Overwintering in Barn

[yalearch]

To All:

Does anyone have experience overwintering their Bonsai in a barn?

And when I say barn .....I mean, a real barn with horses [4] and a few other animals.[Assume a large separate area is already in place within the barn adjacent to the animals and the measurable heat they generate?

In Chicago our winters are, as many know, very cold. -10F to -15 is not uncommon occasionally as the evening low temperature.

The barn environment is not heated at all and is ventilated, however the Owners are not aware of the actual temperatures inside during very cold spells.

My somewhat desperate hope, not having anywhere to store 100+ trees this winter, is that the environment which protects these horses, while not optimal for Bonsai, is warm enough.....meaning +10F as the low.[I realize that even this is very risky for certain trees.]

I would appreciate any input from those with barns and Bonsai.

Best regards,

D/D
Chicago

 

[JudyB]

what kind of trees?

Most of the answer to your question depends on what trees you are storing. The rest of it depends on how warm that barn stays. Livestock may generate some heat, but it doesn't really radiate to fill a barn, it stays close to the animal. So unless you've got some neat little bonsai saddles to put on the cows and horses, I don't think that this alone will do too much for you. How about some heat mats? That can give you root protection, and probably do more for temps than a cow 20' away...

 

[coh]

I stored a bunch of my trees in my unheated (and pretty well ventilated) barn last winter here in western NY. I built a small enclosure using 1x2's and 2 layers of plastic. Inside I used a thermostatically controlled space heater to maintain a minimum temperature of about 27-28 F. Everything came through just fine. One thing to possibly be concerned with (as I found out) in a barn is the presence of mice and/or voles, which can do a lot of damage to trees in a short period of time. Traps and bait kept them at bay though I did have some damage before I put them out.

Chris

 

[Dav4]

I used to overwinter my trees in an unattached garage...stick a horse in it and it's a barn. Anyway, the benefit of using an outbuilding like a barn to overwinter trees, assuming they're hardy or close to hardy in Chicago, is that it keeps the wind and sun off your trees while they are dormant and frozen solid, hopefully. The slightly warmer temps are a secondary benefit, but less important, imo. I would suggest finding an appropriate place within the barn where you can place your potted trees on the floor/ground. Fitting them tightly together, you then want to cover the pots, from the sides up and over the top and up to but not touching the trunks, with mulch...I preferred the wood chips I could get for free from the local tree services. Water them in, set some traps for mice, and you're done. They won't need more then a few waterings through the winter as they'll freeze by late December and stay that way until March or April...you can apply newly fallen snow to the mulch that will "water" the trees as it melts. For me, in zone 6 MA, Thanksgiving weekend (when night time temps were falling into the low 20's F) was usually when I'd put them to bed. Hope this helps,

Dave

PS Temps in my garage occasionally fell below 10F...never had a cold related casualty.