How do you winterize your trees?

[SouthernMaple]

So its getting down to 17 F this morning, I built a make shift green house with stuff laying around my apartment, its really ghetto and filled it with leaves hopeing it will be enough, temps go back up to mid 30's this weekend so its very temporary until I find something more stable.

 

[augustine]

I’m in 7a and mulch the containers on the ground out of the wind. The reason I mulch is to avoid freeze/thaw cycles. I put mint oil on cotton balls and scatter them around to keep rodents away. I replenish the mint oil cotton balls every month or so. I’ve had good luck so far.

 

[Japonicus]

@BobbyLane
one instance of how snow came bring out the smaller tree within...

 

[M. Frary]

I actually have a whole different property to keep my trees this winter.
Not near a swampy vole ridden forest.
The fenced in "garden" area at my sisters.
It's 8 feet tall chain link fence surrounded by a privacy fence and locks.
Putting them in this weekend.
They are sitting out right now chilling.
It hit zero last night here.
It's time.

 

[BobbyLane]

how do the landscape nurserys/tree nurserys/wholesale nurserys cope in the winters?

 

[coh]

I actually have a whole different property to keep my trees this winter.
Not near a swampy vole ridden forest.
The fenced in "garden" area at my sisters.
It's 8 feet tall chain link fence surrounded by a privacy fence and locks.
Putting them in this weekend.
They are sitting out right now chilling.
It hit zero last night here.
It's time.

Good luck! Hopefully vermin free.

Mike, one thing I wanted to suggest - if you have a few trees that are really special to you, that would be devastating to lose - think about getting some of that mesh/plastic anti-rodent fabric that is available. You wrap the lower trunk (as much as you want) with it. I've been using it on trees in my growing bed for several years and have had no rodent damage on those trees. Well, there's been some damage higher up but pretty limited, and there's been no girdling of lower trunks. That way if it turns out there are voles in the new yard, at least your best/favorite trees will be more protected.

 

[Cadillactaste]

Too bad that protecting trees against the extremes of cold winters in the areas that experience harsh conditions gets such a bad rap. If done properly it can mean no losses and very vigorous trees next spring. There is such a whiff of tough it out here that can be costly. If you are keeping your trees dormant, that is the necessary component.

Even Ryan Neil is mentioning the benefits of a cold greenhouse basically.
My dormant trees go here. (photo when we had hard freeze with no earlier frost. So trees went in for the night. I've not taken a more recent photo.) Cold greenhouse...which is a repurposed hot tub room/ gazebo. Eleven strides from my front door.




Tropicals are a small group. A lot of work compared to the dormant ones in winter...


The top shelf tigerbark pushed the Bougainvillea out...but it's thriving and the roots escaping the drain hole is rediculously long . (Perched on an upside down stand so the pot rests in a lip which is hollow. Which the roots have escaped to.)

 

[Cadillactaste]

how do the landscape nurserys/tree nurserys/wholesale nurserys cope in the winters?

My local nursery has a cold greenhouse for theirs. They still lost many in the arctic spell in 2013-14... even some last spring. Because of trees waking and then an arctic blast came in. Sugars released and what not...they lost a sickening amount. I was there when the burn pile was getting started.

 

[M. Frary]

Good luck! Hopefully vermin free.

Mike, one thing I wanted to suggest - if you have a few trees that are really special to you, that would be devastating to lose - think about getting some of that mesh/plastic anti-rodent fabric that is available. You wrap the lower trunk (as much as you want) with it. I've been using it on trees in my growing bed for several years and have had no rodent damage on those trees. Well, there's been some damage higher up but pretty limited, and there's been no girdling of lower trunks. That way if it turns out there are voles in the new yard, at least your best/favorite trees will be more protected.

Thinking really hard about the cages Matt has made.
Wrapping trunks won't really work.
The V.C. eat every part.
Seems like they have a taste for Scots pine foliage and buds.

 

[Japonicus]

My local nursery has a cold greenhouse for theirs. They still lost many in the arctic spell in 2013-14... even some last spring. Because of trees waking and then an arctic blast came in. Sugars released and what not...they lost a sickening amount. I was there when the burn pile was getting started.

Our November here has so far followed 2013 almost to a T. Particularly this last Arctic blast day by day perfectly.
We still have snow in shaded areas. Actually, we're in line with 1976 (coldest Nov. on record here) which scares me
because we are making 2nd place for coldest Nov this year.
We had a one time 36" snow (January I think), and the Ohio River froze over solid. I hope it's nothing like either year.
Last year spoiled me.

 

[mattspinniken]

Thinking really hard about the cages Matt has made.
Wrapping trunks won't really work.
The V.C. eat every part.
Seems like they have a taste for Scots pine foliage and buds.

Highly recommended, I had a ton of losses like I know you have dealt with in the past and I have not lost one tree since I started with these. They are not that hard to build, I use treated 1x4s and 1/4'' hardware cloth. I double wrap the edges and use some slat wood to make sure there are no gaps. Also, not in the pictures I put fabric around to keep most of the sun and wind out.

 

[TN_Jim]

So its getting down to 17 F this morning, I built a make shift green house with stuff laying around my apartment, its really ghetto and filled it with leaves hopeing it will be enough, temps go back up to mid 30's this weekend so its very temporary until I find something more stable.
View attachment 270981
View attachment 270982
View attachment 270983

get your least favorite, wrap it up in a beautiful box with string and all, put it under the tree

 

[TN_Jim]

get your least favorite, wrap it up in a beautiful box with string and all, put it under the tree

Bjorn recent podcast on overwintering was relief of sorts given the low temps here in the past week..time change didn’t help anything, something’s dead

 

[JudyB]

Yup, you be smart. Same for me, the vole would decimate everything eventually, that and that odd years where it approaches 50 below--in the years before my storage crypt of doom some precious irreplaceable trees perished from deep cold and I will not forgive myself.

I have that one tree that I lost and I still flog myself regularly for it. Now I don't risk.

 

[JudyB]

Even Ryan Neil is mentioning the benefits of a cold greenhouse basically.

Stealing my thunder LOL...

 

[StoneCloud]

Even Ryan Neil is mentioning the benefits of a cold greenhouse basically.
My dormant trees go here. (photo when we had hard freeze with no earlier frost. So trees went in for the night. I've not taken a more recent photo.) Cold greenhouse...which is a repurposed hot tub room/ gazebo. Eleven strides from my front door.
View attachment 271267

View attachment 271264

Tropicals are a small group. A lot of work compared to the dormant ones in winter...
View attachment 271265

The top shelf tigerbark pushed the Bougainvillea out...but it's thriving and the roots escaping the drain hole is rediculously long . (Perched on an upside down stand so the pot rests in a lip which is hollow. Which the roots have escaped to.)
View attachment 271266

Perfect out building!!!!!!!!!!

and that Ficus, I'm in love!!!! LOL

 

[Cadillactaste]

Perfect out building!!!!!!!!!!

and that Ficus, I'm in love!!!! LOL

Thanks! Yeah, I'm pretty much in love with it as well. Waited a few years...being selective. Not settling for less. Since my setup doesn't permit me to have many.