hi..how are your blooms doing ? this is everything i know about protecting trees from cold ..organic matter at the base puts off alot of heat a thick layer of organic mulch helps..christmas lights do work really well (but the new energy efficient ones wont they dont put off any heat)..if you have a few light bed sheet you might be able to toss over top that would certainly help..there is a thing called a frost blanket for larger trees like yours that arent too hard to find..you could put stakes up around it and drape the sheet over top it that way ? as long as its over top to trap the heat in at night .. you can wrap the trunk but im not sure that would protect your blooms um..you can put gallon jugs with water under the tree and the heat they absorb from the sun during the day they then let off at night..you can mist the trees with water in the evening because as water gets colder it puts off some heat ..there is a foliage spray called frost guard but im not sure whats in it.. i dont use it ..they do use it on fruit trees though..(ive actually heard of people spraying anti freeze on their plants its supposed to work!) next year if you can stop the tree from budding for as long as you can it might help..dont water it much or at all all winter..with hold water prevents budding..putting some ice or icy water at the base of the tree toward the end of the cold season can prevent budding ..the huge orchards hang fans 30 ft in the air to draw warm air down from the upper atmostphere but thats probably not an option um..thats all i got..good luck ! heidi

Yes, Edna, it does smell heavenly. I have a trailing variety in the office, with the big windows, that does well all winter, but it would be nice to have 2 plants, as I do like to cook with rosemary. Tom, it might be happy in the DR for a while, then. I keep several ceiling fans going year round, to keep the air circulating. After your 1st post, I put a cork mat under the pot, in the large bowl. I have in-filled with red pine branches, which look awesome - I have also twirled some gold ribbon through everything. It needs something more, but I am resisting lights- lol!!! Maybe some small red glass ornaments!!! I'll show pics later. Nancy.

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If it's becoming dry it may be too late. Tree rescue attempts would require undecorating, and starting over by sawing another inch off the bottom to get to fresh wood (if there is still some). The inch is the usual recommended amount off the bottom, but if there isn't an extra inch it might be possible to drill into the base (drill up about an inch). Then put it in fresh warm water (make sure the water is in a large container and will hold a gallon or a gallon and a half of water). Let it sop up as much as possible over at least a couple days. If it's still shaggy-looking for a nice tree, it might perk up if left outside as a plainer tree (maybe birdfeeing decorations, ribbons and such). If it perks up, cut off another inch section of trunk and supply the tree with fresh water in its new location. Re-decorate, and cheer (and whatever happens, once the different trunk cuts, and/or drill holes are made fresh make sure the water level is higher in any container because letting it get lower than the fresh wood will cause that fresh wood to seal over and it won't be able to absorb water any more). It may be too late for rescue. In which case there is a lot of information about different tree types, and how to check for freshness and enhance a cut tree's presence from the start. This page address has urban tree tips and links to info about trees, and how well or not they keep their needles in general. http://www.urbantext.uiuc.edu/trees/treecare.html This one has more plain detail and is from Virginia state (most tips would apply anywhere) extension. http://www.ext.vt.edu/pubs/forestry/420-641/420-641.html The next two have 'fireproofing' solutions you can use with your tree. They are more 'feeding' and 'making cut plants last longer better' solutions in practical terms though. They might help trees look better longer (they are essentially giant cut plants and being indoors doesn't generally agree with cut plants). Trees that look better longer are also trees that are less likely to be a fire risk. http://www.rpatrick.com/more/fireproofxmastree/ http://wls.wwco.com/garden/christmastree.html good luck