Venturing out of my comfort zone

[LanceMac10]

Yes!!!! Crab Apple!!!!

Had some fungus when I got it, but cleared it up with some Daconil if I recall. One of the few trees that I'll spray routinely in early spring as a preventative. You can see it here.....and a little visitor!


Oopps....still navigating the new photo posting method!

 

[LanceMac10]

You can see the leaves are pretty "milky" looking.

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

Hi Carol,
Did you ever set up a couple inexpensive thermometers to see how cold in cold weather and warm in not so cold weather your garage actually gets? This weekend might be your ''last chance'' for 2017-2018 winter to find out how much warmer than outside your garage actually stays. In about a week, weather is supposed to warm again.

For all new to bonsai, knowing the temperature range of your winter storage is really helpful in planning what you can grow.

I winter my 2 crab apples by setting them on the ground, under a bench, no added protection from outdoor temperatures. They are in nursery pots, 2 gallon and 5 gallon. So they do have some thermal mass, but after a week of below zero, I am certain the roots are below zero. 5 years now, through -17 F (roughly -35 C) they have done well. In a fancy ceramic bonsai pot, I would protect them, more to protect the pot than to protect the tree.

As I think about it, of all my flowering trees, the crab apples have been very reliable, blooming every year, even though they are ''just'' in early phases of training. Really a good dependable bloomer.

Leo

 

[Carol 83]

View attachment 177223Yes!!!! Crab Apple!!!! View attachment 177222

Had some fungus when I got it, but cleared it up with some Daconil if I recall. One of the few trees that I'll spray routinely in early spring as a preventative. You can see it here.....and a little visitor!


Oopps....still navigating the new photo posting method!

That's a beauty. We had a really big one that color beside our driveway, that got destroyed in a storm a few years back. Definitely going on my list!

 

[Carol 83]

Hi Carol,
Did you ever set up a couple inexpensive thermometers to see how cold in cold weather and warm in not so cold weather your garage actually gets? This weekend might be your ''last chance'' for 2017-2018 winter to find out how much warmer than outside your garage actually stays. In about a week, weather is supposed to warm again.

For all new to bonsai, knowing the temperature range of your winter storage is really helpful in planning what you can grow.

I winter my 2 crab apples by setting them on the ground, under a bench, no added protection from outdoor temperatures. They are in nursery pots, 2 gallon and 5 gallon. So they do have some thermal mass, but after a week of below zero, I am certain the roots are below zero. 5 years now, through -17 F (roughly -35 C) they have done well. In a fancy ceramic bonsai pot, I would protect them, more to protect the pot than to protect the tree.

As I think about it, of all my flowering trees, the crab apples have been very reliable, blooming every year, even though they are ''just'' in early phases of training. Really a good dependable bloomer.

Leo

I did, and it seems like it's about 15 to 20 degrees warmer in the garage. I did move everything to the attic when we had that two week stretch of single digit or below weather. I was hoping you might see this thread and have some suggestions, as you are familiar with the weather here. I have a crab in the yard that blooms prolifically, as well as the pear, plum and cherry trees.

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

Great, I am very glad you did pick up the thermometers. You can now keep trees in the garage with confidence and know, rather than guess when it is time to move to the attic. Excellent.

You know now that you can keep just about any tree that needs a dormant rest but might not be hardy in your area. Great. The only limit is your shelf space in the garage.

Coming up, as weather warms, the challenge will be keeping the garage under 40F as long as possible. Opening the garage door to cool it down will soon be on the schedule. But with the thermometers, you don't have to guess when it would be best to open a door or window and cool off the garage.

 

[Carol 83]

Great, I am very glad you did pick up the thermometers. You can now keep trees in the garage with confidence and know, rather than guess when it is time to move to the attic. Excellent.

You know now that you can keep just about any tree that needs a dormant rest but might not be hardy in your area. Great. The only limit is your shelf space in the garage.

Coming up, as weather warms, the challenge will be keeping the garage under 40F as long as possible. Opening the garage door to cool it down will soon be on the schedule. But with the thermometers, you don't have to guess when it would be best to open a door or window and cool off the garage.

Many thanks to you and @GrimLore for your overwintering advice, hopefully something makes it out of the garage alive. Hurry up spring!