Hinoki waking up way to early

[TrunkTickler]

I'm in zone 5b - lower ontario, Canada
We are currently having above average tempertures, 5 C today.


My hinoki thinks its spring, I know this can be bad for dorment plants. Any suggestions? I should have taken it out of my shed during this warm spell we are currently having, maybe I put it it in to early.

 

[Cadillactaste]

I wonder if you have a thermometer with an alarm to allow you to know when to open doors and windows. An enclosed building on a warm day can become warmer than outside. My doors are open currently.

 

[M. Frary]

Should have been outside the whole time.
On the ground mulched in on the north side of the shed protected from wind.
I would put it there now and wait until spring to see what happens.
They're tougher than they look.

 

[TN_Jim]

Should have been outside the whole time.
On the ground mulched in on the north side of the shed protected from wind.
I would put it there now and wait until spring to see what happens.
They're tougher than they look.

They can look like some weak ass trees when not opened up to the sunlight and the inner foliage naturally dies, and folks at landscaping nursery’s sell them for dirt cheap in fall because they look sick and ugly...

why didn’t I buy that one!!?...probably a safe bet a lot of landscapers won’t know again next year for same reason

 

[TrunkTickler]

Should have been outside the whole time.
On the ground mulched in on the north side of the shed protected from wind.
I would put it there now and wait until spring to see what happens.
They're tougher than they look.

So I should just leaving it outside and hope for the best in spring now? Is the new growth likely to die? Will the tree die?

 

[Myka]

Hello from "out west"!! I'm happy to see a few Canadians here.

I'm not familiar with the tree you have, but if it makes you feel any better, we're having the same weird weather here, and I've been noticing buds popping on many of our native trees (we have 80 acres of land). The Cottonwood that's near our yard has big fat buds right now. The cedars look like your Hinoki. My "bonsai" hardy pines are all potted and buried in the ground on the west side of the house (I'm zone 3 so I want them to wake up early in the spring), and they're all awake right now too. I've had this happen before, and the new growth that's popping out right now dies back for me (keep in mind my trees will be subject to -35C in a few weeks). They seem to bounce back in spring no problem. I just nip off the dead growth. My "bonsai" trees are all rough stock in nursery pots right now though, so that probably keeps them a bit hardier than if they were in bonsai pots. I haven't tried to outdoor winter a bonsai potted tree yet. So far, it has worked out like natural ramification, and I hven't lost any trees.

 

[M. Frary]

Will the tree die?

It might.
It might not.
Unless you want to take it in and out every day.
Is it worth it?
That's up to you.
Myself,I would put it out and cross my fingers.
I dont baby trees anymore.
If you have to baby trees they usually arent thriving anyway.
Just surviving.

 

[Vance Wood]

So I should just leaving it outside and hope for the best in spring now? Is the new growth likely to die? Will the tree die?

Not any more than the new growth from last year. It really doesn't matter because there is nothing you can do other than kill the tree quicker. Putting the tree into a warm environment will cause full blown wide awake and growing in a situation probably more dangerous that just putting it into shelter as has been suggested and let the climate get into spring.

 

[coh]

I'm curious, what kind of shed (how large, what is it made of, etc) and what kinds of temps do you get in there when the sun is out? Does it heat up a lot?

My hinoki spends the winter in the garage (attached unheated/uninsulated) and our climate isn't much different than yours. It is happily dormant, even though I put it out in the sun when we had a couple of mild days (50 F+) recently.

 

[Myka]

It is happily dormant, even though I put it out in the sun when we had a couple of mild days (50 F+) recently.

Sorry for my ignorance, why would you do this?

 

[coh]

Sorry for my ignorance, why would you do this?

Main reason was I had to clean my wintering area - the plants had to get shoved in there in November during the early cold wave and I didn't have time to properly
prepare the space. So the trees went outside for a couple of days while I did that.

I also believe that evergreens do benefit from light during the winter, if they're not frozen solid. Ideally I'd like to have a cold greenhouse where I could keep
them, but I don't - so they spend most of the winter in the dark. I don't know if those couple of days of sun really make any difference, but it wasn't warm enough
for long enough to break dormancy and I figured why not?