We were given a ten inch Norfolk Pine when our first son was born. He is now 25 and the plant is over nine feet tall in the pot. It is outgrowing our house. It has gone through difficult times - moving from N.J. to Ohio; loss of lower branches; several twists of the trunk (seeking sunlight). We put it outside from late May through Sept. which seems to revitalize it. We are at a loss concerning what to do with this plant. Will it propagate from a cutting?
It is possible, though not easy, to root the lead shoot as a cutting. I've not done this myself; it'll likely need a mist propagation unit with undersoil heating. The side branches can't be used, but if you keep the decapitated plant, it'll replace the cut leader so you do have options for second and subsequent tries if the first fails.
You might also try air layering the plant. This would ensure that the top of the plant (the cutting, essentially) has roots before being severed from the bottom of the plant. Good luck, Mike
