Dawn redwood winter questions

[Reyesf]

Hello, everyone!
I'm pretty new to the art of bonsai. I tried it in the past when I lived in Hawaii, and killed a few trees and managed to get one to live.
I now live in Idaho, in zone 6b (Completely different than hawaii!). My wife got me a Dawn redwood from brussel's for Christmas, and it got here 2 days ago. That leads me to my questions.

1. I left the tree outside in a shed that gets partial sun, and it is out of the wind. The tree doesn't have any foliage on it, so I assumed it was okay to leave it outside. (But we know what assuming does)
2. Should I slip pot it into a bigger pot? Leave it alone till early spring? It's pretty root bound, however I don't wanna hurt it.
3. If I should/shouldn't slip pot, should I just place it on the ground and cover it in snow?
4. We're gonna be moving into our new home pretty soon, so should I just wait until then to take it out the nursery pot and put it into the ground? If so should I just cover it in snow?

I know it's a lot, but I'm nervous haha. Thanks in advance!

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

Hello, I am in IL, zone 5b and my Metasequoia, dawn redwood, in a plastic training pot (Anderson flat) for winter is just set on the ground. It gets a little mulch, not much, maybe half way up the pot, and stays there all winter. Leafs out in spring no problem.

1. The shed should be fine. As the tree came from Brussel's which is a warmer climate than yours. The shed will provide a little extra protection. The following winter, simply on the ground should suffice in zone 6b.

2. Don't disturb the roots until early spring. Slip potting IS DISTURBING THE ROOTS - DON'T DISTURB THE ROOTS. Slip potting often ends up being as damaging as a full blown repotting. Just let it be until spring, then do a proper repotting.

3. You can leave it in the shed for the winter, if you check occasionally (weekly) to see if it needs water. Or you can set it on the ground outside, and let it get covered with snow. Snow is an excellent insulator, often trees covered in snow are only a few degrees below freezing even when the air temperature is wildly below freezing.

4. I would keep it in a pot until after the move to the new home.

 

[Reyesf]

Hello, I am in IL, zone 5b and my Metasequoia, dawn redwood, in a plastic training pot (Anderson flat) for winter is just set on the ground. It gets a little mulch, not much, maybe half way up the pot, and stays there all winter. Leafs out in spring no problem.

1. The shed should be fine. As the tree came from Brussel's which is a warmer climate than yours. The shed will provide a little extra protection. The following winter, simply on the ground should suffice in zone 6b.

2. Don't disturb the roots until early spring. Slip potting IS DISTURBING THE ROOTS - DON'T DISTURB THE ROOTS. Slip potting often ends up being as damaging as a full blown repotting. Just let it be until spring, then do a proper repotting.

3. You can leave it in the shed for the winter, if you check occasionally (weekly) to see if it needs water. Or you can set it on the ground outside, and let it get covered with snow. Snow is an excellent insulator, often trees covered in snow are only a few degrees below freezing even when the air temperature is wildly below freezing.

4. I would keep it in a pot until after the move to the new home.

Thank you for answering all my questions!

 

[Jrryjms07]

Hello, everyone!
I'm pretty new to the art of bonsai. I tried it in the past when I lived in Hawaii, and killed a few trees and managed to get one to live.
I now live in Idaho, in zone 6b (Completely different than hawaii!). My wife got me a Dawn redwood from brussel's for Christmas, and it got here 2 days ago. That leads me to my questions.

1. I left the tree outside in a shed that gets partial sun, and it is out of the wind. The tree doesn't have any foliage on it, so I assumed it was okay to leave it outside. (But we know what assuming does)
2. Should I slip pot it into a bigger pot? Leave it alone till early spring? It's pretty root bound, however I don't wanna hurt it.
3. If I should/shouldn't slip pot, should I just place it on the ground and cover it in snow?
4. We're gonna be moving into our new home pretty soon, so should I just wait until then to take it out the nursery pot and put it into the ground? If so should I just cover it in snow?

I know it's a lot, but I'm nervous haha. Thanks in advance!

I know this post it a few years old, but I’m hoping you can give me some insight. I live just above you (southern Wisconsin) and I recently purchased a dawn redwood in a plastic pot and I placed that pot in a bigger pot and put mulch around it and covered the pot it’s in.

Would you think it would be ok to leave the tree outside or should I leave it in the garage or basement? Weather for next week is in the 20s..

Any help is appreciated!

 

[Jrryjms07]

Hello, I am in IL, zone 5b and my Metasequoia, dawn redwood, in a plastic training pot (Anderson flat) for winter is just set on the ground. It gets a little mulch, not much, maybe half way up the pot, and stays there all winter. Leafs out in spring no problem.

1. The shed should be fine. As the tree came from Brussel's which is a warmer climate than yours. The shed will provide a little extra protection. The following winter, simply on the ground should suffice in zone 6b.

2. Don't disturb the roots until early spring. Slip potting IS DISTURBING THE ROOTS - DON'T DISTURB THE ROOTS. Slip potting often ends up being as damaging as a full blown repotting. Just let it be until spring, then do a proper repotting.

3. You can leave it in the shed for the winter, if you check occasionally (weekly) to see if it needs water. Or you can set it on the ground outside, and let it get covered with snow. Snow is an excellent insulator, often trees covered in snow are only a few degrees below freezing even when the air temperature is wildly below freezing.

4. I would keep it in a pot until after the move to the new home.

Sorry I didn’t reply to your post:


I know this post it a few years old, but I’m hoping you can give me some insight. I live just above you (southern Wisconsin) and I recently purchased a dawn redwood in a plastic pot and I placed that pot in a bigger pot and put mulch around it and covered the pot it’s in.

Would you think it would be ok to leave the tree outside or should I leave it in the garage or basement? Weather for next week is in the 20s..

Any help is appreciated!

 

[Reyesf]

I know this post it a few years old, but I’m hoping you can give me some insight. I live just above you (southern Wisconsin) and I recently purchased a dawn redwood in a plastic pot and I placed that pot in a bigger pot and put mulch around it and covered the pot it’s in.

Would you think it would be ok to leave the tree outside or should I leave it in the garage or basement? Weather for next week is in the 20s..

Any help is appreciated!

Hey! I put mine in a big 20ish gallon pot and just left it outside! I put plenty of snow on it, and around it and ignored it, that’s what I’ve been doing and it’s worked so far haha

 

[Jrryjms07]

Hey! I put mine in a big 20ish gallon pot and just left it outside! I put plenty of snow on it, and around it and ignored it, that’s what I’ve been doing and it’s worked so far haha

Awesome! That’s great to hear! I’m just paranoid since I think the tree came from GA and I know it’s probably not the right time (Wi Winter) to be picking one up. Haha.

I just don’t want to kill it by not taking the time to research and figure out where to store it or how to care for it during winter.

 

[Reyesf]

Awesome! That’s great to hear! I’m just paranoid since I think the tree came from GA and I know it’s probably not the right time (Wi Winter) to be picking one up. Haha.

I just don’t want to kill it by not taking the time to research and figure out where to store it or how to care for it during winter.

Actually now that you reminded me, I did keep mine out of the wind, and in a shaded shed, with plenty of mulch the first year. It was a Christmas present, and that was my main concern as well haha moving it from GA to ID

 

[LittleDingus]

I know this post it a few years old, but I’m hoping you can give me some insight. I live just above you (southern Wisconsin) and I recently purchased a dawn redwood in a plastic pot and I placed that pot in a bigger pot and put mulch around it and covered the pot it’s in.

Would you think it would be ok to leave the tree outside or should I leave it in the garage or basement? Weather for next week is in the 20s..

Any help is appreciated!

The only times I've killed dawn redwoods over winter is when they were in a pot and dried out in the winds. They are dormant in the winter but they can still dry out too much. The harsh northern winds...especially when temps are sub-0F can desiccate them pretty well. If they don't have some access to some moisture, they die. Well, mine did

Now I make sure to water them every couple of weeks if they are in pots and there is no snow cover. The neighbors stare at the idiot watering his trees in the winter But I haven't lost a tree over winter since I started that practice.

Note that in ground or heeled in in a pot will likely keep enough moisture around for them to be fine. I've only had problems with my trees in pots sitting out in the open.

 

[Jrryjms07]

The only times I've killed dawn redwoods over winter is when they were in a pot and dried out in the winds. They are dormant in the winter but they can still dry out too much. The harsh northern winds...especially when temps are sub-0F can desiccate them pretty well. If they don't have some access to some moisture, they die. Well, mine did

Now I make sure to water them every couple of weeks if they are in pots and there is no snow cover. The neighbors stare at the idiot watering his trees in the winter But I haven't lost a tree over winter since I started that practice.

Note that in ground or heeled in in a pot will likely keep enough moisture around for them to be fine. I've only had problems with my trees in pots sitting out in the open.

Thank you for the tips! I feel more confident now hearing about the care for the tree. All I’ve read was about warmer zones.

 

[Dav4]

Awesome! That’s great to hear! I’m just paranoid since I think the tree came from GA and I know it’s probably not the right time (Wi Winter) to be picking one up. Haha.

I just don’t want to kill it by not taking the time to research and figure out where to store it or how to care for it during winter.

If this tree JUST came from GA, I wouldn't subject it to anything close to late February Wisconsin weather right now. I'd keep it somewhere cool/cold but prevent hard freezes until next fall.

 

[Japonicus]

All I’ve read was about warmer zones.

That's more pertinent to the Coast Redwood - Sequoia sempervirens.

 

[Jrryjms07]

If this tree JUST came from GA, I wouldn't subject it to anything close to late February Wisconsin weather right now. I'd keep it somewhere cool/cold but prevent hard freezes until next fall.

Would you think storing it my garage (closer to the door to the house vs the garage door itself) would be ideal until spring? It’s 50degrees and sunny today (wow right?!) but windy and I have it out side out of the wind.
But we’re supposed to go back in the 20s tomorrow. It’s still in the nursery pot it came with and placed it in a larger pot with mulch pretty much to the top so the roots are covered.

should I move it to the garage or leave it up front?

 

[Dav4]

Would you think storing it my garage (closer to the door to the house vs the garage door itself) would be ideal until spring? It’s 50degrees and sunny today (wow right?!) but windy and I have it out side out of the wind.
But we’re supposed to go back in the 20s tomorrow. It’s still in the nursery pot it came with and placed it in a larger pot with mulch pretty much to the top so the roots are covered.

should I move it to the garage or leave it up front?

Trees are waking up in GA, but I'll assume that's not the case in WI. You want this one to stay dormant as long as possible... that means keeping it as cold as possible without allowing it to freeze solid. Direct sun during the day will warm the soil and hasten bud break, which is something you don't want right now with sub freezing temps in your future for another few months. I'd put it in the coldest spot in your garage for now. Temps in the low 30's F are fine. Make sure to water as needed. Once it starts pushing buds, it'll need that sun. Good luck.

 

[Jrryjms07]

Trees are waking up in GA, but I'll assume that's not the case in WI. You want this one to stay dormant as long as possible... that means keeping it as cold as possible without allowing it to freeze solid. Direct sun during the day will warm the soil and hasten bud break, which is something you don't want right now with sub freezing temps in your future for another few months. I'd put it in the coldest spot in your garage for now. Temps in the low 30's F are fine. Make sure to water as needed. Once it starts pushing buds, it'll need that sun. Good luck.

Noted thank you very much!

back in the garage it goes. Haha

 

[LittleDingus]

Notes thank you very much!

back in the garage it goes. Haha

Keep an eye on it though!

I winter some of mine in the garage too. Garages can warm up earlier than outside and trigger the tree to bud out. Then you get weak spindly growth due to lack of light. Once your garage starts reaching low 60F, they are likely better off outside.

 

[Jrryjms07]

Keep an eye on it though!

I winter some of mine in the garage too. Garages can warm up earlier than outside and trigger the tree to bud out. Then you get weak spindly growth due to lack of light. Once your garage starts reaching low 60F, they are likely better off outside.

Will do!

 

[LittleDingus]

Will do!

Hehe...heeded my own advice and took a close look at some of the deciduous trees I have in the garage: the mume are pushing leaves (too young to flower) and a few of the maple are swelling buds.

I'm moving next week and have been staging some things in the garage in preparation. I guess some of the trees will need to stage outside! I'm moving a zone north so not ready for them to wake up just yet!