This holiday season, why not upgrade your celebration with a Norfolk Island Pine? These beauties last a lot longer than an artificial or live cut tree, and they add air-purifying powers to your home. 

Here are 5 reasons why a Norfolk Island Pine should be on your Christmas shopping list. 

1 Environmental Appeal
Norfolk Island Pines are probably your best option for an environmentally friendly Christmas. First, unlike artificial Christmas trees, Norfolk Island Pines are living things that add oxygen to your home. Plus, artificial trees wear out over time and generally end up in landfills. Traditional live-cut Christmas trees, on the other hand, are a natural product, but they have a very short, messy life inside your home and can quickly become a fire hazard.

2 Beauty 
The bright green foliage of Norfolk Island Pine is a welcome addition to your home during the dark days of winter. The plant’s horizontal branching habit is attractive and provides plenty of space for lights and ornaments to hang. Not a true pine, Norfolk Island Pines have soft, easy-to-handle “needles.”

3 Long Life 
Just because the holidays are over, doesn’t mean your Norfolk Island pine should be discarded. In fact, these easy-care plants will live for years in your home; one plant can be used for all your future holidays. Just be sure to locate it where it can get bright indirect light and water whenever the soil feels dry to the touch.

4 Slow Growth 
In the wild, Norfolk Island Pines can grow 60 feet tall, but indoors they grow slowly and will rarely get more than 5 or 6 feet tall. Sometimes lower branches will die back naturally, but otherwise they don’t need pruning or trimming to keep them in shape. Read more about where Norfolk Island Pines originally come from. 

5 Small Scale
Have you ever brought a live Christmas tree home and discovered it didn’t fit your living room? That won’t happen with a Norfolk Island Pine because most are sold under six feet tall. Plus, small specimens under two feet high look just as full as taller trees making it possible to even have a merry Christmas in a studio apartment or dorm room.

Written by Doug Jimerson