Winter Storage for Japanese Maples in 6B?

[remist17]

I have never had a winter with my maples out of the ground. Can you tell me what the best way to store my maplese over winter?

I was thinking on doing the following:
Place the trees under the table
put straw around the pots and ontop of the pots leaving the tree trunk exposed.
Put up some plastic on the sout and north sides to cut down on the wind keeping the sides and top open.

am I heading in the correct direction.

 

[0soyoung]

Since you have succeeded with your JMs in the ground, why not just burry the pots in the ground for the winter? You only need to be sure that the ground drains well so the pot doesn't turn into a swimming pool.

 

[Alex DeRuiter]

I used to bury potted trees in the ground and never had any issues, but this definitely gets old after a while.

Do you have an unheated garage? For the last couple years I've just been putting all my trees in my garage (which seem to be common practice) and haven't had any cold-related casualties.

 

[remist17]

I really did not want to dig holes again for the 20 pots thats why I was hoping to just mulch them in. I do not have a unheated garage that has any light coming in. So I guess I need to plan on digging some holes for the maples. The junipers are staying on the ground

If anyone else has suggestions please post.

 

[Alex DeRuiter]

If I'm not misinterpreting your last post, it seems like you're concerned about enough light wherever the pots will be. Light won't be an issue, especially with dormant deciduous trees. You can keep them in a cold (cold enough to keep them dormant), dark room for the while winter and they'd be fine.

 

[mcpesq817]

Yeah, I've overwintered my trees in a detached unheated garage for years and have not had any problems. There is a tiny window, but for all practical purposes, not much light gets into the garage. I've overwintered both deciduous and conifers in there without issue.

 

[remist17]

The only thing I have is a unheated livestock barn. Do I need to cover in mulch?
Can I make a raised bed with dirt and sink the pots in the the bed?

 

[sfhellwig]

I live in Zone 6 and have overwintered my JM seedlings for a few years now. I have built structures out of palettes and 2x4s to make shade structures to protect them in the heat of summer. In the winter I then just mulch between the pots and wrap the structure in clear plastic. They have been fine but these are regular 1 gallon pots, not bonsai pots. Shouldn't be too much different. The plastic is really more to save from wind burn and absolute low temps. Two issues: 1) You'll have to keep an eye on watering. Being blocked in they get no snow. I have seen people suggest that when it does snow, just open them up and toss a few shovels full in and close them back up. Some years it is just cold and we don't get much moisture so I guess this year I will have to fill up the watering can inside and watch them better. 2) Breaking dormancy early. I use clear plastic because I can't find white plastic. When winter is ending and it does start to warm, an enclosed plastic box will heat up fast. Then the trees start to wake while you still have to worry about late frost. I think your open design would help with this and still provide wind protection. If you go with a closed design just be prepared to open them earlier than expected or provide a venting mechanism.

 

[remist17]

My thoughts are to take the bench I have. About 8 ft long and sits 4 ft high.
Take the pots / boxes and place them directly on the ground. use straw/ mulch and fill in between the pots and on top of them. Then take plastic 6 mil and wrap 3 ft up the bench on three sides. Leaving the south side and top open. I am hoping this will prevent the wind from bothering the plants and allowing for rain/snow to come in on the pots and the south facing side to allow for "air" movement.

I may be just crazy and lazy.

It sounds like most are recomending just sinking the pots. Its really rocky at my place and can be a real pain to dig. But I dont want to loose a tree due to my laziness.

 

[Paradox]

I am in the same zone or close to it depending on what zone map you look at.

I overwintered my trees (maples included) in my unheated garage. Of course with last winter, not being cold enough was a bigger issue. I plan on doing the same this year.

To save yourself some work, Id say the unheated stock barn should be fine as long as it does provide protection from wind, snow and severe freezing.

 

[JudyB]

I use clear plastic because I can't find white plastic.

There is paint that you can use to coat your plastic white...

Google greenhouse shade paint. There are plenty of products for plastic listed. There is even one that turns clear when it gets rain, to give you more transparency when it's cloudy, and turns wet when it dries, to provide shade when it's sunny. I know that you don't need that for winter storage, but I thought that was pretty cool....

 

[Dav4]

Around Thanksgiving, or when night time temps are falling into the low 20's,
put them in the barn, on the floor up against the wall, mulch them in, water them well, and you are done. Let them freeze solid, place snow on the mulched pots when available, maybe some mice traps on the mulch. Move them out in April or when the mulch thaws.