How to keep my Juniper from not freezing during winter

[dbiggs]

Hello,
I was hoping I could get some advice on how to keep my bonsai alive and safe during the winter season. I am living in Denver, CO.
I was told to maybe put it in a cooler in my garage and cover it in Mulch to keep the roots from freezing but basically I am looking for advice on 2 things.
1.) How can I best keep the bonsai alive without confusing it by bringing it inside.
2.) If I do cover it in Mulch, how do I make sure it's properly watered.
View attachment 618828

 

[dbiggs]

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

1) Place that bench you have there with its back to the wall and leave the plant underneath. The heat escaping from your house would probably be enough to keep it a little warmer than ambient.
2) Grab some snow every now and then and throw it on top of the soil. If it's above zero, the snow will melt and provide water, if it's freezing then it won't need water.

 

[Dav4]

Your juniper is cold hardy to the Denver area, so you don't need to bury it in mulch in a cooler (I wouldn't 't ever do that, fwiw). Find a place outside in the shade... up against the north side of your house would work... and mulch over and around the pot. Water well and you're ready for winter.

(I want my junipers to sit in a cold/frozen state basically all winter so they can come out of dormancy and grow well)

 

[Hartinez]

Great advice from @Dav4 . I agree whole heartedly

 

[rockm]

Why would you try to keep the roots from freezing?

That happens all the time in the wild. Junipers are winter hardy. If it is exposed to initial frost and shallower freezes it will finish hard ding off for the colder weather ahead. If you’ve sheltered it from autumn forests your not doing it any favors.

The object of overwintering is NOT to keep roots from freezing and keep them “warm”. The object is to protect them from the worst killing freezes where temps AT THE ROOTS is lower than its hardiness

With juniper that is not an easy thing to do.

 

[dbiggs]

Copy that thanks for the advice guys!
I will cover in much and water thoroughly one last time before winter!
Thanks again.

 

[Dav4]

Copy that thanks for the advice guys!
I will cover in much and water thoroughly one last time before winter!
Thanks again.

You may need to water every week or two, depending on weather. I try to cover the mulched pot with snow when available. Finally, if the mulch is wet or frozen, you should be good.

 

[dbiggs]

@Dav4 So basically, take it in the pot its already in, put it on the north side of my house, cover the pot and base of the tree in Mulch, cover when snow when available, might need to water a few based on weather. If the mulch is wet/frozen I am good.

 

[Dav4]

@Dav4 So basically, take it in the pot its already in, put it on the north side of my house, cover the pot and base of the tree in Mulch, cover when snow when available, might need to water a few based on weather. If the mulch is wet/frozen I am good.

This what I do with mine...
Pack them together and cover the pots with wood chip mulch (I put landscape fabric on the pots of the nicer trees before adding the mulch). Water them in well, then as needed until the mulch freezes. Cover with snow if available. Sit back and wait for March...

 

[Wulfskaar]

(I want my junipers to sit in a cold/frozen state basically all winter so they can come out of dormancy and grow well)

This feels like a dumb question, but it's a point of contention in my mind.

Where I live, we have no freezing, and yet, we have massive junipers growing all over the place, some that even take up entire yards.

Is it that freezing winters can pause pest infestations and "reset" immune defenses, so basically a several-month pause in pest and pathogen attacks. Is that the main factor in the good health of junipers coming out of a cold winter?

Here are a couple examples from my street (trying to keep some privacy for my neighbors).

 

[Dav4]

This feels like a dumb question, but it's a point of contention in my mind.

Where I live, we have no freezing, and yet, we have massive junipers growing all over the place, some that even take up entire yards.

Is it that freezing winters can pause pest infestations and "reset" immune defenses, so basically a several-month pause in pest and pathogen attacks. Is that the main factor in the good health of junipers coming out of a cold winter?

Here are a couple examples from my street (trying to keep some privacy for my neighbors).

View attachment 618932

View attachment 618933

I can't speak to a juniper's immune response, but pests typically not an issue when these trees are being kept with ambient temps are below 40 F. With that being said, and accepting the fact that Junipers clearly need less chill/winter cold to grow well and be healthy, I feel that allowing junipers to remain metabolically active through winter in poor overall conditions, usually by keeping it too warm while being kept inside- will weaken or even kill the tree. I'm sure these junipers in your location slow their growth as day length decreases, but they still get decent sunlight even in winter, so can remain fairly metabolically active without weakening. When I lived in GA, my junipers stayed outside and on the benches pretty much all winter, only getting put on the ground when temps were threatening to fall into the low 20s F. They would still freeze but that was short lived. When temps were in the 40's and even 50's, they were in the sun (even if it was a weaker winter sun) and they always grew well once they broke dormancy in late winter.

 

[Wulfskaar]

I can't speak to a juniper's immune response, but pests typically not an issue when these trees are being kept with ambient temps are below 40 F. With that being said, and accepting the fact that Junipers clearly need less chill/winter cold to grow well and be healthy, I feel that allowing junipers to remain metabolically active through winter in poor overall conditions, usually by keeping it too warm while being kept inside- will weaken or even kill the tree. I'm sure these junipers in your location slow their growth as day length decreases, but they still get decent sunlight even in winter, so can remain fairly metabolically active without weakening. When I lived in GA, my junipers stayed outside and on the benches pretty much all winter, only getting put on the ground when temps were threatening to fall into the low 20s F. They would still freeze but that was short lived. When temps were in the 40's and even 50's, they were in the sun (even if it was a weaker winter sun) and they always grew well once they broke dormancy in late winter.

Thank you! I thought you'd be good to ask since I know you've got experience in different climates.

We get temps as low as 38 or 39 F at night in the "dead of winter" a few nights per year, usually accompanied by daytime temps in the 50's. The coldest days here rarely have highs below 50.

My best guess is that shorter days and cooler temps are just enough to slow them down for the winter.

This will be my first year with procumbens nana (main reason I asked), so we'll find out what happens with them next spring.

Thanks again, @Dav4.