Overwintering Tiny Pocomokes

Carol 83

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I picked up three little pocomokes this spring, and I mean little. I have pretty much read everything here and on the internet about overwintering them. One source said they can be brought inside if provided with temps between 45-54, which I cannot do. I read suggestions here that say pocomokes' are more sensitive to the cold than other crapes. My beautyberry and crabs did fine in the garage last year. I also have a regular size crape in a pot, that I think will be OK, but I'm a little concerned about these little guys. Also, here I read as long as they are at 28 degrees or above they will be OK. But that may not be possible in the detached garage, depending on the winter we get. A heat mat is not really an option either. Just looking for a little guidance, before the weather gets cold. I would appreciate any suggestions. Do you think the styrofoam cooler set-up is good enough for some really little guys @Leo in N E Illinois ?
 

penumbra

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Carol, I keep all my CM and some of my young maples in an unheated cold from next to the house with no problem.
 

JefeW

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You can grow crape myrtles in Illinois?? I hope it goes well.
 

Japonicus

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Not sure why a heat mat is not an option, but know that you can buy a small portable plug in
GFCI and I know our alarm system has a smart smoke/O2 detector that will automatically call the fire dept.
if it goes off. I do not have a smart home, will not have one, my smoke detector...just the alarm Co, no google
or Alexa to be hacked here.
 

Carol 83

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Carol, I keep all my CM and some of my young maples in an unheated cold from next to the house with no problem.
In a room or garage, or outside? I didn't quite understand.
 

Carol 83

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You can grow crape myrtles in Illinois?? I hope it goes well.
I have some in the landscape, but they are large bushes. And they are always the last thing in the yard to wake up in the spring.
 

penumbra

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In a room or garage, or outside? I didn't quite understand.
An outdoors cold frame. It can be as simple as a few bales of straw and a piece of plastic, or it can be in ground with window sash and an auto opener. I have one I bought on Amazon, cold frame and an opener less than $100. Also bought a hoop tunnel with fleece covering for about $20 -$30.
Pocomoke is listed as zone 6.
 

Leo in N E Illinois

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Probably best on a window sill in a south or east window, like you did with your first azalea. Small plants in small pots on heat mats can dry out very, very quickly.

The cooler in the garage might work except for the serious cold spells.

I think you only have to get below 50 F for Crepe Myrtle. So the window sill in the house may be cool enough. Like a gardenia, they don't really need a lot of cold.

But I don't have any crepe myrtle, so others that do have crepe myrtle are the ones you should listen to.
 

Carol 83

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Not sure why a heat mat is not an option, but know that you can buy a small portable plug in
GFCI and I know our alarm system has a smart smoke/O2 detector that will automatically call the fire dept.
if it goes off. I do not have a smart home, will not have one, my smoke detector...just the alarm Co, no google
or Alexa to be hacked here.
My husband is a little OCD, not sure he'd like a heat mat plugged in the garage.
 

penumbra

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Carol, remember that you want this plant to go dormant. You don't want it inside a window, especially one with southern exposure. Your garage may be cool enough. I will conitinue to keep mine under a hoop or in a cold frame outside.
 

Carol 83

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Probably best on a window sill in a south or east window, like you did with your first azalea. Small plants in small pots on heat mats can dry out very, very quickly.

The cooler in the garage might work except for the serious cold spells.

I think you only have to get below 50 F for Crepe Myrtle. So the window sill in the house may be cool enough. Like a gardenia, they don't really need a lot of cold.

But I don't have any crepe myrtle, so others that do have crepe myrtle are the ones you should listen to.
Don't they need a dormant period?
An outdoors cold frame. It can be as simple as a few bales of straw and a piece of plastic, or it can be in ground with window sash and an auto opener. I have one I bought on Amazon, cold frame and an opener less than $100. Also bought a hoop tunnel with fleece covering for about $20 -$30.
Pocomoke is listed as zone 6.
Thanks, I appreciate it. But the squirrels are already getting frisky and digging in my pots. They chewed the crap out of a couple jades, I think if I left them outside, they wouldn't last long.
 

penumbra

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Thanks, I appreciate it. But the squirrels are already getting frisky and digging in my pots. They chewed the crap out of a couple jades, I think if I left them outside, they wouldn't last long.
They can't get to them if in a hoop or a cold frame.
 

Carol 83

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My crapes were always fine into the 20's don't know if that helps or not...
It does, thanks. The garage is generally not colder than that, depending on the winter. But it has been colder than that. :(
 

Carol 83

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They can't get to them if in a hoop or a cold frame.
Just a little background. I started exclusively with tropical, sub-tropical trees. I got a little brave with a couple crabs and a beautyberry, in the garage. They did fine. Baby steps.;)
 

Leo in N E Illinois

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Way back, I knew a woman that wintered her crepe myrtle in a shop that never got colder than about 50 F. They seemed to be fine. They didn't "wake up" until spring. That is why I suggested that they are more tolerant of sub-tropical winter than one might think.

But I never raised them myself, so I don't "know".
 

JefeW

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Way back, I knew a woman that wintered her crepe myrtle in a shop that never got colder than about 50 F. They seemed to be fine. They didn't "wake up" until spring. That is why I suggested that they are more tolerant of sub-tropical winter than one might think.

But I never raised them myself, so I don't "know".

They love the warm. They thrive in the gulf coast region, so 50 degrees sounds perfect for dormancy. I’m glad people had them in the 20 degree range. I’ve had serious for back in the high 20’s but I’m sure the up and down temps in the mid-Atlantic with wind and wetness impact what happens greatly.
 

cbroad

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28 degrees or above they will be OK.
At the nursery where I used to work, we would leave the 3gal. pocomokes outside in the winter, not heeled in, just all the pots crammed together. There would be some dieback, but for the most part they all would survive. But our average highs in winter are 30-40°, our lows at night usually are around upper teens to mid 20s. I'm sure yours are a lot lower, but maybe in a garage, it might bring those numbers up somewhat. I would say though that pocomokes are on the slightly finicky side for crapes.

My dad one time made a seed germinator out of one of those styrofoam medical containers, rigged with a small lightbulb (maybe one of those small appliance bulbs, or smaller) with a small thin metal plate over it. He cut into the styrofoam to house the bulb and ran the cord through to the outside, and cut a small shelf to hold the metal plate above the light bulb. So from the inside of the box, you just saw the plate.

Maybe you could rig up something similar, but to keep the ambient temperature above freezing and well below 50°. You might have to experiment with the size of the container and its material, and the wattage of the bulb, but this might be a low cost way to winter them. This contraption may not help your husband's OCD😬
 
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Carol 83

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At the nursery where I used to work, we would leave the 3gal. pocomokes outside in the winter, not heeled in, just all the pots crammed together. There would be some dieback, but for the most part they all would survive. But our average highs in winter are 30-40°, our lows at night usually are around upper teens to mid 20s. I'm sure yours are a lot lower, but maybe in a garage, it might bring those numbers up somewhat. I would say though that pocomokes are on the slightly finicky side for crapes.

My dad one time made a seed germinator out of one of those styrofoam medical containers, rigged with a small lightbulb (maybe one of those small appliance bulbs, or smaller) with a small thin metal plate over it. He cut into the styrofoam to house the bulb and ran the cord through to the outside, and cut a small shelf to hold the metal plate above the light bulb. So from the inside of the box, you just saw the plate.

Maybe you could rig up something similar, but to keep the ambient temperature above freezing and well below 50°. You might have to experiment with the size of the container and its material, and the wattage of the bulb, but this might be a low cost way to winter them. This contraption may not help your husband's OCD😬
Thanks for the idea, very helpful but yeah not sure about the lightbulb. thing.:(
 
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