I collected some hornbeams because they were going to be bulldozed in lieu of the hurricane that wiped out most of the land here in wnc. If anyone has any tips to make sure my trees make it through the winter or the projected probability of success that would be nice. I have John Geneangle on speed dial and has been an amazing help since our introduction. He suggested that I build a box and put my trees in there and then fill the box with mulch to keep them protected from freezing. The box will be placed inside of my polytunnel/greenhouse. Anyone who is well versed in the collection of hornbeam in a less than ideal time of year, it would be nice to get some key information on creating the ideal aftercare would be greatly appreciated. This is the best one that I collected, has quite a bit of fine feeder roots, it has an incredible nebari and a thick trunk, nebari under the soil line measures 8.5 inches and the trunk just above is 3.5 inches. I chopped the tree to about 18 inches. I pray that this tree can send out some buds. I know timing was less than ideal but it was either collect them or let them meet the fate of a dozer. I plan on letting these grow freely for the next 2 growing seasons to build up some energy.
