A Pine Tree for the Tropics

I received this as a hostess gift for a Christmas party I had.  You've seen them in stores.  It came in a small pot wrapped in red foil.  There were red bows and bells tied to the branches and it served as a table top Christmas tree.  After the holidays, I removed the decorations, repotted to a larger pot and it's been growing ever since.  I keep it in my balcony garden, water it thoroughly once a week, allowing it to drain and mist from time to time.

I've read that this plant is called a Norfolk Island Pine and is native to Norfolk Island in the South Pacific.  They prefer high humidity and enjoy being misted.  They do well in low-light conditions.  They can grow in bright light, but sometimes the bright light fades their color.  If you clip the branches, they will not grow back, so be careful with trimming.  You should only clip brown branches.  The branches on the bottom of the tree will brown naturally and should be removed.

They have a weak root system so be careful when repotting.  If you break too many roots, you'll have to stake the plant to keep it stable until new roots can grow.  I repotted mine just last week and got lucky.  It seems to be doing well.  I've kept this plant on my balcony since December 5, 2009. 

 If you look closely you can see the lighter green tips on the branches indicating new growth.  This plant is healthy and doing well.  It is currently 13" high.  I've read that this plant grows up to 80 feet high in the wild.  Let's see how large we can get it to grow on my South Florida balcony.