A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2007 norfolk island pine

I HAVE A NORFOLK ISLAND PINE THAT IS ALSO TURNING BROWN. IT IS WATERED WEEKLY AND MISTED 2-3 TIMES A DAY. I WILL RE-POT IT IN A FEW WEEKS BUT SHOULD I FEED IT AND WITH WHAT, HOW FAR SHOULD I CUT BACK THE BROWN BRANCHES

amazing grace, first, please turn off your cap lock. it is very hard to read all caps, and some people on the net consider that to be "shouting" and rude.

about your plant, i would cut anything brown off. especially if it is brittle.

to know what you need to do beyond that, i'd need more info. what kind of pot, drainage, how much water, how moist is the soil, are you fertilizing and how often? those things will help us figure out how to help you!

thanks for the info. i just received the plant in december sent to me in memory of my mother who just passed away. it is still in the original pot and i will be re potting it very soon. i water it weekly about 2 cup of water and keep the soil very moist and mist often thru the day. i have not fertilized it yet. what kind of soil and fertilizer do i get

if it was sent by a florist, it is probably being over watered. you don't want it to dry, but ti should be evenly moist, not very moist. if that makes sense.

most florist plants are sent in pots that are wrapped with water proof material. if you can get that material off it asap, and let it drain well, it will be better.

thanks,i have taken off the plastic. this week i am repotting it what type of fertilizer should i get.

i wouldn't use fertilizer just yet. i'd start with good potting soil, either shultz or miracle gro, and go from there. over feeding is much worse than underfeeding.

I don't want to steal this thread but I also have a problem with a N pine. My lower branches fall off and the upper look great. What am I doing wrong. It was very root bound and the soil was old so I repotted yesterday, will that help? Thanks, Tim

Repotting should help. Are you keeping the plant washed off? They get very dusty during the winter. Our temps are up around 70 now so I finally was able to move mine outside yesterday. I thought I had been keeping it fairly clean but gosh, was it ever dusty when I got it outside where I could really see it good. It got a real good hosing. I could almost swear it was smiling after it had it's bath

Amazing Race, Why are you repotting your Norfolk pine? If your Norfolk pine only needs watering once a week, it doesn't sound like it needs to be repotted. Repotting plants that don't need it often leads to root rot because the additional soil in a larger pot retains too much moisture.

Norfolk pines require very bright indirect light. When they receive enough light the soil should dry out about 1/4 between waterings if they are potted in a properly sized pot such as the original grow pot. plants that recieve lower light need less water. If that is the case for your pine, try letting the soil dry out 1/3 to 1/2 between
waterings.

Also, if you only received the plant in December, it isn't a good idea to repot now anyway. plants need several months - at least 6 - to acclimate to their new environment and repotting during this time unnecessarily stresses them.

I second what's been said about removing dead brances, but caution you to not remove the top of the tree as Norfolk pines only have a single growing tip.

Fertilizer should only be applied to healthy, actively growing plants and even then sparingly. My suggestion is to give it optimal bright indirect light (a couple hours sunlight every day is OK) and give it a bit more time before making any major changes in its care.

Good luck!

Star

the plant is not potted well in the pot form the florist. also it is doing some better after i was told about the plastic around it and removed it. however it is very dry and the needle are brittle. i mist it several time a day. does any know how much i should take off when cutting the branches. thnks for all you help amazingrace