I have a Norfolk Island Pine that is about 6 yrs. old, and had been doing fine...until now; it has gradually dropped almost all of it's branches one by one. :'( It looks like Charlie Brown's Christmas tree now It's about 18" of bare stem and nice, healthy growth at the tip top. Looks pretty silly. My question is: can I air layer this plant? I have done air layering successfully on other plants, but not NI Pines. Any thoughts or experience with this? Thanks!
Hi Kay, I used to have this tree that was almost touching the ceiling, like yours, it looked more like a palm tree then the full looking tree it once was! I asked a nursery owner if air layering was possible, or maybe a tip cutting. He said he thought it was almost impossible to do either, not to say it can't be done, but he said the conditions would have to be perfect, and even then. it might not, or problay wouldn't work. I never tried to air layer, but I did try a few tip cuttings (cut top once and got multiple leader tips) and they simply refused to root.Side branch tips "might" root, but all you'll get is a cutting that grows sideways like the branch Maybe someone else will chime in that has had better success.
Hey Bluewing0 - Thanks for your answer. I was doubting the possibility of air layering this guy, but I hate to lose it... I once had a NF Pine that this happenrd to, and I tried to root the top, but it didn't work even with rooting hormone. :-? I suppose this might be a houseplant that I will have to keep replacing when they have run their course...I sure do like them.
Kay, Norfolk island pine (as you probably know) is not hearty in Nebraska. here is a quick outline of what I learned (by killing) small trees in trays indoors. Bonsai, there I said it, that is what'cher doing. Bonsai even the most tender, need to live out of doors when ever it is warm enough for them to go outside. Bonsai need to be repotted yearly. Use a big-box store pre-made bonsai soil or mix up your own. Tools you will need a 1/4 inch hardware cloth sifter, a 1/8 inch sifter, a 1/16 inch sifter. What ever will not pass through a quarter inch screen is too big. what ever will pass through one sixteenth inch screen is too small. Some pre-made sifters are stackable. One part sifted coarse sand and one part sifted bark mulch mixed well together is a very common starting point for bonsai soil. I use osmocoat granules for fertilizer. Very dilute liquid fertilizer works too. In the spring I will unpot my trees, rake off some of the soil with a chopstick and trim up roots. repot with bonsai soil and tamp out any airpockets with a chop stick. water well after. Clean out the screen covering bottom hole(s). Your old NIP whith a lions tail may not be able to recover. I'm sorry. I only brought hearty spruce (picea Glehnnii) with me to my new home. They are sleeping out under a layer of mulch out of doors as I write.
Hi Coppice, Thank you for the interesting, informative reply. My Norfolk Island Pine is still alive, and has not lost it's last tier of branches. In fact, it is sprouting a new top very slowly. It still looks silly, but must not be ready for the great compost pile just yet. This is a houseplant and I've never considered it to be a bonsai... I did remove the top layer of potting mix last summer, and freshened it with new. Meanwhile, it is in a sunny, south facing window. Again, thanks for your interest, always good to get another gardener's opinion!
I have mine as an indoor plant or houseplant too. It started to brown up on some of the bottom layers and I never did anything different to it. I am in zone 4 and I bought this about 4 years ago at Walmart. It is still small enough for me to put it in the bathtub and spray it down, it seems to like it. Once it gets too big for me to carry, then I will find it a new home seeing it won't make it outside.
