For additional care information, see our Guide to Norfolk Island pine houseplants.

Repotting Norfolk Island pine is best done in springtime. Usually, repotting is needed only every two to three years, but plants can be repotted when roots appear on the surface of the mixture or through the bottom of the container. Also note that the roots are rather delicate so handle the plant carefully.  Use a mildly acidic, soil-based potting mixture, with additions of peat moss and coarse sand/or perlite. A container with a drain hole is essential to keep this plant in good health.

Removing young North Island pines growing around a mother tree is also best accomplished in spring. If the mother plant is ready to re-pot, that can take place at the same time so that removing youngsters can be performed more easily and carefully.

Moisten the soil a few hours before you remove your tree from the pot so that all the potted family comes out easily. Have fresh potting soil mixture on hand. Gently place the unpotted mother plant on its side and brush away the soil to expose the roots, at the same time carefully remove each young plant with roots gently, one at a time. Clean the mother's pot with soap/water mixture before reuse. Use a sterile pruning tool and small trowel if needed to separate from the mother's roots.  Pot up each plantlet in their own clean container (5 inch).  Water in with tepid water.

Using Norfolk Island pine as a bonsai it is not recommended. Bonsai are usually trained by wrapping wire around the branches in order to hold them in place. Eventually the branches will stay in the desired shape and wire is removed. Foliage and trunks are trimmed in order to give the tree an old and gnarled look. Norfolk Island pines do not particularly adhere to this type of training because of the nature of the plant. Trunks are relatively thin, often the size of a pencil or thinner when first planted. The branches are very flexible and feathery and do not usually conform to wire training no matter how long the wire is maintained. Eventually the bottom branches will dry, die, need to be removed and will not grow back. This gives the tree a rather palm-like appearance or a trunk with a pom-pom on top.

Courtesy of NYBG Plant Information