When wintering when do you open doors to shed...temps

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.
 
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.
 
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
 
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

Good point...but, something to think about when the temps do start to rise. Thanks all for helping. Don't wish for my trees to get to warm.
 
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 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.

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.
 
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 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.

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...

That's sad to hear, makes me chuckle though when I think of all the shit I had thrown at me for suggesting here that trees that freeze solid die, despite the fact that many here provided links to contradict me that said the same thing ... :confused:

ed
 
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...

Sooooo adding a heater and thermostat! Thanks...not willing to risk the little material I have.
 
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.
 
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.

Yeah...we had temps in the -20's without windchill adding into the mix. Not normal for it to hang for days as it did. The news said it's been 30 years since we had such a cold frigid winter. Farmers almanac is saying another nasty winter. So I need to be prepared. Going to winter protect some yard things as well. I don't wish to replant again next season.
 
I am on the same lines as Coh.My in ground cold frame never falls below 27 degrees F.
I like to see the frosted layer on the tops of the pots.I even had late summer separated maple air layers survive that just fine,they were quite small.
Hey,if you have a heater use it.
Cold as long as possible into the spring is the ticket.
 

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I keep some of my better trees overwintered in a section of my garage. My challenge is also keeping my temps from going too high. I open doors if temp outside is in the low 30s or higher. If I see a good stretch of "warm" winter temps (mid 20s or higher) I take everything outside and leave it all there until I see temps going below the low 20s. I have exposed some of my larger Japanese maple bonsai without any protection to the mid teens with no problem but I would not recommend it. This is a function of knowing your trees well individually and have a sense of what each can handle.

The rest of my trees were buried in mulch. Despite the incredibly frigid winter we had I did not have any problems. Is also true that they had a blanket of snow to further protect them for long periods of time.

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.
 
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
 
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...
 
Even the local nursery said many trees and shrubs didn't stand a chance against our harsh winter. Mature healthy trees died...

Honest a lot of people lost of plants/trees this year in this region. It was a vigorous Winter but it was the sunny spell when thing were buried in snow and the soggy/hot Spring that killed everything and not the cold.

Grimmy
 
I really like to use snow for insulation but will still cover the pots with straw. I see temperatures way lower than 20 degrees. Most of my trees will be outside behind the shed. I live in zone 4. I do have some trees that are zone 5. They will go in the shed because they shouldn't get colder than -20. Mach is so right. If you baby them they may not be as robust as they could be.
We may have a winter as bad as last year and since my trees were out in it last year without a loss they get to enjoy another winter wonderland outside again. Talk about robust!
 
I think the take home message from threads like this should be the following: There are many ways to winter trees. If you're having problems with one method, try another.

Many have success with the mulch/bury in snow method. And that's great. Around here, I've left some trees (mostly nursery stock) outside, mulched/buried in snow. Only to find severe rodent damage in the spring. We live in an agricultural area with lots of open land and lots of mice/voles/rabbits etc. So for me, that is not really an option. I tried placing trees on my barn floor with mulch and also had rodent damage. So for me, the best choice is to place the trees on tables (i.e. off the floor) in a small plastic covered frame shelter inside my barn. Because the pots aren't mulched, I provide supplemental heating to keep temperatures around 27/28 F. And that works very well.

For someone starting out or in a new area, I would recommend against putting all their prized trees outside in mulch...instead would suggest trying with a few trees or maybe nursery stock. Make sure your trees won't be the main course in a winter buffet!
 
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