Did not know Norfolk pine to be multi trunk

Just cut off the unwanted trunks, save the best one. To plant several different trunks, you would have to separate the roots of each tree, which may be difficult since they have been growing so close together.

Have you googled how big that tree will get?? Some are 60 ft and up. Are you sure you want something that big being in hurricane alley?

You can separate the trunks at that size quite easily. Take the entire plant out of the pot and soak it in a large tub of water overnight. In the morning you should be able to separate the trees into individual ones. Carefully repot them with fresh soil and grow them out for at least 6 months. By then they will be ready to go in the ground.

However...

You should be aware that the Norfolk Island Pine in Florida will grow to over 100 feet tall. Nine out of ten that die, are killed by lightning strikes. If you do put it in the ground put it FAR away from your house.

i appreciate ALL your thoughts and input !!! ok yes i will plant it far away. I do have LOTS of oak trees in my yard too. one has been hit by lightning. I've only lived here 4 years and have not been thru one of the infamous hurricanes yet :[

thanks for the answers thus far !!

As a sometimes-visitor to SW Florida, the sight of these NIP's is always a treat, even though I'm well aware they are not native. They do something for me, given I Iike tall conifers up here in the north too. And even though much of my focus is on native plant communities, these things still interest me.

Anyone here ever see the enormous one(s) at the Koreshan settlement just S. of Ft. Myers? Pretty amazing.

If I had sufficient space down there, I'd plant a few, along with such other native tall-growers as Royal Palm, Bald Cypress, Slash Pine, etc....in a corner of the yard well away from my or others' buildings!

+oM

Just an FYI, once that NIP gets mature, they set bowling ball sized cones that fall off whole in high winds.

You have a long time before that happens, but don't plant by homes, walks, driveways, etc. You can hire a tree guy for about a grand every year to trim out most of those bowling balls.

Not sure I totally understand the rationale in a hot climate that dictates planting shade trees well away from the house (not that Norfolks are an ideal shade tree).

If a hurricane strikes, there will be plenty of opportunity for structural damage that has nothing to do with trees.

it will need to be hardened off ..... moving from indoors.. to outdoors ...

you can not take it straight into sunshine ...

you could un pot ... separate.. repot in separate pots... and keep them in dark shade for a week ... light shade for a week ... then filtered light .. perhaps sun at dusk or dawn ... the time lengths also take into account the disturbance of the roots from potting ....

and then into the sun ...

and you could always keep one potted.. in case you kill the others... you will have a fail safe ...

eric.. if you cool the grass around a house ... wind will bring the coolness into the house ... your roof and insulation ... are supposed to take care of what hits the roof ...

and with the trees further away ... what will not hit the house.. is the leaves falling off and choking your gutters... seed pods ... roof rats who use trees to get up there.. etc ....

ken

A big Norfolk is a pretty tree, but if planted too close to your house it will have no problem lifting your foundation as it grows.

Add to that the loads of the snake like branches it drops

The green bowling balls

And the filled rain gutters

They are a nicer tree far from homes, walks, driveways etc. I have to admit a bias against them having had one removed and the damaged repaired to the tune of $10k and a bunch of others removed at different times. They are a popular tree for tenants to plant when they out grow the tenants space, but a huge expense to deal with after they have started damaging stuff. My neighbor has a double trunk one planted where if allowed to get to its natural height I will have to abandon my patio for safety, thankfully I think the power company will be topping it so I might get to keep the patio.

Yup, any plant in the wrong place creates issues. Live oaks and other wide-spreading species are considered more storm-safe than are tree types which put most of their growth increments into heighth...things like our NIP, slash pines, etc. although these are all good plants otherwise.

Interestingly, and completely off-topic-most palms present relatively greater storm safety profiles, owing (I think) to their incredible flexibility. There's a reason that beaches all over the earth's tropics/subtropics are covered by palm groves.

+oM

I was told that palm trees native to the islands here, with stand the hurricanes better then ones that grow in the desert areas. These palms are used to bending in the wind.

Palm trees stand up better in a hurricane because they have far less foliage for the wind to push against. Just prior to hurricane season, you'll see tree trimmers thinning out the other trees (not palms) to allow the wind to pass through them rather than to present a large surface area for the wind.

Everyone's warnings just reminded me of one of the pictures I had after Wilma (nobody was hurt). In high winds, the branches come off leaving a tree that looks like a telephone pole for several years. Sometimes it still comes down. Personally, I would suggest a native pine.

Fawnridge, what you say may be part of the answer, but there's far more to it. Palms are really not even trees, being monocots. They have many structural qualities that allow for their storm-worthiness. And yes katkin, palms which originated in tropical and actively stormy areas are the ones most apt to have developed this extreme flexibility, etc.

Of course, I've seen paper birch trees and northern white cedar up here bent right down to the ground by snowload, spring back up later and be just fine. All trees and plants are amazing.

Scogebear, whenever I'm in FL, I marvel at the beauty of your pine flatwoods/savannas, such as they still exist. Amazingly beautious plant communities.

+oM

thanks EVERYONE for your comments. I appreciate it because to be honest dont know much about NIP care although i do have one already in my front yard about 40 feet from my front door. its about 7 feet tall and grew to that height in only 1.5 years. This NIP is in full sun all day. it is green and thriving.

now i have this new one, and i followed FAWNRIDGE's advice to seperate the roots out. i got 3 trees that way. I planted one about 15 feet away from the house and now after reading all your comments- i think i will locate it further away. I had no idea they grew the ginourmous cones!!!

Any adivce on how to create a NIP that tapers to a narrow top (that looks like a christmas tree) instead of one that is the same width all the way up the tree????

thanks EVERYONE for your comments. I appreciate it because to be honest dont know much about NIP care although i do have one already in my front yard about 40 feet from my front door. its about 7 feet tall and grew to that height in only 1.5 years. This NIP is in full sun all day. it is green and thriving.

now i have this new one, and i followed FAWNRIDGE's advice to seperate the roots out. i got 3 trees that way. I planted one about 15 feet away from the house and now after reading all your comments- i think i will locate it further away. I had no idea they grew the ginourmous cones!!!

Any adivce on how to create a NIP that tapers to a narrow top (that looks like a christmas tree) instead of one that is the same width all the way up the tree????