Yes this is an evergreen tree (Araucaria heterophylla), native to Norfolk Island subtropical region in the South Pacific and widely grown as an indoor plant. Unlike most pines that are familiar to us Midwesterners, the pine is far too sensitive to plant outdoors in our Wisconsin climate zones of 5-3 burrrrr. But the good news is that they make an elegant houseplant when given proper care.
The ideal indoor climate for this species is cool and bright, responding well to daytime temperatures ranging from 60-70 F and slightly cooler at night. Although the Norfolk Island pine will adapt to bright indirect florescent light, the plant will be the best with a couple of hours of direct sunlight daily. If the light source is coming from just one direction, you'll want to rotate the plant a quarter turn weekly to keep it from tilting toward one side.
Norfolk pines have distinctively flat branches and short super soft needles. They enjoy humid environments. With age, and lack of humidity, the needles along the trunk will fall off. Dead, lower branches are a sign that the plant has been dehydrated. The dry needles will not come back. These plants do best with consistency stay on a set-watering schedule. Over watering may results in sporadic bright yellow needle clusters that come off very easily, and don't come back. Check to see if the plant is standing in lots of water.
When the plant is actively growing, feed it with a fertilizer formulated for indoor foliage plants. It is not unusual for the plant to be in a period of rest during our winter months, at which time there is no need to fertilize. Repeat no fertilizing during the winter!
Water the plant when the top inch or so of the soil in the pot feels dry. Use enough water to allow a little excess to escape through the bottom drainage holes. Discard remaining drained water after about 15 minutes.
What is most challenging for the typical home gardener is giving this plant the high relative humidity it needs. Norfolk Island pine thrives at 50 percent relative humidity, yet it is not unusual for the average house to drop to 15 percent during the winter heating season, unless steps are taken to increase moisture in the air. Running a humidifier will increase both people and plant comfort and is the most effective way to adequately raise the humidity.
It is not unusual for a few needles on the lowest branches to turn brown and drop. If this happens slowly over time, it's likely just normal aging of the branches or possibly from lower light availability. However, if many needles are browning, or if the problem appears more widely distributed among the branches, look to problems of either too much or too little water or too little relative humidity.
PRUNING:
They grow upward, their trunk thickens and the pine bows increase in size. It is not recommended to cut their growing tips off. Its symmetrical shape would be destroyed. The only maintenance pruning to be done is removal of dead lower branches.
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