Pot Frozen - Trident and Seiju Elm

KingJades

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I got home really late last night and didn't have a chance to put my trees in the ground, but we had a decent freeze last night. The weather dipped to about 29 degrees F for about an hour, and now is returning to 31/32. Temp will return to 50 mid-day. My trees were on my benches and the top soil appears frozen hard to the touch. The soil was apparently on the wetter side. :(

The trees are a trident maple and a seiju elm. I know that tridents are a little more sensitive to frozen temperatures in the root, but should I really be concerned about this?

They go into the ground for wintering today... just hoping it's not a day too late!
 

Dav4

Drop Branch Murphy
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Won't be a problem at all. My tridents and elms routinely stayed frozen for 3 months straight when I lived in MA. The issue is preventing the root zone from experiencing long lasting severe cold. Read this as temps in the teens or colder...mulch is friend at that point.
 

miker

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My trident must have frozen solid the past two nights, despite the forecast for Reading/Wyomissing, PA of 30F and 31F respectively. My location reached 25F both nights, and even the Reading airport hit 27F last night. So, I am learning that both: my location gets significantly colder than the official reporting station on most cold nights and that the official forecast lows on cold nights tend to be a bit higher versus what actually happens.

I wonder if when we have our coldest night of the winter and they forecast like -3F, we get to -7F?

So taking just last night, my trident looked at 8-9 hours below freezing on a 3 foot bench out in the middle of the back yard. Low 20s or below and I would be concerned, but I cannot imagine 25F + damaging a trident in late fall that has been properly vernalized(exposed to frosts/light freezes/cold nights, even the roots. Hopefully the small amount of fertilizer I have been giving helped possibly depress the root freezing point a tad.

The bottom line is, this is a temperate tree and healthy in-ground 20161113_011944.jpg Acer buergerianum in zone 6 could easily see much of the root zone go into the 25-30F during an arctic outbreak.
 

ysrgrathe

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Actual ground surface temperatures are often cooler than official measurements because 1) air temperature is usually measured at 3-6 feet above ground and cool air settles, 2) objects may be cooler than the air due to radiative losses. On clear nights with little wind this effect is strongest.
 

KingJades

Shohin
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Are there any concerns with leaving wire on in the winter when exposed to rain, snow, sleet for these trees?

I'm going to be out of town for Thanksgiving next week and still have wire on my trees. I should be getting a little start on the winter weather over that period.

The wire bends don't seem very stressful if that matters.
 

aml1014

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Are there any concerns with leaving wire on in the winter when exposed to rain, snow, sleet for these trees?

I'm going to be out of town for Thanksgiving next week and still have wire on my trees. I should be getting a little start on the winter weather over that period.

The wire bends don't seem very stressful if that matters.
Not a problem at all. Autumn is a good time to wire because the branches will hold there bends come spring and the wire can't bite in since the tree is not growing, plus you can see the structure.
Basically, wire on trees in winter is totally cool.

Aaron
 

KingJades

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Thanks! One last question for chinese elm - since they keep their leaves late, when do light levels stop mattering ? I have a mesh crate over it to stop an an avalanche from breaking the twiggy branches and while diffuse light will get in, it's definitely going to be a lot less than if the mesh wasn't there.

Still has a full flush of leaves on it. Confusing little buggers.
 

M. Frary

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I've had them keep their leaves all winter and have had them drop.
I think it depends on the tree.
Right now I have 4 regular Chinese elmedicine that are bare. And 2 yatsabu said Chinese elms that have just starting to turn color.
 

M. Frary

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I have them in an unheated room at my sisters house. I can keep it right around 30 degrees all winter by opening a window.
I like to keep them right at freezing so I don't have to worry about water.
 
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