29/10/2017
Araucaria :::
Araucaria heterophylla is known by many names. As a norfolk pine or Andes pine it reaches a height from up to 60 m in the wild. Indoor, on the other hand, the tree with the lively branches only reaches about 1,80 m. The pine has its origin in the Australian Norfolk Island and is relatively one, which doesn´t need much care. Although amateur gardeners, who like conifers should inform theirselves about the right trimming of these trees: Otherwise the pine will grow too high.
Care
Behind the astonishing idea of holding a pine in the house, stands a conifer, which is actually very easy to maintain and comfortable to live with, concealing the right proportions in large, bright rooms and bringing a piece of nature into enclosed spaces.
Location
The pine, Araucaria heterophylla, does not like direct sunlight, but tolerates a bit of morning and evening sun. Otherwise, a shaded site with enough space is very good. It should be quite bright, because the pine has only something against direct sunlight, it does not need shadow though. It is a problem when the room is heated all year.
Consistency of the soil
The plant does not place great demands of the soil. It doesn´t like it too sour, a pure Rhododendron-soil does not please it.
The pine needs:
light sour, loose soil fresh-humid to moderate dry sandy-clayey, loose and well permeable. Avoid waterlogging, this is what the pine can not bear. A well-mixed substrate with a little bit of gravel and a support that is filled with rocks and water are very suitable as a drainage system to ensure sufficient supply of moisture both over the earth and in the air.
Watering
The Norfolk pine (Araucaria heterophylla) comes from a subtropical climate zone, where there are only two seasons: the rainy, mild vegetation phase between April and September, and the cool, dry winter break between October and March. As a hobby gardener, you should coordinate casting and fertilising behaviour:
the root bale shouldn´t ever dry out, but there should also be no waterlogging there is more water, when the surface is dried out please use only collected rainwater or decalcified water
if your pine is positioned on a flower pot saucer without pebbles, you should empty it after every 20 minutes