winter care iowa juniper

[amcoffeegirl]

I need to make a choice on how i will protect my trees this winter. Unheated detached garage with no windows, mulch into window well, plant in ground, plant in pot in ground or try to build a cold frame??? i am very nervous this is my first winter with prebonsai. i dont know what i would do if i had a real bonsai. mine are still in nursery gallon pots but i have done root pruning when i bought them. what will work in des moines iowa area? probably same weather as chicago. my bonsai club here said they cant take alot of wind and planted in the ground the rabbits might eat them. Im stuck and dont know what course to take.

 

[JudyB]

I hope that someone in your area can help you with this, what does the club in your area suggest you do? I would look at burying the pots in the soil in a shady, wind protected spot, and create a hardware cloth cage to go around them to foil your rabbits...
Other than that, I'd do the unheated garage. Unless you get super cold temps, they'll do ok in there.

 

[Paradox]

For junipers, its best to allow them to experience some cold weather so they go into dormancy properly. I usually leave mine out until it gets below freezing then move them into my unheated garage. Note however if it is an attached garage, different areas are warmer than others. In mine, its always warmer at the back of the garage that shares a wall with the inside of the house than near the door of the garage. Last winter it was too warm a lot of the time which got me worried about the trees getting enough cold.

 

[Vance Wood]

Junipers are like revenge; best served up cold. Most Junipers, commonly used in bonsai, prefer cold winters. I put mine into a location where their exposure to the sun is minimal and I mulch around them to keep them frozen as long as possible. If you start bringing them under shelter you will probably start losing trees. The original posting has what I assume is an area code of 515 making it an Iowa area code. If you do what has been suggested you should get along fine. The problem is not so much how cold it gets in winter but the warm weather that sometimes preceedes spring which can cause plants in pots to break dormancy early enough to start the sap flowing, damaging the cambium layer. It is therefore suggested that the tree maintaines a frozen state as long as possible. In a sentance; You want to keep the tree cold and not warm.

 

[amcoffeegirl]

I have talked to my mother who owns the home where I keep my bonsai. I will be mulching them into her window well. She loves my little trees also. I think this will be the best option. It is a north side location. I hope they will do well as I've grow fond of them already.

 

[Fangorn]

I've been overwintering my junipers and pines in a unheated shed in mulch for years now and I haven't ever lost a tree. I moved them to the shed after discovering one spring that mice had been happily devouring the bark of some my trees under that nice covering of snow.
The shed gives them protection from the wind and the mulch works great at keeping the pots at a even cold temperature through freezes and spring thaws. Like Vance says this is a big help when it starts warming up
They also should be OK in the window well under some mulch and the only thing I would add is some kind cover so you can be the one that controls how much moisture they get and will add a bit more protection

 

[amcoffeegirl]

I hesitate at adding a cover because I don't want to create a greenhouse effect. It is under an eave of the house if that helps. I guess I could set a bench over it. Now I'm scared animals will get them. Grr

 

[JudyB]

That is why I suggested burying outside, and also placing a hardware cloth (it's small mesh wire fence type stuff) as a sort of cage around it.
just an idea...

 

[coh]

I think the major risk with leaving them outside mulched with leaves is the critters. I've had several plants severely damaged by voles during the winter. Last winter I wrapped the trunks and didn't have any damage, but whether that is cause and effect is unknown. I do live in a somewhat rural area with farmland all around, so we have lots of rodents - it may not be that much of a problem where you are.

If you have room in the garage, you could build a little shelter within the garage to keep the temperature more stable.

Chris

 

[DaveV]

Hi amcoffeegirl, I lived in Iowa (West Central) for 15 years and now in eastern Nebraska. I have several junipers and other bonsai and all do well over the winter. I do keep mine in an attached garage. Do you have an attached garage? I must say that I have a Dawn Redwood grown from a seedling that I had outside in an Anderson flat on the ground until February. It was -14F several nights. The tree is still alive and in the ground now here in NE.

 

[amcoffeegirl]

I think the cage is a good idea. I live in the city but I do know what chicken wire is. Lol. I'm sure voles are abundant in the city too. Along with other critters. I don't know how to do wraps or what you use to wrap it. I thought about the garage it just feels like without light and moisture I'm gonna fail. It's a hard concept that these will live without light for months. I know if they're dormant they don't need it. It's my first winter I might fail. But I'm gonna try it. Thank you folks for your experiences and knowledge.

 

[amcoffeegirl]

Dave I do not have an attached garage. I have an unattached garage with no windows. My bonsai club said the attached garage would be best. Unattached might work. I could even bury them in bigger pots with mulch in there. Do you think inside is better?

 

[Fangorn]

I hesitate at adding a cover because I don't want to create a greenhouse effect. It is under an eave of the house if that helps. I guess I could set a bench over it. Now I'm scared animals will get them. Grr

Sorry, I should have been more clear, when I said cover I meant something like a board or something to keep the rain off it, the bench could work. I agree that you don't want anything like a piece of plastic.
Like coh, even with two cats we have lots of voles here and they are brutal in the winter when they have the cover of snow. Judy's idea about something like a hardware cloth sounds like a good one and would help me not to worry about those pesky critters so much
For my trees in the shed I get a plastic tarp and make a simple frame out of boards on edge. If you have only a few trees you can use anything that will be big and deep enough to put the containers in and able to cover the pots with a few inches of mulch (I buy a bag or two of cedar mulch from home depot) I'll put a couple of inches on the bottom than put my trees in and put mulch around and over the pots. The mulch also helps hold the moisture in so you don't have to worry about them drying out, but I do check them a couple times during the winter. I think with a little extra protection from critters you could do the same thing in the window well

 

[DaveV]

I know a guy here in Nebraska that keeps all of his trees in a portable greenhouse all winter long. I also know some people that use a space heater in there outdoor portable greenhouse that goes on when it drops below a certain temp. It seems to work for them. Your trees including junipers do not need light while in dormancy. The soil should be well draining and they should not dry out. I water my trees about evey two weeks. One thing to remember, since you are just starting out in bonsai you will probably loose some trees. You will learn a lot each year and over the years you will learn what it takes to keep them alive. Sounds hard, but thats the truth - unless you have an experienced bonsai grower with you. There are some experienced grown in your area. There are some in Indianola, Des Moines and Ames. The clud will be helpfull to you. I did not belong to the club because of distance (western iowa) but I know some of them and they will be helpful to you.

 

[amcoffeegirl]

I could do the same thing in the garage if you guys think that's better. At what temps do you lock up your trees? Do you wait until 33 degrees then move them inside? I will definitely mulch them either way. Now the only question is inside or outside?

 

[amcoffeegirl]

Yes the club was very cool. They suggested either garage if attached would best. I guess the garage will still be ok. I just thought if it snowed then covering them in snow would be best outside. But I don't know if it's going to snow a lot.

 

[cmeg1]

I am liking the detatched garage.I like it cause' you said garage and not shed.They will not freeze to death.As long as it is below 36 degrees they can be in complete darkness.If the garage is merely wood and small or raised off of ground it can get below 15 dgrees in there (killing freeze).Now if your garage is larger and on dirt or on foundation of sorts it has better chance of staying with only light freeze of say 29 F and above cause' of ground warmth.I have read in Chan's book that juniper do not need protection until temp is forcast to fall below 14 degreesF.I like to err on side of caution and keep with only light freezes.If the garage raises above 36 degrees you need to bring out in light, then put away at night.Voles and mice will get your trees possibly under snow if you keep them buried,especially if mulched in,they girdle the small trees.

 

[cmeg1]

I could do the same thing in the garage if you guys think that's better. At what temps do you lock up your trees? Do you wait until 33 degrees then move them inside? I will definitely mulch them either way. Now the only question is inside or outside?

Trees do not photosythesize below about 36 degrees F or so.I always put my pines in when predicted to fall below freezing.I always bring them out of darkness if above 36 cause I have a small collection.You would not want them trying to photosynthesize in the dark(ideally).

 

[davetree]

I winter my trees in my garage. I keep the temps above 25 degrees with a space heater and thermostat. They really won't become active until the temps are above 45 for a while. No need to bring anything outside at 36 degrees. The garage also keeps my trees cool when we get a warm spell. I also shovel snow onto my trees in my garage as it is a great insulator and will water the trees as it slowly melts.

 

[amcoffeegirl]

Yes thanks I will do the garage and hope my favorites make it.