Wintering my Juniper

[TheAfroKing]

Hello! I am fairly new to bonsai trees and am looking for some advice. I have a Juniper that I've had since about August this year and it has been doing fairly well outside on the patio of my apartment. I just got back from spending Christmas with my in-laws and noticed today that the pot has frozen, it has gotten fairly cold recently so I'm not surprised but am worried that I may have killed it or something. Any suggestions? I don't have a garage or anything like that and obviously can't dig a hole to put it in the ground living in an apartment and figure that bringing it inside will probably shock and kill it, January and February are historically the cold months here so I feel like I should do something but not sure what. Any advice would be helpful, thanks!

 

[TheAfroKing]

Photo if that helps

 

[Orion_metalhead]

What outside locations are possible storage options? I would just keep it outside, and protect from wind. When it's really cold, maybe put a plastic storage tote or two over it to keep the wind off and act as a slight greenhouse to give it some warmth.

 

[TheAfroKing]

What outside locations are possible storage options? I would just keep it outside, and protect from wind. When it's really cold, maybe put a plastic storage tote or two over it to keep the wind off and act as a slight greenhouse to give it some warmth.

No real storage options. Have a back patio and a front porch, both have large overhangs (first floor appartment and the people above have balconies) and are recessed into the building so I'm not too worried about the wind, also not that much wind in general here. I hadn't thought of the plastic tote though, have to try that.

 

[Deep Sea Diver]

A garage could work, but outside is ok for a Juniper.

Tote is good, you might want to put some holes in the bottom for drainage to get rid of water get a bag of medium bark nuggets. Rough sift the nuggets so there aren’t any fines. Then put 1/2 of the nuggets in tote, place the juniper in next, then pack the rest around and on top the pot and media.

If the Juniper is small enough you can toss the cover atop during the really cold spells you guys can get out there.

Be sure to water lightly before and after freezes, if there are any warm spells!

Cheers
DSD sends

 

[leatherback]

I would not worry about it. Junipers do not mind frost.

 

[TheAfroKing]

I would not worry about it. Junipers do not mind frost.

I was mainly concerned about the roots getting too cold with the soil freezing. I read somewhere that they're native to the Himalayas so I wasn't worried about the trunk and branches so much.

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

One big plus is that nursery procumbens junipers are usually not very expensive. So if it doesn't live, you can get a bigger one that you can style yourself for about ten fiddy.
And if it lives, you can also get another one that you can style yourself for about ten fiddy and you can be sure it'll survive the winter.

I see no downsides!

 

[Bonsaidoorguy]

Winter care for my junipers . They don't mind a little cold.

 

[leatherback]

I was mainly concerned about the roots getting too cold with the soil freezing.

Na, no need to worry about it as long as you are seeing just a light frost. When temps drop in the teens (F) I protect them a little more, but in my climate zone that is never than a few days.

 

[TheAfroKing]

Na, no need to worry about it as long as you are seeing just a light frost. When temps drop in the teens (F) I protect them a little more, but in my climate zone that is never than a few days.

It usually gets to the teens pretty consistently here and a week or two with sub zero temps. I put a clear tote on it this morning and by the mid afternoon the pot had defrosted with like a 23 degree temp (f) outside so I'll just have to watch it and make sure it doesn't get to warm.

 

[Colorado]

Junipers can definitely tolerate a frozen container. Good luck!

 

[yashu]

I’m in Maine and my junipers freeze every year with no ill effects. Mine are also buried in snow and most years see several days below 0°F. The only time I’ve lost juniper to winter cold is when they were fall “sale” purchases of trees that were most likely sourced from southern nurseries… and it happens the first winter before they’ve acclimated for a season. Don’t worry about bronzing or the green going drab, wait for spring before giving up on a juniper that looks ailing.

 

[yashu]

All that said, I don’t know about too many freeze thaw cycles. Once they’re frozen it’s been my experience that they’re best left that way until spring does it’s thing.