My baby juniper has been doing great indoors, perched on a sunny window sill. I live in an apartment were it's not possible for me to take my tree outside. I live in Kentucky and winter is coming, since the tree is not kept outside. Should I do anything to prep it for winter?
Winter prep
- Thread starter josh797
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Cypress187
Masterpiece
Buy a ficus? Junipers won't last long inside. It's like growing a mammoth in the desert. Or a kangaroo in the artic.
It's been doing great for the past 5 months. But you really didn't answer my question.
VAFisher
Masterpiece
The juniper needs a dormancy period which it isn't going to get inside. So there really isn't much to do for winter except wait for it to turn brown unfortunately.
If inside an apartment is the only space availabe, juniper isn't a good choice. After it dies, try a ficus.
ajm55555
Chumono
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Think about why junipers do not grow in the wild in Africa or a ficus does not grow outside in Canada.
Next step is: can I reproduce the conditions a tree finds in its native environment?
If it's a yes, then your tree will survive, otherwise it will live for a while but eventually it will not able to make it. Simple law of evolution, adaptation and natural selection.
Next step is: can I reproduce the conditions a tree finds in its native environment?
If it's a yes, then your tree will survive, otherwise it will live for a while but eventually it will not able to make it. Simple law of evolution, adaptation and natural selection.
Cypress187
Masterpiece
I think the others answered it already, junipers cannot be kept inside, the only solution (if you don't have an outside) is to buy a ficus (or a tropical plant / something that doesn't matter so much about winter).
miker
Chumono
This might be applicable. For five years (when I moved to PA I had no room to bring it with me so I am sure it just died at my dad's house) I successfully kept the temperate evergreen species Ephedra sinica. It needs a cold winter dormancy and I lived in Orlando, so I kept it in the refrigerator for 3 months each year...and because it is an evergreen needing a bit of light even in winter, I put it outside in the sun for a few hours every couple weeks during the three months I kept it in the refrigerator.
This worked well and it grew bigger and bigger every year.
This worked well and it grew bigger and bigger every year.
pbrown00
Mame
Basically if your juniper is kept inside, there is nothing to do for winter because it will not enter the dormancy which it needs. Outdoor conditions such as colder weather trigger dormancy in most trees, and if a tree such as your juniper is kept indoors, then it will not receive the signals that it needs to enter dormancy. If your juniper never goes dormant, it will tire out and eventually die. I'm sorry to hear that you have no place outside to put it. I recommend doing research on indoor bonsai species and giving away your juniper or planting it outside. Good luck!
rockm
Spuds Moyogi
Well, see there's the issue. Five months is a very short time.
Junipers are among the toughest bonsai subjects and can take a long time to actually die. This winter it will decline probably rapidly--yellow interior foliage that drops off, green foliage that looks alive, but is really brittle and dead, will overtake living parts of the tree. When your heating system kicks on in late Oct./early Nov.. this will advance relatively quickly, doubly so if it remains on the windowsill in freezing weather.
If I were you, I would find a place outdoors now, so the tree can acclimate itself to the changing season. Mulched into a garden bed out of the wind...
