible. Any suggestions? Can I cut off the tip and the main growth sprout in the center and what would happen if I did? Thanks! [img]http://photo2.walgreens.com/walgree...HR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=walgreens/[/img]

Welcome, supergirl. It does sound like your roots may have gotten water logged. My NI pine is outdoors, in the ground and can accept quite a bit of chilling. So that may have been a small factor, but I'm still voting for wet feet. I really don't know a fix for this beside letting it dry quite a bit.
I am not at all sure how trimming the top tiers will affect the looks or the growth. But you will need to trim off the dead parts or let them fall of naturally and see what it does.