pro nana winter?

[amcoffeegirl]

This is my first outdoor bonsai? i know its only july but this little tree already has my heart. i bought this tree for $4 at home depot and over trimmed it but it recovered nicely and is growing well. i was wondering since i am in iowa should i put this tree in the ground for the winter leave it in the pot and put mulch around it? or is a pot it pot system above ground ok? It is still growing in its nursery pot but i did unpot it and comb the roots out, trimmed them and put it back. so is it ok to place this pot in a much larger pot with mulch in between the pots or is a hole in the ground safer then root covered with mulch?

 

[amcoffeegirl]

When i bought this tree i had over heard a couple talking about bonsai's they were asking if they sold already styled bonsai trees. i told them to just go pick one out and style it themselves...they laughed at me and said oh right mr miagi..i got the last laugh because i did go get one and i love it even more than if someone had styled it for me. One more question.. will i water the tree in winter? its very cold and snowy here so i dont know if its good to water with a chance it may just freeze. do you only water if its above 35 degrees? if its 15 degrees for 3 mths will the tree live without water?

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

It won't need water very often if it's frozen solid. When I lived in Iowa, I built a cold frame with plywood and fitted it around a basement window well. I mulched the trees into the window well, and they froze, but were protected from the wind. That way too, if it got really cold, and/or buried under a snowdrift, I could open the window from the basement and check on them.

Friends who still live there will winter their trees in the garage. A couple serious bonsai buddies have 18' of south-facing windows and a heater that keeps the garage at 38. After a few frosts, the trees go in the garage from early November to early April. I just moved south!

 

[amcoffeegirl]

i dont know what i will do with this in the future and i dont even know if i made the right cuts.

i hope this will turn in to something and not just look like a miniature bush.

its my first real try at pruning