Cadillactaste
Neagari Gal
Curious since the cold isn't a factor but heat is. What temperature has you opening doors? Trying to shoot for ideal temp. Ballpark.
In my mind the goal is to keep from thawing, then refreezing, over and over. That's why I mulch everything to keep it frozen. I'd work to keep it about 25-30F.
What he said, word for word. The real test comes in February when the sun is climbing higher in the sky and the days are getting longer.
Of course you guys realize that OP is from Ohio, not as moderate temps as the southern states. There is also a big difference between central Ohio and northern Ohio as far as temps, snow etc. goes. I know that February does not see much change or at least enough to worry about waking them up here in central Ohio and its usually less moderate the further north you go.
ed
I did realize she is in OH, but I think my statement is for anyone anywhere, except for the actual temps. If a bit lower, not too important. The idea is to keep stuff from thawing, and hopefully not getting much below 20F. Dave was eluding to the crunch time when temps begin rising, and we all battle keeping trees from thawing, knowing that temps will undoubtedly fall again before they go up and stay up.Of course you guys realize that OP is from Ohio, not as moderate temps as the southern states. There is also a big difference between central Ohio and northern Ohio as far as temps, snow etc. goes. I know that February does not see much change or at least enough to worry about waking them up here in central Ohio and its usually less moderate the further north you go.
ed
I did realize she is in OH, but I think my statement is for anyone anywhere, except for the actual temps. If a bit lower, not too important. The idea is to keep stuff from thawing, and hopefully not getting much below 20F. Dave was eluding to the crunch time when temps begin rising, and we all battle keeping trees from thawing, knowing that temps will undoubtedly fall again before they go up and stay up.
I really dont know if there is a magic number of certain death. I suspect it differs from one variety to another. And also likely is that many can withstand a sharp dip for a brief period, but many more will suffer from prolonged sub-20s temps. What they need for dormancy, I think, is about 6 weeks of low temps, above which the tree will break dormancy. I generally equate that with 35-40F. Here in Maryland, we will generally see temps start to dive around December. I keep my trees in the shade until Mid-March or later, mulched, and protected from the wind. When the roots freeze is when my mulch goes in, the hope being they dont thaw until St. Patty's day.So...below 20F is bad? Good mental note. Pondering of mine will need totes and mulch. Or...go with a thermostat that will allow my setting it low...like 25F for a heater to kick on.
I copied my wintering approach from Bill Valavanis, i.e. space heater hooked up to a thermostat to keep temps at 27/28 F or above. Seems to have worked for him for many years. Some trees can easily tolerate much lower temps but no one knows exactly what the limit is. A tree may tolerate 20 F one winter, but perhaps is a little weaker the next year and 20 F kills it. It's not worth the risk to me.So...below 20F is bad? Good mental note. Pondering of mine will need totes and mulch. Or...go with a thermostat that will allow my setting it low...like 25F for a heater to kick on.
I copied my wintering approach from Bill Valavanis, i.e. space heater hooked up to a thermostat to keep temps at 27/28 F or above. Seems to have worked for him for many years. Some trees can easily tolerate much lower temps but no one knows exactly what the limit is. A tree may tolerate 20 F one winter, but perhaps is a little weaker the next year and 20 F kills it. It's not worth the risk to me.
Bill mentioned recently that a couple of long time club members lost their black pines this winter. They had kept the trees in the same storage area for years, but this winter was just cold enough apparently. Lots of people on the various forums lost trees this winter. I didn't lose any...
I copied my wintering approach from Bill Valavanis, i.e. space heater hooked up to a thermostat to keep temps at 27/28 F or above. Seems to have worked for him for many years. Some trees can easily tolerate much lower temps but no one knows exactly what the limit is. A tree may tolerate 20 F one winter, but perhaps is a little weaker the next year and 20 F kills it. It's not worth the risk to me.
Bill mentioned recently that a couple of long time club members lost their black pines this winter. They had kept the trees in the same storage area for years, but this winter was just cold enough apparently. Lots of people on the various forums lost trees this winter. I didn't lose any...
So...below 20F is bad? Good mental note. Pondering of mine will need totes and mulch. Or...go with a thermostat that will allow my setting it low...like 25F for a heater to kick on.
If these are temperate trees that don't mind cold winters, AND you mulch the pots/root zone, they can easily survive temps below 20 F. I over wintered trees in my garage in MA for a decade and never lost one during that time. Though not as cold as Ohio, we sometimes experienced winter cold where night time outside temps fell to around -10 F repeatedly for a week and the temps in the garage were in the single digits.
Whatever anyone does, my advice is to not baby your trees too much either specially if you live in the northern hemisphere. Within reason, healthy trees need to be exposed to the elements. I believe this makes for stronger and more robust trees in the long term.
Honest that whole description is well described and written. I live not far from there(NJ) and the same rules apply here for everything that needs wintering as it did when I lived in NY. I messed up this past season when we moved but would normally and will this year follow the same venue.
Grimmy
Even the local nursery said many trees and shrubs didn't stand a chance against our harsh winter. Mature healthy trees died...