Amccour, aside from how you treat the trunks, remember the Norfolk Island Pine is a tree that should be given space to grow. In a few years if you feel your ceiling is preventing it going up any futher, cutting it back at the top stops it growing....forever. Try to remove minimally any side branches because this is the beauty of the tree. Norfolk Island Pine is a living Christmas Tree...but don't consider putting tree lights on it. Tenderly hanging light decorations and tinsel is OK. Norfolk Island Pine is also a tree that must be kept a houseplant unless you reside in zone 9 or 10....and 9 can be iffy. Actually, some people say the best place to grow a Norfolk Island Pine.......is on Norfolk Island in the South Pacific. Your plant should be allowed to dry down somewhat between waterings and it will use a lot less water now when the sun is at its lowest. It will not appreciate too cold of water...so letting it sit overnight to gain room temperature is recommended. And don't let the branches touch the cold window glass. And water should not be from a well that is treated. As long as it is receiving light from a southern or western exposure it should do fine. Senga, you mention your room where you have your N.I.P. has a humidity level of 60 - 70%..... Is this by way of measurement of a hygrometer or just an estimate of what you think it is. The way I figure such a high level as that I suspect the walls and windows must be running down with moisture drops constantly. Thirty-five to forty percent is a common level of a home with a furnace on recording a temperature of 65 - 70º I'm just curious why you would have such a high humidity in a room. How do you attain such humidity. It speaks of running a humidifier to reach such level. Does this not cause problems of many sorts from other rooms as well.

some people have them growing in the 'yards' here, and they do very well, to a certain age/height....they cover them with old bed sheets when temps go down to freezing...but after they get big to cover...well, heartbreak happens

NIP is an extremely popular houseplant and will typically do quite well inside the average home. II find it very difficult to believe that you found a lot of websites claiming it to be difficult to grow inside...because it isn't! If your home became exceedingly dry over the winter, that would pose a problem for your plants as well as you. Humidifiers can make life a bit better for all. Also be sure that the plant is situated away from drafts and heat vents. However, if lack of humidity was the real problem, I think that the needles would drop fairly quickly. I'll suggest that your little plant might be infested with the primary pest of NIPs, spider mites. They are probably the number one reason for the browning of the needles. So, have you seen any signs of spider mites? Another possibility is that it wasn't watered properly (too much, too little), or over fertilized. As with all containerized plants, we have to find the right balance of light, water, and other factors. If I were you, I'd do all that I could to raise the humidity in the room where the NIP is. Misting does nothing to help with this problem, other than keeping the dust off (a good thing) and perhaps helping control mites, if they are present.

In the early 2000's I got to go to Big Pine Key (Fla. Keys) with a freind of mine, and I saw a few NIP's growing quite impressively near my friends RV, they grow thin but tall when in ground in the semi-tropics, well, Maybe I should say "tropics" because down in the Fla Keys it doesn't usually get any colder than about 55-65 F in the worst of winter. But, anyhow, the Norfolk IS. Pines will grow much different when in the ground and a place where they won't be damaged by cold temps. Potted NIP's indoors will have the needles pretty much hanging downwards, but, when grown in the ground in a pretty warm area, the branches have needled growth that sticks upward, it is such a different form of growth, but, I assume that the upper growing foliage is likley the best way for the tree to grow. It's just so strange when you see the difference in the trees growth form, but, yes, you can grow the NIP indoors in winter, but, unless you get it used to more sun gradually, you could sun scald your NIP tree. They are usually all over the place in winter, Wal-Mart has them everywhere every winter, unless they have decided to not put many of them on display, maybe they are not as plenty-ful now? But, I know that many houseplants have a hard time living indoors all winter. I have tried and failed to keep NIP's happy for several winters in my home, but, maybe someone out there will be able to supply enough sun and moisture for their potted NIP. Good luck guys.