growing pine tree in my backyard

Hi. I just moved to my new recently finish home. and for years . I always wanted a real christmass tree. So, yesterday I just bought a pine tree. IDK about trees or planting. I am a noobie. Please help me identify whatvI bought. is it a good pine tree? can I transfer it now on my backyard soil? how many months will it atleast grow like 5 feet?. currently it is 3 feet.

Please help me out. I really wanted to take care of this tree. to grow a very beautiful pine tree in my frontyard. thank you.

The common name is a Norfolk Island Pine, and it's actually NOT a true pine tree Norfoks are considered a tropical tree, and CAN'T tolerate freezing weather so, depending on your location, it may need to be a house plant if you want to keep it alive through the winter.
I have 2, here in Central Texas, and I have to keep them in pots. They stay on my porch during the spring and summer but I have to put them in the greenhouse or house in the fall before the weather gets too cold. If your winters don't drop below freezing temps you can plant the Norfolk in the ground and it will grow up to be a full-sized tree.
If you want to have a "true" pine tree in the yard, oftentimes places like Home Depot will get Italian Stone Pines in stock around the holiday season and they are a type of pine that actually needs to be left outside to experience the dormancy period brought on by the cold in winter. I picked up one last year and it's done great outside.

That looks like a lovely Norfolk pine. Where I live in Washington state, many people have them as house plants, I know of several that are 30+ years old.  

They make a very nice ,small Christmas tree.   We have gotten them several times,but never make it thru till the next year.
If you are in the Tropics it will grow well for you.

They're quite happy outside of the tropics as long as it's mild. Napier, east coast NZ, about 2 hours from here at 40 degrees S:



This is one of the most common ornamental trees around NZ. You'll see them everywhere except higher elevations. Despite the popular wisdom, they're not killed by light frost. They are hardy down to minus 2 or 3 at least, and I see them planted out in the open all over this part of the island.

Phil Stevens wrote:They're quite happy outside of the tropics as long as it's mild. Napier, east coast NZ, about 2 hours from here at 40 degrees S:



This is one of the most common ornamental trees around NZ. You'll see them everywhere except higher elevations. Despite the popular wisdom, they're not killed by light frost. They are hardy down to minus 2 or 3 at least, and I see them planted out in the open all over this part of the island.

Very cool picture! Does the age of the tree make a difference in the amount of cold tolerance they have? It seems most of the ones sold around the holidays are pretty young saplings, and my 5 year old tree is just around 4 foot tall. We occasionally drop down to the upper 20's (which I think is close to -2 or -3 C), so I could possibly grow one in the ground with some microclimate adjustments... But I'd prefer not to risk my big tree.
Maybe I'll hit up the box stores after the holidays when the trees go on clearance. Then I can grab a few to experiment with this spring.