Lars Grimm
Chumono
This is really the heart of it. Don't be overzealous in trying to protect trees from temperatures that are normal for them. Save these extra measures for plants that are in a cooler zone than they are used to or plants from cuttings or layers that are not quite ready for the real world. Everything else leave outside. Mulching or a frost blanket at the most is more than sufficient and many plants can just stay on the bench all winter if suited to your zone. The only thing in my coldframe are new young maples from the west coast, and borderline plants like crepe myrtle. My coldframe is never closed unless it is going to be in the lower twenty's or below. It is wide open the rest of the time. It is also in the shade.
This all makes sense and I appreciate the candid feedback from everyone. I think the hesitation I feel, and I know others feel, is that it is hard to test the limits. You can try to scale back watering or tweak fertilizer and see the results, but if you don't give appropriate winter protection you won't know for potentially months and the tree might completely die or lose all its leaves. In my well intentioned efforts I think I have definitely over coddled some of my trees.
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