First year overwintering - redwoods, junipers, boxwood

MiniSempervirens

Seedling
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Location
Raleigh, NC
USDA Zone
8a
Hi all, this was my first growing season and it was incredible. I had some really good success with my trees, now my worry is making sure they survive the winter. I'm in USDA zone 8a. Winters don't get particularly cold, but they do get into the 20s pretty often for a couple months. I have enough trees of substantial enough size that I want to avoid moving them in and out of my garage frequently. Especially since the number of trees I have will be growing substantially in the coming years (assuming I don't kill these).

I have two junipers I think I will just keep where they are. I worry a bit about them, especially since one is in a pond basket, but not much.

My biggest worry is for my Coastal Redwood and Giant Sequoia. These are not frost hardy, so should really be prevented from freezing. Most days of the winter, that will be easy enough. I've also got a kingsville boxwood and a number of seedlings that should probably be protected.

My backyard faces east and gets a ton of direct morning sun in the winter, so I'm considering waiting until the leaves fall, then moving my more vulnerable trees to the North side of my house and creating a sort of leaves blanket covering them up to the top of their containers so I can still water occasionally. I definitely want to protect them from cold winds and keep the roots from dropping below freezing for long. The north side of my house is unfortunately outside of my fence, so there would be some worry about pets or others getting into it, but I think it would be fine.

I'd appreciate any input or advice. I'd be devastated if my trees dies this winter, so I want to be as prepared as possible.
 

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You don't need to worry about your sequoia or junipers or redwoods. The tallest tree in Switzerland is a giant sequoia and check out all the coast redwood growing in Wilson, NC just east of Raleigh. Since moving to NC 5 years ago I have never protected any of my conifers during the winter and they have all done fine.

The only trees you need to keep an eye on are semi tropicals or Mediterranean species like olives or cork oaks.
 
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