How do you store trees in Winter?

M. Frary

Bonsai Godzilla
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Leo in N E Illinois

The Professor
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I have 3 groups of trees, each wintered separately.

Sub-tropicals - these are zone 8 or 9 and warmer species. Eugenia, Malpighia, Ficus, these get moved into the under lights set up with the orchids.

Zone 6 & 7 trees, the not quite hardy stuff - I am lucky enough to have under my back yard patio a room that was originally the well house. Beneath the patio it is some 48 inches tall and roughly 6 feet by 5 feet in size. I have to hunker down in there, but there is a fair amount of room. It stays at or above freezing except in the very coldest of winters. In extreme cold the coldest I measured was +25 F (-4 C) while it was -25 F below zero (-32 F). Bamboo in pots, JBP, JM, Chaenomeles, any hardy tree in a nice bonsai pot, hinoki any tree that was late summer or autumn repotted, bald cypress, all go in there. As I get older, the more I try to thin out the numbers I have to schlep into the basement, then hunch over and duck to put into the well house. Well house has a fan I leave on to recirculate air as it is very humid in there. Fan is left on 24/7. First year without a fan all kinds of issues with mould and rots. Only problem is in spring, as the soil temperature warms, the well house warms about a week or two too early. It will go above +40 F (+4 C) about two weeks before the last average frost date. Japanese maples especially will burst into growth while still in the well house. This creates a problem, usually have to prune off any weak growth that occurred in the dark well house.

3rd group - These are becoming a larger part of my collection. The ''let 'em lay where they grew" group. Amur maple, Amelanchier, Jack pine, Larch, Bittersweet, Siberian elm, American elm, Ostrya virginiana, highbush blueberries. bur oak, Pinus nigra, several different spruce, crab apple, and a number of other native to my area trees, all get left out with no protection from the cold. Some I will set in the shade under benches, many, just sit in the sun, exactly where they grew all summer. I am (un)lucky enough as a city dweller to have a bunch of feral cats and dogs and coyotes in the area, that I don't have trouble with rabbits, voles, mice or other bark eating vermin during the winter. At least so far. I do recognize that they could be a problem. I really like working with native or fully winter hardy trees. So much easier on my poor aging back.

Yep, I getting more and more Darwinian in my approach to bonsai. If you can't take a Chicago winter, you can't live in my yard.
 

wireme

Masterpiece
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Looks like V.C. protection to me.

For three things basically.
1- keep away the V.C.!
2- insurance against the chance of extreme early cold prior to snow cover. (It’s got an insulated lid to throw on).
3- protection from snowpress breakage and restyling. Once I get two or three feet of snow in there I’ll throw the lid on.

Of the three things snow damage is most likely, pretty much guarantee to have some issues with that every single year if trees are put away thoughtlessly. Rodent damage second most likely, may or may not happen without protection but you know how bad worst case can be!
Temperature control has actually been my least concern over the years, one year was bad, other than that, temps have hardly ever noticeably hurt my trees.
 

Underdog

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Yep, I getting more and more Darwinian in my approach to bonsai. If you can't take a Chicago winter, you can't live in my yard.
I'm trying to get that inventory. I quit buying anything zone 6 or weaker but now I have to quit propagating too.
I'm building a bench yet this fall along the North side of my house for some protection under.IMG_20181012_172924292.jpgIMG_20181012_172904876.jpg
 

j evans

Omono
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Dig a hole, set on hole, cover about 3 - 4 inches with mulch and wait.
 
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