Gorgeous tree! How flexible are the branches? Seems like they need to be pressed down all around to compress. Rather than wrapping with something soft - not rope or string, I wonder if pulling a large plastic trash bag over top would gently push branches down & compress. Another smaller bag pulled up over container & closed around trunk to contain soil in pot while tree laying down in back of SUV with seats down for cargo. Or, maybe branches can be wrapped with bungee cords? Drop a large flat sheet over top & then start wrapping a bungee cord around. Then another further down. Hope someone has a moving dolly to set it on & a solid surface for dolly. I have a pot lifter - straps that wrap around anything roundish which pulls tight when handles on each side pulled. Allows 2 people to carry many things!

Hi KW. I don't know how flexible the branches are. I won't see the plant until I pick it up. I certainly don't want to break any of the branches. I could bring a trash bag and see it I can pull it over the top---and another to put the pot in. I like the idea of using a flat sheet to wrap it in---and then bungee cord or maybe some rope to go around to keep the sheet from falling off.

I am hoping that it isn't that heavy due to the fact that I think the pot is too small for the plant---and therefore may not be that heavy? I guess I had better check and ask the gifter how heavy they think it is and whether one person can manage it. My husband has some kind of dolly. I have to look into that!

It will be challenging even to get it to fit into the SUV. It will have to be on its side for sure.

I had a Norfolk Pine many years ago & in an apartment but small floor plant sized & no recall of what happened to it. I do think the branches were softer & drooping / weeping but don’t know about what situation is with the size of yours. If your SUV has a split rear seat you might be able to lower 1/2 or 3/4 of seat on passenger side of SUV & also put passenger seat in recline or forward position. One of you would need to sit in rear seat behind driver. This gives you more length to accomodate tree length so none of it has to stick out rear window or hatch. Driving with back window or hatch open but tied down only works for short drives - the rear exhaust gets sucked into vehicle with those open & not good for you! Maybe ask your gifter friend to not water the tree a few days before you pick up. You asked about separating the multiple trunks - I’ve no idea about that but wonder if you’d wind up with bare sides & too much root loss. I’d post that question after you get it home & can take close ups of base & interior. I’d also post to the Conifer forum.

ETA if a dolly is needed hope your friend has one available - thinking it’ll take up too much cargo space needed for the trip home!

I have a much smaller one with several plants. I did try to separate them and then gave up. They appeared to have all grown out of a single hard cone. It would have been too much of an intervention. Also, the several plants had arranged themselves to form a single tree shape which would be radically altered with their separation. So, they continue to grow together.

As to pot size, I have found that the root ball is rather smallish for the plant size so they do tend to be content with smaller pots.

I just tried to see which way would work better for bundling up the branches and it appears that bending them all upwards works much better than downwards in terms of flexibility and compact handing (admittedly in width not height). good luck with the move.

@getgoing100_7b_nj More upward flexibilty of downward shape branches is surprising! Wonder if one of those christmas tree disposal covers would work - the tree sits on it & it gets pulled up - it’s to contain the dropped needles while moving out of house. Good luck with finding such an item off season though.

How much would a small UHaul covered trailer cost to rent? Or does a friend have a van?

Looking at it, I would think it might be possible to move it in an SUV even without wrapping it. I would put the pot in a trash bag and place it on the floor in front of of the back seat (move the seat back as needed). Tilt the plant a little towards the cargo area so the top fits and tor are good to go. Just an idea.

it is a tree.. in fact a huge tree in its native new Zealand..

https://duckduckgo.com/?t=ffab&q=norfolk+pine+forest&iax=images&ia=images

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=+Araucaria+heterophylla&t=ffab&ia=web

it is NOT a host.. it can not be divided .. and you dont dig up trees to find out if its actually 6 plants in there.. it is probably one plant that lost its leader very young... in other words.. all on one root mass ...

al can give you a recipe for a good media.. NOT SOIL ...

in the olden days.. i would have recommended you tie it up with a panty hose.. reducing its diameter as much as possible.. and then suggest you wrestle it into a pickup truck.. laying down .. i dont know what suv you might have so i dont know if you would have the space..

in other words.. i would wrap it like a xmas tree ... https://blchristmastrees.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/exportation_1.jpg

i would NOT try to tie it UP ... forcing weeping branches up...

i would probably never try to repot it.. as i dont have popeye arms to hoik it around ... and i suspect you would stress it so much.. it would probably die.. if i did it .. anyway ....

you say gifted.... and i hesitate to ask.. if someone didnt gift you their giant problem.. lol.. been there.. dumped that alleged friend.. rotflmbo ...

the bottom line with these.. is you usually have to get rid of them.. when you need to add a 2 story atrium.... or its taking up half you living room... at some point.. they just become a menace... i would usually suggest propagating some new small pieces.. and starting over.. but you usually cant to that with a tree ... and im to lazy to look it up for you right now...

ken

Norfolk Island is a territory of Australia. Been there.

Thank you all for your suggestions. You've all been very helpful!

First of all, to clarify, I didn't want to divide this plant but thought removing a stalk or two would be in order. But I see from the responses that that would not work.

My husband says that it's not going to fit into his SUV (Acura). In the trunk area, the height is about 30 inches.

What Ken said about being gifted a giant problem---really resignated with me. If it is difficult to bring the plant to my place, then it isn't going to get any easier to move it as the plant gets even bigger. The people gifting it said they had it for several years, but it was now getting too large for their place. One of the children knocked it over recently. They needed more room for the kids.

My husband was going to be away for several days and wasn't going to be able to help me with the plant. So I decided to not take it and the people can find another home for it.

Thanks for all your thoughts!

Crazy me! I've change my mind! Going to try to fit into the SUV! My daughter really wants it. So we'll try. It may not fit, but then we'll know we gave it a try. Wish us luck!

Well, family projects & trips are always fun!

Well, we did it. Wasn't easy, but it's in its new home now. Didn't repot it yet.

Congratulations, it doesn't seem to mind the move at all.

Wow - it made the move in one piece & I assume you & husband made it too! It somehow looks smaller in this space! A new pot will be good. It’ll balance the bottom with the top.

Well, we did lose some small branches in the move! I do agree that it seems smaller in the second picture KW! I have asked my daughter to move it closer to the window. Maybe a third picture is in order?

Now onto how to repot it; what pot size is needed; whether it needs a stake and what media to use! I wonder whether a stem or two should be removed.

Also have to learn how often to water this pine. I have some homework to do!

Hmm - I often hear repotting / potting up should be one size up & not to a too large new pot even if it looks like it needs it. Maybe try one size larger but then put into a big cache pot to give it some balance between top & bottom. Looks like it’s a bit tilted so wondering it instead of cutting off one trunk & risking a bare spot, when repotting try resituating so it’s straight & centered in new pot.

I agree with KW. If you tilt the rot ball while repotting to the bigger pot, you may be able to straighten it without having to stake it. A well draining potting mix should work. Last I checked, it doesn't need that much water. So water it well and then let it dry to a couple of inches below soil surface before watering again.

Thanks for both your tips and suggestions KW and getgoing.

I've been doing online searches regarding repotting and so on. I do hope that I can straighten the plant and not have to stake it. I agree that the plant should not go in a big pot, but just a bit bigger. Not sure what I will find when I remove the pot! I hope to take picture after repotting and will post here!

UPDATE:

Here are current pictures of the Norfolk pine.

But some of the tips are yellowing.

Might be a watering issue. Or lack of humidity. My daughter has had it for about 2 months now.

How did roots look when repotted? Looking at original picture before moving it I think I see some yellowed branches - were they cut off? Is this pot just a bit larger than original? Is tree getting same, less or more light in its new home? I think there’s a conifer topic here - maybe add to the 2 topics you originally posted to & I bet you’ll get some good advice. I don’t know if Norfolk Pines are touchy about repotting & changed conditions as a Ficus plant would be.

I have underwatered my Norfolk pine at times and this is not what I see when the plant is dehydrated. The plant sheds lowest leaves, which dry up to preserve rest of the growth. The yellowing tips suggest either a severe lack of nutrition or a build up of salt. I would bet on lack of fertilizer because my houseplants rarely get flushed and some do show signs of salt build up but the Norfolk pine has never been among them. I say give it some food unless you have already fertilized it, in which case wait for it to do it's thing before further intervention.

I have 2 of these, 5 ft ea. They are really easy to grow! I keep mine planted Al’s 5-1-1 mix and I repot at most, every 2 yrs. In the wild, they grow in full sun. Mine are indoors in a South facing window for winter & out on my deck the rest of the year. They also do well in part shade. They like very porous mix, and like to be watered often but to dry out fairly quickly, like in about 5 days, then watered again. I fertilize mine weakly, weekly at 1/4 strength listed on bottle and I use regular old MG in the yellow bottle. These are often confused w/ Cook Island pines, as they’re almost identical and, like sago palms, are a pre-historic species so they were around (so I’ve read) at the same time as dinosaurs. If your needles or an entire branch turn a rust color and feels dry and brittle, pull them off & water it! That means it’s dry. IMO, your new pot looks kind of small to me but maybe it’s just the pic making it look that way. These trees lose branches from the bottom up if any are going to be lost and they don’t grow back. I’d agree that your yellowing tips are either lack of fert or your soil stays wet for too long. I’d use the tell method for a few days up to a week after watering to see how long it stays wet down at the bottom of the pot. Both the post on how to make the 5-1-1 mix and how to use a tell are all over this website.

To KW:

"How did roots look when repotted? Looking at original picture before moving it I think I see some yellowed branches - were they cut off? Is this pot just a bit larger than original? Is tree getting same, less or more light in its new home?"

Answering those questions: I did not repot it yet so I don't know how the roots look. If there were yellow branches in the first picture, then they were removed. I don't know about the light received in its previous home. The people just wanted to get rid of it and weren't helpful in giving information about care. Right now it is facing east and is situated by a sliding door. I thought my daughter could put it outside on the balcony, but she said it didn't fit through the sliding doors! I didn't repot the plant yet because I wasn't getting the measurements of the pot in order to figure out what size pot I had to have for the repot. It's on the to do list!

To getgoing:

That makes sense---that not enough water tends to make the lower leaves drop or yellow. I've seen that with my other tropical plants. It could very well be that this plant has not been fertilized! And I know that my daughter has not fertilized the plant since she's had it. I will get her some fertilizer! I suppose there could be a build up of salts. I don't know if it was regularly fertilized. But a repot would help get rid of the salts. Because of the size of the plant, it is difficult to flush it with water. I wanted to repot the plant out on the balcony, but my daughter says the plant won't fit through the door!

To Rebecca:

I am glad to hear that the plant is easy to grow and that you have two large ones growing well! Interesting that you are growing the plant in 511. The plant my daughter has is definitely not in anything porous like that! It may well be that it hasn't been repotted for a very long time too. I have not repotted that plant yet, so it is in a pot that the previous owners had. I also think the pot looks rather small.

It is helpful to know how often you water your plant, but I also have to wonder if your media requires you to water more often?

I agree that my daughter should use the tell method to see if the pot is wet or dry at the bottom. As for making 511, I am wanting to put together this media for some of my perennials too. I have asked questions on the Container Forum but no one is there to answer my questions! I am trying to put together the ingredients and want to make sure I do it right!

Tomorrow my daughter will visit. I will be giving her some fertilizer.

Rebecca, so the 511 needs to be kept moist? I just made a batch of it, but not sure if I made it correctly.

I wish I could say that I love it. I hope my plants will be happy in it.

My perlite is called "super coarse," but I think the pieces could be larger. I found a decent place that says it has #4 perlite, so I will have to check that out. I wonder what size is too big?

Frustrating when you can't get the pine bark!