Did I go over over the top from winterizing.

[twisted trees]

Y

Yes

Ok. I have a clear picture. If the sun hits it during the winter there is the chance of a significant temperature change. That can be harmful. People build insulated boxes often for these types of situations. The tree needs no light in the winter. It's too cold for the chemical process of photosynthesis. Check the water levels weekly. Evergreens will transpire water as it approaches 32 degrees.

 

[sorce]

I always contemplated stuff like this and never did it.

Never lost anything to winter alone.

That tree looks healthy.

Remember....
Near each and every neat collected juniper was "sitting in a pocket shallow enough to collect all the roots".

Ryan Neil, "these roots die back and regrow every year".

Them trees ALL have their rootballs frozen solid every year, and longer up at elevation.

Their strength is in the foliage.

And their foliage is designed to withstand more nasty than your porch would ever see.

Leave it now.

Make your life easier next year.

Especially since your tree count is likely to double and or triple or fifthtuple !

Sorce

 

[MountainExplorer]

I always contemplated stuff like this and never did it.

Never lost anything to winter alone.

That tree looks healthy.

Remember....
Near each and every neat collected juniper was "sitting in a pocket shallow enough to collect all the roots".

Ryan Neil, "these roots die back and regrow every year".

Them trees ALL have their rootballs frozen solid every year, and longer up at elevation.

Their strength is in the foliage.

And their foliage is designed to withstand more nasty than your porch would ever see.

Leave it now.

Make your life easier next year.

Especially since your tree count is likely to double and or triple or fifthtuple !

Sorce

Double in size? I still got the pot in there though?

 

[sorce]

Double in size? I still got the pot in there though?

Sure!

Sorce

 

[twisted trees]

Double in size? I still got the pot in there though?

You're a beginner. Overkill is always the answer. I lost all of my beginner trees. I learned that way. A better way.

 

[MountainExplorer]

I always contemplated stuff like this and never did it.

Never lost anything to winter alone.

That tree looks healthy.

Remember....
Near each and every neat collected juniper was "sitting in a pocket shallow enough to collect all the roots".

Ryan Neil, "these roots die back and regrow every year".

Them trees ALL have their rootballs frozen solid every year, and longer up at elevation.

Their strength is in the foliage.

And their foliage is designed to withstand more nasty than your porch would ever see.

Leave it now.

Make your life easier next year.

Especially since your tree count is likely to double and or triple or fifthtuple !

Sorce

You're a beginner. Overkill is always the answer. I lost all of my beginner trees. I learned that way. A better way.

I' asking what' the better way???

 

[sorce]

I personally only keep trees that can just stay iced up.

Sorce

 

[MountainExplorer]

I personally only keep trees that can just stay iced up.

Sorce

It' a rhododendron. It' ine of the hardyest
Bushed up in New England that' why I'm asking she I have just kept it in its pot out of the wind when it get engine 20 out or was this style a good idea?

 

[rockm]

A tub of mulch is NOT adequate protection for overwintered bonsai in D.C. or even Virginia.

This offers NO protection from winter. There is no "warmth" that will be trapped in the box. There is no mass to provide a heat sink or insulation. Once it gets really cold in late December into Jan. this container will freeze through completely.

The idea you've tried to capture here is mulching the tree into the ground or a garden bed, which is a reliable solution to overwintering for bonsai. The big problem is that you're missing the key ingredient for the set up--the ground. It provides the mass and relative warmer conditions that this is cut off from.

Mulching on the ground or better, down in it, taps into the ground's relatively warmer and vastly more stable temperature than something left exposed to the air. The peat moss piled up on the foliage will aid with rot there and could kill off branches IF the wet moss doesn't wind up killing the plant's entire root mass over the winter. Which brings up the question of how will you keep this plant from drying out--dry roots in the winter cold are a surefire way to kill a bonsai.

If you're in a condo situation and this is a temperate zone plant, I'd try to find some way to mulch into a garden bed on the ground (friend's yard, out of the way spot in the garden beds of your building, etc.) Balconies are extremely bad places for overwintering.

 

[twisted trees]

I' asking what' the better way???

The better way is learned by trial and error from each failure. Try it and see how it goes. You'll know by mid spring.

 

[Vindeezy]

My thought is my wife would kill me if I brought that thing into the living room and put it on the rug.

I love the look on my wife’s face every time I bring a new tree home.

 

[MountainExplorer]

Ugh... so it' not possible you are saying? The porch life is no life for bonsai tree?

In all honesty its' 85 soil 15 mulch on top..

 

[Vindeezy]

I do the mulch in tubs thing for smaller pots and ones I repotted this year but I keep them in the unheated garage but I will turn on a little milk house heater for subzero temps zone 5

 

[rockm]

Ugh... so it' not possible you are saying? The porch life is no life for bonsai tree?

In all honesty its' 85 soil 15 mulch on top..

Porches and balconies are bad places for overwintering because they don't offer any real protection from the worst elements. They are mostly surrounded by air on all but one side (roof helps, but not much. A roof can also prevent natural moisture from reaching the plant. If you have access to a garden bed or a landscape bed use it. It's a small tree. A small hole in the mulch cover on either--which has enough room or slope in the landscape to drain water (an important point) is vastly preferable to the porch.

I think you may also be coddling your tree a bit. your tree is probably a lot tougher than you give it credit for. The best overwintering conditions are under snowcover. Here are a few of my trees in winter

 

[AutumnWolf13]

Maybe wrap the tub with reflectix (space blankets glued to bubble wrap, you can buy it at all the big box stores) It will help retain a bit of heat and will keep the sun off the tub. The tubs do not have UV protection in them (not much need for UV protection under ones bed) and can become VERY brittle in full direct sun and cold temps.

 

[M. Frary]

Them trees ALL have their rootballs frozen solid every year, and longer up at elevation

The frost goes up to 4 feet deep here in winter. Every tree you see the roots are frozen solid.

 

[sorce]

The porch life is no life for bonsai tree?

Peep.

https://www.bonsainut.com/threads/apartment-bonsai.20159/

https://www.bonsainut.com/threads/holding-out-repotting-2017.26653/

Sorce

 

[MountainExplorer]

I got an idea...

So I'm going up north tomorrow to see my bonsai friend and I thought to myself hey I'll just bring the lil rhodie with me since we have a spot up there and bury it BUT it is currently snowing and cold and most likely the soil has frozen over so from there I'm really heading into the boons to pick up an gnarly free aloe which by the luck of my arse the lady said i could have it for free. Long story short my father in law and I drove up there to buy a snowblower he left the keys in the truck with my pup in there so yea he locked us out which led the couple inviting us in their home since it as raining all I could notice was this MASSIVE JADE so I said nothing we left a week later today I called them.and said I was interested in their jade she said if you drive all the way up here again you can have it so yea I'm pumped since I got screwed on the last jade.

So I have a crawl space in my attic that' unheated and gets cold up there I think initially that' where it might end up but its pitch black up there and it' a bitch to get up there but over all I think that' where it' going.

 

[MountainExplorer]

First pic is the crawl space to the attic

 

[miker]

I tested temperatures on my porch (just moved in recently) during this cold event. The porch is an open air screen porch that is in-set and the outer wall is screen. It easily stays 5-7 degrees warmer than under open sky since the space is mostly contained in a very well heated building, despite it being open air. Water outside was freezing by 7:00pm the night before, but a small bowl of water I put out on the porch didn't even get a glaze of ice by morning despite lows well into the teens. This difference between the porch and outside may be less midwinter. Point being, open air porches on/in heated buildings can stay quite a bit warmer than outside under open sky.

As far as a large tub of mulch on the floor of the porch, in zones 7-8, this might be a good way to moderate temperature fluctuations as well as minimize root exposure to temperatures below 25F. Rockm, how many days per year would you say you have on average with calendar days highs below 32F? 3-4?

My point is, as far as zone 7-8 is concerned and considering porches/balconies tend to be slightly warmer than ambient, a large tub of mulch may actually be enough protection during a normal winter. Maybe not though, will take some trial and error.

My mulch tubs outside at the house are going to go flat on the ground near a building to take advantage of heat from the ground. I plan to take temperature measurements and I will post my results here.