Alright, let’s talk about keeping these Norfolk Pines happy, specifically temperature stuff. I learned this mostly by messing up, honestly.
I got my first one years ago. It wasn’t huge, maybe knee-high. I put it in my living room, decent light but definitely no sun hitting it directly. Seemed fine, right? Standard house temp, nothing crazy. It grew slowly, seemed pretty content for a good while.
Then came the big learning moment. We had this really cold snap one winter, colder than usual for us. I’d shifted some stuff around near the back door because we were getting new flooring put in, and the poor pine ended up way closer to that drafty door than I realized. Just for a couple of days, mind you. Didn’t think it’d be a big deal.
Well, it was. I started seeing the lower branches looking really droopy. Like, sad droopy. And then, actual needle drop. Not good. That cold draft really did a number on it. It took ages for that side of the plant to look halfway decent again, lost quite few needles permanently down low. They really, really don’t like sudden cold or drafts.
So, lesson learned on the cold front. Then summer rolls around. I thought, maybe it wants more light? More warmth? I had this bright idea to put it on my covered patio. It got bright, indirect light most of the day, and it was warm out there. It seemed okay for a bit.
But then, one afternoon, the sun must have shifted just right, and it got maybe an hour or two of direct, hot afternoon sun. The next day? Crispy brown tips galore. Especially on the side that faced the sun. Ugh. So, yeah, they don’t like being baked either, especially not in direct sunlight. Scorched super easily.
Finding the Sweet Spot Through Trial and Error
After nearly freezing it and then nearly frying it, I figured out what mine really preferred. It seems happiest just inside, maybe five or six feet back from a bright window. Here’s what worked for me:
- Stable temps: Average indoor temperatures are usually fine. Think somewhere between 60-75°F (that’s maybe 15-24°C?). They hate big swings.
- No extremes: Keep it away from heating vents, air conditioners blowing right on it, drafty doors or windows. Seriously, that draft thing was brutal.
- Indirect light: Bright room? Yes. Sunbeams hitting the needles? No.
It’s not about hitting some exact magic number. It’s more about keeping things consistent and avoiding those shocks – the sudden cold, the sudden heat, the direct sun. They’re way tougher than some houseplants, but temperature extremes are definitely their weakness based on what I’ve seen with mine. Took me a while, and a few sad-looking branches, to really nail that down.
