When does winter dormancy begin?

[Lazylightningny]

Is it when all the leaves have fallen off, or is a sustained soil temp below a certain threshold? Is there a visual cue for us?

That is, when can we begin dormancy root work or top pruning safely?

 

[GrimLore]

That is a wide-ranged question but a valid one. I don't think you can get a good answer unless we know what trees you are talking about and perhaps a few pictures to give us a better idea of age and condition. I would prefer not to answer until I know more

 

[Lazylightningny]

That is a wide-ranged question but a valid one. I don't think you can get a good answer unless we know what trees you are talking about and perhaps a few pictures to give us a better idea of age and condition. I would prefer not to answer until I know more

lol I assumed it was fairly straightforward, but of course nothing is straightforward in life.

I have several plants ranging from juniper, cotoneaster, maple, berberis, and more, all quite healthy. I was hoping for a simple answer such as sustained soil temp, but perhaps it's not that easy.

I thought I read somewhere that "x" many days below 50 deg F at a certain depth of soil is a good indicator of dormancy.

 

[Lazylightningny]

I read an article today that defined dormancy as being between leaf drop and bud break. Is that too simplistic of an answer?

 

[Anthony]

Lazylightningny,

this may amuse you. Winter for us starts as the daylight shortens, sometime around October. The temperatures start to hang closer to the 70's from evening until morning. By Christmas, nothing grows and those trees that are deciduous by lack of rainfall, drop their leaves for 2 to 3 months.

Growth for us restarts around February 14 to March 10th or so.

Now that's what it's like for us. A mild winter.
Good Morning.
Anthony

* This is also why we can use a fridge. The dormant state for Sub-Tropical trees starts in November and by January 25 or so, the trees are ready for the cold.

 

[Lazylightningny]

Lazylightningny,

this may amuse you. Winter for us starts as the daylight shortens, sometime around October. The temperatures start to hang closer to the 70's from evening until morning. By Christmas, nothing grows and those trees that are deciduous by lack of rainfall, drop their leaves for 2 to 3 months.

Growth for us restarts around February 14 to March 10th or so.

Now that's what it's like for us. A mild winter.
Good Morning.
Anthony

* This is also why we can use a fridge. The dormant state for Sub-Tropical trees starts in November and by January 25 or so, the trees are ready for the cold.

Sounds nice, but I think I'd really miss throwing my back out shoveling snow, getting cracked lips and frostbitten toes, and scraping ice off the windshield with my fingernails.

 

[cmeg1]

Dormancy starts for me when it is getting close to freezing at night and I start to worry about my trees.Many claim to let your trees endure some frost for a few times,others say to let them endure quite a bit of frost,others say practically no frost and to not let them go below freezing at all.I fall into the latter of the three.I simply put my trees away when it is forecast to go below freezing,deciduous.You mentioned dormancy root work.I have heard of some bonsai nurseries that root work in the autumn,but primarily you wait till' spring when buds are swelling and just about ready to pop or you see just a smidgen of leaf tip.I can only remember what I have read and it is that after leaf fall it is safe to prune bonsai back.If it is a major branch,it is probably better to do so iin the summer when any cuts will heal quickly.I have removed large branches in spring though with success on elm.

 

[AlBooBoo]

Lazylightningny,

this may amuse you. Winter for us starts as the daylight shortens, sometime around October. The temperatures start to hang closer to the 70's from evening until morning. By Christmas, nothing grows and those trees that are deciduous by lack of rainfall, drop their leaves for 2 to 3 months.

Growth for us restarts around February 14 to March 10th or so.

Now that's what it's like for us. A mild winter.
Good Morning.
Anthony

A mild winter indeed here in norway i would say winter start in october and lasts too april-may
temperatures during winter period will range from -22 fahrenheit to 50 during the coldest parts

 

[Poink88]

That is, when can we begin dormancy root work or top pruning safely?

I believe it matters more to know where and when the plant is done storing "energy" for the winter & to be used for spring. Do it too early and you lose some of that "energy". Remove where the energy is stored and you lose there too.

Re: root work, here is the biggest difference between pot grown vs ground grown lies. Note that pots do not offer as much protection as the ground. In ground, plants may continue growing new roots through winter while in pots they may stop or even get damaged (depending on your winter and how they are protected).

Too many variables that you are the best person to determine. Good luck!

 

[GrimLore]

I live in 6b and we rarely do anything like that in the Fall. We normally do that stuff in the Spring prior to the first push. That pertains to all of our potted outdoor trees. The tropical stuff comes into the house when the nights start to drop under 50 for a week - they do not seem to care when we work on them honest.

 

[Lazylightningny]

As I understand it, it's ok to do root work in the winter if you want small leaves and short internodes, but if you're trying to push max spring growth, it's better to not touch the roots until the leaves start to unfurl.

 

[GrimLore]

As I understand it, it's ok to do root work in the winter if you want small leaves and short internodes, but if you're trying to push max spring growth, it's better to not touch the roots until the leaves start to unfurl.

So - you have answered your own question! Also Curious where you are in NY - I lived in a few different areas there for over 45 years.

 

[Paradox]

As I understand it, it's ok to do root work in the winter if you want small leaves and short internodes, but if you're trying to push max spring growth, it's better to not touch the roots until the leaves start to unfurl.

For most things, the timing is late winter, like March/April when buds are starting to push/enlarge. You don't want to work roots when things are stilll frozen and you don't want to wait until the leaves are actually growing out.

 

[Lazylightningny]

So - you have answered your own question! Also Curious where you are in NY - I lived in a few different areas there for over 45 years.

Westchester County, lower NY just above da Bronx.

Thanks to all for the advice.

 

[cmeg1]

As I understand it, it's ok to do root work in the winter if you want small leaves and short internodes, but if you're trying to push max spring growth, it's better to not touch the roots until the leaves start to unfurl.

Don't root prune till late winter early spring when buds are swelling.Graham potter sais you can do it even if just a teeny tiny bit of leaf is showing but no later.Idealy right at the last bit befor hand.