First Tree

[StLouisIX]

Picked up my first actual tree after planting a bunch of seeds; a 3-5 year old juniper that came in from CA.

I am in SE MI so at the beginning of the winter season.

I am concerned about putting it outside and shocking it to death with the climate difference (16 degrees F as I write).

Advice on care, watering, pruning until spring when I think I can safely move it outdoors?

 

[penumbra]

Tough call right now with your climate and what appears to be new growth. One thing is certain, it will decline and die if kept inside.

 

[StLouisIX]

Tough call right now with your climate and what appears to be new growth. One thing is certain, it will decline and die if kept inside.

What about taking it outside during daylight hours and bringing it in overnight to avoid the hard cold?

 

[Kodama]

Hmmm...do you have an unheated garage with a window?

 

[rockm]

What about taking it outside during daylight hours and bringing it in overnight to avoid the hard cold?

If it were mine, I would keep it inside this winter and let it limp along then get it out in the spring. Juniper are quite hardy in cold temps however this was probably grown in a greenhouse as most mass market bonsai are. As your instincts tell you a plunge into extremes could significantly weaken it or kill it as it has had no time to prepare for that cold.

Inside it faces similar hardship of environmental conditions that aren’t very friendly as well. Your left in a difficult position.

Also moving it around inside and out will add to the stress as the tree constantly tries to readjust to very different environments (even if it does warm up outside in daylight). Plants don’t like moving around. They’re by definition stationary. Choose one location in or out and stick with it

 

[Orion_metalhead]

Id look for a stretch where temps outside are in the 40's or 50's during the day and not below freezing during the night, and get it outside for that period. If its going to drop in temps below freezing, Id move it in just for that time. Once you see bronzing of the foliage, you can leave it outside.

 

[rockm]

I would not rely on spotty temps in a stretch. One of the other.

 

[Dav4]

It was 8 F in my backyard in SE MI yesterday morning. It’s warming up but it’ll get cold again… and colder. Your best bet is a cold but well lit window inside until late April. After that, it should stay outside year round. I did this successfully with my first bonsai almost 30 years ago.