Norfolk Island pine looks like a soft, symmetrical little evergreen, with tiered branches and needle-like foliage you can actually touch. It is a tropical plant, not a true pine, which is why it lives happily indoors, and it doubles as a live tabletop Christmas tree that keeps going into the new year.

Give it bright light near a sunny window and turn the pot occasionally so it grows straight. Water when the top inch of soil dries, keep it away from cold drafts and heat vents, and mist now and then in dry winter air.