Dave E
Shohin
this is what i woke to this morning-this is sleet not snow. like i said 30's and 40's are predicted from here on.so i'm feeling good
Warm winter wreaking havoc...Chinese Quince
- Thread starter jeremy_norbury
- Start date
GrimLore
Bonsai Nut alumnus... we miss you
Our nights have been cool enough that once everything had a few light frosts the larger stuff has stayed dormant. I had to cover several sets of garden bulbs with another 4 inches of mulch a few days back but they were the only things other then roses that "think" it was Spring. On a brighter note the nights and days should be cooling off over the next several days -
I still do not miss the snow, probably because I have nothing to really loose this year
Grimmy
I still do not miss the snow, probably because I have nothing to really loose this year
Grimmy
This is a real problem. Ice--shade(N side)--keep outside.Today I saw a cherry tree in FULL BLOOM in the Japanese garden at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston!!
I moved my Larch into my front stairway in a giant stockpot along with some ice. It's colder there than it was outside today.
lieuz
Chumono
I guess we can all breathe a sigh of relief...for now....
Nybonsai12
Masterpiece
i have a contorted japanese quince in the ground that is flowering and a toyo nishiki starting to push leaves. I would think it's better to leave them rather than dig up and try to protect. They are pretty well established in the ground and I figure even if they do have some dieback they would probably bounce back during the growing season, right?
I have an amur maple that is in a pot in the ground. That one the other day had buds swelling. I have to check but I'm going to assume they are now almost opening. If thats the case, I assume it will die back with any hard freezes from now to spring, right?? I had planned a spring repot, should i do it now if buds are opening and then keep above freezing until spring?
This is all very frustrating. Every year I get taught a new painful lesson, whether it's bugs, fungus or my own poor techniques. I guess this year i will learn that weather can push you around any time it wants. Mother nature don't care about your plans! or your plants!
I have an amur maple that is in a pot in the ground. That one the other day had buds swelling. I have to check but I'm going to assume they are now almost opening. If thats the case, I assume it will die back with any hard freezes from now to spring, right?? I had planned a spring repot, should i do it now if buds are opening and then keep above freezing until spring?
This is all very frustrating. Every year I get taught a new painful lesson, whether it's bugs, fungus or my own poor techniques. I guess this year i will learn that weather can push you around any time it wants. Mother nature don't care about your plans! or your plants!
Giga
Masterpiece
This might be the last day, then down to freezing at the end of the week
ColinFraser
Masterpiece
Haha, #FirstWorldProblems
MACH5
Imperial Masterpiece
NY do not repot the amur. Just let it be and let nature take its course. You may get some die back but amurs are very vigorous and your tree is likely to fill in quickly. Keep it in a cool spot ie. away from sunny locations until the spring.
Nybonsai12
Masterpiece
You're the man Serg. thanks for the input and I will not repot. Thankfully the other maples seem quiet for now. Can't wait til spring!
thumblessprimate1
Masterpiece
My Amur had a branch pop up in November, and now it's over 8 inches. Looked around the base the other day, and I see that I have a bunch of buds popping up 
One even has some green on it. Grow baby, grow!
One even has some green on it. Grow baby, grow!
Dav4
Drop Branch Murphy
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I've got a contorted quince in a pot on my bench that's been flowering for 2 + weeks. I've let it freeze solid after flowering in the past and it's survived, though it was slowed up a bit a few years ago. My plan is to leave it on the bench unless it's supposed to get below the upper 20's F. It'll go on the ground then. Quinces are very cold hardy, so yours in the ground will be fine.
M. Frary
Bonsai Godzilla
We got a foot of snow last night. Perfect!
I never checked to see if anything started budding or opening buds.
Nothing to do about it anyway.
Compared to other people it seems like I don't care but I've learned to only worry about the things I can fix. Weather isn't one of them.
I never checked to see if anything started budding or opening buds.
Nothing to do about it anyway.
Compared to other people it seems like I don't care but I've learned to only worry about the things I can fix. Weather isn't one of them.
pitchpine
Mame
Yeah, it's definitely cold enough that I don't have to worry about premature budding anymore! Now it's the 14 degree low forecast for next week that will be a problem. I'm in a new apartment this year and no longer have a basement bulkhead to overwinter my trees in....
Paradox
Marine Bonsologist
It was 70 on Christmas and 50-60 all week. Went down to mid 30s last two nights.
Tomorrow night will be 26 and Monday night is predicted to drop to 17....
I am really not happy with Mother nature right now.
Going to bring in the D trees tomorrow and at least one of my JBP for a couple of days.
Tomorrow night will be 26 and Monday night is predicted to drop to 17....
I am really not happy with Mother nature right now.
Going to bring in the D trees tomorrow and at least one of my JBP for a couple of days.
JudyB
Queen of the Nuts
You should be very happy right now. Your trees need dormancy, this is a blessing for you, know it or not. Unless you only keep sub-temperate trees, you would want these temps to keep your trees from starting to break dormancy and leaf out in the middle of winter. If you'd like a more detailed explanation of this, please let us know what questions you have.
J
Paradox
Marine Bonsologist
I know they need dormancy. I understand how it works. Im not happy that it has been mid 50s at night and day temps in the 60s and up to 70 a week ago. The temps this week have been 40s at night and 50s-60 during the day. The temps are predicted to be <30 and <20 the next few nights and it wont reach 40 again until Wednesday. We havent seen temps below 35-40 in almost a month.
I am concerned that they may have started coming out of dormancy (although I havent seen any leaves yet) and now are going to get blasted with below freezing for a few days instead of the gradual cooling they experienced in November and the beginning of December.
The day time temps for Monday and Tuesday are predicted to be below 30. Pretty big drop in a week and Im hoping it wont be too much of a shock to kill them.
http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClic...2.57567956515902&site=all&smap=1#.Vohp4vkrJhF
Last edited:
Paradox
Marine Bonsologist
So tell me, should I just leave them all out and hope for the best or should I protect the least hardy ones?
Dav4
Drop Branch Murphy
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Provide significant protection for the ones that are showing signs of breaking dormancy. The ones that appear to still be dormant should be treated accordingly, meaning protect as usual.
coh
Imperial Masterpiece
I don't know what kinds or how many trees you have, but I'd err on the side of caution. We've just had the warmest December on record (+12 to +14 F, amazing) and this is going to be a sudden, very sharp cold snap. You want your trees to get cold enough to further the dormancy process, but not cold enough to damage them if they're not ready for it.
Up here, it's been just cold enough (though we also had the warmest December ever recorded) and all the trees are in protected areas, so I'm looking forward to getting some decent cold. Good luck down there!
JudyB
Queen of the Nuts
I always advocate on the safe side of protection for sure. I'm just really happy to be getting the cold instead of the too warm temps. I had not thought about the sharp drop in temps, as it's still only getting down into the high 20's here, which really (in the big picture) isn't terribly cold for winter in the mid-west. We will see some teens in a few days, but briefly.
Here's a question - Do trees really react to temp. range drops like that, or is it just minimum temps that they react badly to? I guess I always thought it was minimum temperatures that cause problems.
Of course all bets are off if the tree is not dormant. I just assume that if the leaves have fallen, then the tree is dormant until the buds start to move.
Here's a question - Do trees really react to temp. range drops like that, or is it just minimum temps that they react badly to? I guess I always thought it was minimum temperatures that cause problems.
Of course all bets are off if the tree is not dormant. I just assume that if the leaves have fallen, then the tree is dormant until the buds start to move.
