Winter IS coming, start preparing

Paradox

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Well for those of us in the Northern regions where we arent dealing with hurricanes from hell (at least not yet), winter is coming and will be here in a couple/few short months.

September 1st is always my trigger to start preparing my winter quarters for all my trees.
Here is a list of things I do over September and October.

Clean the trays my tropicals go into and make sure their winter space in the basement is clean and ready to just bring them in when it becomes necessary.
Make sure their lights are working and bulbs still good.

Start clean the garage space where the shelves for the trees go. Lots of stuff accumulated over the summer because of projects I started or bought stuff for and havent finished, summer time activities/hobbies and well, its empty space and empty space cant stay empty.
Once that stuff has been put away, Ill pull everything (the shelves, the wagon I use to carry the trees back and forth) out and sweep the floor of dust, dirt, leaves etc

Clean and put away any pots that are still hanging out outside under the benches.

Check on the cold frame, spray some RoundUp for the weeds that started to grow in there over the summer.
Cover it up to keep more weeds from growing and keep falling leaves and acorns out of there.
I have some rodents that burrowed in under the wall and have some tunnels in there. Deal with them.
Make sure the wood covers that go over the cold frame are all still in good shape and if they need painting, do that.
 

Okkiedokki

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Ok so I have a winter prep question, I live in central Ohio and have a few smaller and young pines and spruces, and a few 1 year old Fuji apple trees, would moving them into the garage under grow lights for the winter help protect them from the cold? Or are they ok to leave outside all winter?
 

Paradox

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Temperate trees do not need light in the winter. They are dormant. Deciduous trees lose their leaves and cant really use light anyway. Pines and junipers do fine in the dark all winter.
My trees are either in the garage in very dark conditions or in my cold frame where it is completely dark.

You need to protect them from the cold and wind. An unheated garage that stays at or below 40 degrees is fine.
They will still need to be watered but much less than during the growing season.
Monitor them and water them when they need it same as in the summer, when the soil is almost dry.
 

Okkiedokki

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Ok cool, that's what I was reading. Thanks
 

petegreg

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Just dealing with a question...
My winter hardy trees (well, most of them) spend every winter mulched in the soil in garden. But how to mulch a cascading tree? Here in my vicinity one garden centre put all their potted trees on their side and that's it. Any other ideas? No way to leave it in any building/garage. My mother is laying with a broken vertebra, she only was lifting a watering can when it happened...
 

Paradox

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Sorry about your mom... sounds painful

As for the cascading tree... thats a tough one. For that one I would maybe put it on top of a cement block that is lying on its side then build a fence around it with fence posts and garden wire mesh like chicken wire. Then I would fill that up with leaves. It would be best to do this against the north or east side of your house if possible. Put the cement block right up against the house and put the tree on it with the cascading part away from the house. It would give the tree a bit more wind protection and it would get a little warmth off the foundation of the house.
 

petegreg

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Sorry about your mom... sounds painful

As for the cascading tree... thats a tough one. For that one I would maybe put it on top of a cement block that is lying on its side then build a fence around it with fence posts and garden wire mesh like chicken wire. Then I would fill that up with leaves. It would be best to do this against the north or east side of your house if possible. Put the cement block right up against the house and put the tree on it with the cascading part away from the house. It would give the tree a bit more wind protection and it would get a little warmth off the foundation of the house.
Thank you, yes it's really painful, a serious case of osteoporosis, she's a doctor and knows it all.
And thanks for your advice, sounds doable. Some more details - the tree is Juniperus horizontalis and it's still in a nursery pot & soil. Another choice is to keep it with my JBPs and JWPs. Outside on a balcony out of the Sun and wind and if it gets really cold, just shuffle them into and out of a cold room.
 

TyroTinker

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I have a winter prep question- should I wear SPF 15 or 30 when I go outside to water in November and it is 76 and sunny?
It all depends on so many factors. ;) But in MY case with MY situation it boils down
Love of tan vs fear of cancer :eek:
My best bet is a SPF no less than 60 (I'm very pale) but up to SPF 100 depending on the weather and how long I'll be in the sun... o_O:cool:
 
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sparklemotion

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The only non-hardy tree that I have to deal with is a fuschia hanging basket that I might try to find a decent mame trunk or two on next year.

Would it be totally crazy for me to keep it in my beer kegerator? When I built it I thought that I would be doing a lot more lagering, but it turns out that I am an Ale kinda girl. So there's a lot of empty space. And I keep it at about 40F anyways...
 

Nybonsai12

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It all depends on so many factors. ;) But in MY case with MY situation it boils down
Love of tan vs fear of cancer :eek:
My best bet is a SPF no less than 60 (I'm very pale) but up to SPF 100 depending on the weather and how long I'll be in the sun... o_O:cool:

When it comes to sunscreen I have a saying. Don't be hasty, keep it pasty.

And this talk of winter is frightening. I'm not ready to discuss it. I'm still hoping for some growth on some tree over the next few weeks.
 

TyroTinker

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When it comes to sunscreen I have a saying. Don't be hasty, keep it pasty.

And this talk of winter is frightening. I'm not ready to discuss it. I'm still hoping for some growth on some tree over the next few weeks.
Nice saying a may have to borrow that.

As for winter I'm not ready either. I have my first airlayer that I haven't separated yet. And it's also entered in the mame contest... not sure if I can wait any longer before I separate it. ... so nervous...
 

BigBen

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Well for those of us in the Northern regions where we arent dealing with hurricanes from hell (at least not yet), winter is coming and will be here in a couple/few short months...
September 1st is always my trigger to start preparing my winter quarters for all my trees.
Here is a list of things I do over September and October...

Thank you for starting this thread.
I'm also on LI in Centereach, and you've confirmed some of what I was wondering too.
Was thinking about building a cold frame but I don't have any tropicals, just Wisteria, Cotoneaster, small Oak, Birch, Boxwood (SO FAR, anyway) LOL...

The smaller trees will go in the garage (surrounding the Hot-Rods).

I'll probably mulch the Wisteria pots in a corner of the property. They're going in 10-15 gallon pots.
I went to Brookhaven Eco-Center yesterday and loaded-up some compost, and I'll slip-pot the Wisteria to let the trunks thicken over the next few years.

Actually, come to think of it...
I guess can even put all of the plants into my enclosed car trailer???
Would that be OK, as long as I water them when they need it?
It's get as cold as heck in there, but they'll be protected from the elements.


Thanks Again,
BigBen
 
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GrimLore

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So far most of the preparation here has been cleaning out, disinfecting, and an "in general" touch up of the plant room.

Brought in all the tiny desert types after quarantine outside with an antifungal and insect treatment(precautionary).

Cleaned a lot of trays outside and stored that I use on lower shelves to protect plants from dirt and fungal problems when the rain hit the ground.

Ran and checked all the indoor lighting for a week, replaced bulbs as needed, adjusted timers, etc...

Transferred Quince cuttings from a "cutting pot" to individual bulb pots - here it is the proper time for Quince as well as back seeding the lawn.

All of my pots(Bonsai) have been in storage since 2015 except for a few trainers making pot cleanup and storage a breeze again this year.

Located, cleaned, and organized all tools, stored what won't be used for the Winter while keeping a handful in the Plant room for occasional Winter use - amazing how long that took :p

To do;

Organize shed and a spot for a few plants this Winter along with a quick lighting setup.

Clear space out front after Halloween Decorations come down for some Fruit trees against the house, Quince and Rhododendron - they Winter far better out front then out back.

Cut back, treat, and bring in all Tropicals, Sub-tropicals as needed and move inside. To early for that here right now.

Cut back all the Fruit Trees and Elms after leaf drop, Usually late November here.

Shut down and drain outdoor water sources.

Copy and Paste this post to a notepad txt file so I remember and add as needed :p

Grimmy
 

coh

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What is this winter you speak of? We're in the middle of our longest stretch of "summer" weather this season. Temps have been reaching the low 80s with lots of sun...it's the summer we never had, in September! Great stuff.
 

GrimLore

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What is this winter you speak of? We're in the middle of our longest stretch of "summer" weather this season. Temps have been reaching the low 80s with lots of sun...it's the summer we never had, in September! Great stuff.

Actually it is still nice daily here but usually by Thanksgiving everything comes in depending on the plant. Thing is prepping the room, shed, etc... I spend a small amount of time earlier to not be rushed later ;)

Grimmy
 

coh

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Actually it is still nice daily here but usually by Thanksgiving everything comes in depending on the plant. Thing is prepping the room, shed, etc... I spend a small amount of time earlier to not be rushed later ;)

Grimmy
You mean you don't wait to prep the shed until the day the plants need to come in, like the rest of us?
 
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