well most plants can be grown indoors for a long time but alot of them aren't really permanent residents , eventually they get too large or they just become unsuitable for whatever reason. the problem with using a pot that is neither small or big is that a plant still may become huge which makes it really difficult to repot. i always use big pots for bold specimen plants , for example i got a indoor banana which isn't too big because i got it in a really small pot, when im going to repot it im going to choose a very large tub - anything in between wouldn't be practical because it will still get huge and eventually gets too rootbound and i need to repot it again. Choose a good looking pot, square or round. wide or long , contrast coloured or plain. Get a decent looking pot that you think will fit this plant and its enviroment. repotting large specimen can be a pain in the ass, there is no way around it and it will make a mess. Alot of plants can be pruned to decrease size and weight and make repotting easier - this cannot be done with the norfolk pine, once you prune off and lower or middle branches they will not regrow or come back. Remember eventually these kinds of trees will lose lower branches just like most mature trees, lower branches that do not receive enough light because the upper branches are casting shade. if one branch drops that not a problem but when multiple lower branches droop and drop it needs feeding , repotting and a fitting watering schedule. one option of course would trying a garden center in you area or a professional horticulturalist.

I just found this thread while searching for Norfolk Pine transplant information and what I read saddens me. I have a Norfolk in a large container that I was planning to finally put in the ground. It's grown too large for it's pot and is about 8 feet tall. Just like everyone else with one, I bought mine for Christmas. It was 10 years ago when we were moving from Baltimore to Orlando. It was tiny but it made me feel so much better about the Holidays. 4 weeks later when we moved into this house the cute little tree found a home in the patio. A couple years ago I moved it outside thinking that if I didn't do it then I would never get it through the patio door! The tree means a lot to me and I hate to just get rid of it. I don't think I'm ready to 'be done with it', although I'm sure that's good advice.

I put mine in the ground two weeks ago. It is a two year old tree that I bought Christmas of 08. I decided to take a chance and if I lose it I will get another. I had one several years back that got so big we were afraid it would damage the roof. A lady came by and said she had the perfect spot on her enclosed porch so I gave it to her pot and all. I saw her about 6 months later and asked how the tree was in its new home. She responded "You know that dumb tree died." Moral of the story, just plant it............ They do tend to get spider mites. The mites hate sprayed water. I take the water hose with the nozzle and spray pretty hard several times when I see some leaves turning brown.

Just thought I would let you all know that the more I look the more I see of these trees in varying stages of distress or death. I now go with the theory of drought/stress even moreso now since travelling through to Port Augusta in SA recently and seeing much of the same along the entire route. A tiny spattering of rain here in Sunraysia overnight will do little to help these huge old trees. I remember, as a small child in 1954, the Queen visiting Red Cliffs and she was entertained at a vineyard that had a matching pair of quite big N.I. pines at the entrance in what was back then one of the fanciest entrances to any of vineyards around here. Both those trees are well beyond saving now. Some of the entrances I see to vineyards these days are so flash in comparison but I still think look at the two peeling gates posts,the dying trees and remember the Queen's visit fifty years on. Thanks all your suggestions and commiseratiions to those who are losing their lovely old pines.