Ideas on over wintering a cascading juniper.

[Javaman4373]

I have a juniper in a cascade pot and the cascade branch extends below the base of the pot. So It is not possible to bury this pot in the ground for the winter. I have kept junipers indoors in the winter in a south facing window successfully before, so that is one possibility. I also use a setup in a cool basement (50-55F) with grow lights for some trees in the winter. Namely my air layer yew did well with that setup. We are starting to get light frosts now at ground level. Any alternative ideas will be welcome.

 

[Colorado]

I have a juniper in a cascade pot and the cascade branch extends below the base of the pot. So It is not possible to bury this pot in the ground for the winter. I have kept junipers indoors in the winter in a south facing window successfully before, so that is one possibility. I also use a setup in a cool basement (50-55F) with grow lights for some trees in the winter. Namely my air layer yew did well with that setup. We are starting to get light frosts now at ground level. Any alternative ideas will be welcome.

What I do for my small cascade, is just place into a slightly larger pot and fill in the space between the two pots with pumice. Then it can just be set on the ground like any other tree.

 

[WNC Bonsai]

One winter I put my cascade juniper on a tree stump and it did fine. I also left it on a garden wall one time but then I am pretty far south of you. This year it grew a bit longer so I am not sure what I will do with it.

 

[Potawatomi13]

This is procumbens?

 

[Stormwater]

I plant mine, pot and all, at an angle in my grow bed . Add moss if I need to keep soil from falling out. Pain to water though .

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

I found all juniper species are winter hardy in my 5b climate. The only question is whether your pot will survive the freeze thaw cycling. If your tree is growing in a mostly inorganic media, for example pumice, or pumice and akadama blend, then the media should have plenty of air voids for ice to expand into when media freezes. If your media is fine particles, coir or peat, bark and surface and other fine particles that hold a lot of water, when the media freezes, the expanding ice can break pots. (potting soil is particularly bad, known for breaking pots)

Note, wide shallow pots, even with coarse media can break because water settles in the bottom, these need to be propped at a slight angle to drain better.