Brian Van Fleet
Pretty Fly for a Bonsai Guy
Well, it happened. Much pomp and some circumstance. Here are some shots from our annual snow in Birmingham. Share your show-covered bonsai too!
My trees stay on the benches all winter long as a rule. They go on the ground if it's going to fall into the mid teens...and they get a poor man's mulching of oak leaves if it's going to fall into the single digits and stay below freezing for an extended period...I never bother mulching the big pots, though.Beautiful...thanks for sharing...curious...how cold did your temps go down to? Pots outside in the elements without being mulched in...and snow boggles my mind. Though we had -22F without wind chill figured in this winter...I just have to ask...at what point is there cause for alarm?
My trees stay on the benches all winter long as a rule. They go on the ground if it's going to fall into the mid teens...and they get a poor man's mulching of oak leaves if it's going to fall into the single digits and stay below freezing for an extended period...I never bother mulching the big pots, though.
I only have one wife, and she's here safe...Beautiful pics you guys!
Have all of your wives made it home safe?... this year
Mine stay out all year too. If it gets down to around 20, I may move trees in nice pots to the garage to prevent cracking.Beautiful...thanks for sharing...curious...how cold did your temps go down to? Pots outside in the elements without being mulched in...and snow boggles my mind. Though we had -22F without wind chill figured in this winter...I just have to ask...at what point is there cause for alarm?
That was Dave's wife.lol!!
I couldn't remember whose wife got snowed in at work for several days last year.
Mine stay out all year too.
Mine stay out all year too. If it gets down to around 20, I may move trees in nice pots to the garage to prevent cracking.
Below 15 and I'll bring in trees I've wired in the fall.
White pines, red pines, spruce, junipers, and natives will not get protection.
That would be mine...she made me a bagel sandwich for breakfast todaylol!!
I couldn't remember whose wife got snowed in at work for several days last year.
It's not so absolute. But, normally, I am far more concerned with pots breaking than trees dying in my climate.So...if they don't have nice pots they sit where they always have...with no winter protection...in a pot. At 15F they are still safe of the kill zone factor I keep reading about? Interesting...
There's no hard and fast temp that will kill roots across the board. A few things to understand- just because it says 15 F on the thermometer doesn't mean that is the temp of your roots...everything in the pot needs to cool down to that temp before the roots get there...and water releases heat as it freezes, so it usually takes a while. Placing the pots on the ground will keep them from getting too cold, because the ground really doesn't get much colder then 32 F, even up north. Finally, different species have different cold tolerances...a Japanese maple would likely suffer root damage if its root temps ever did fall into the mid teens, but a healthy juniper wouldn't mind at all. Oh, yeah, one more thing...good pots can handle frost so there's no need to protect them...unless they're very old and hard to replace. The trees I showed are all in good pots...frozen solid.So...if they don't have nice pots they sit where they always have...with no winter protection...in a pot. At 15F they are still safe of the kill zone factor I keep reading about? Interesting...