I have a question about wintering my bonsai's

[rhawes]

I have several deciduous trees including chinese elm, gingko, black pine, cedar, hemlock, junipers, willows, american elm seedlings, and maples. the question is I live in an apartment and I have a balcony outside on the second floor. I had to take down my greenhouse. I was thinking of placing some seedling heat mats under some insulation to keep their roots from freezing this year. Does anyone have any suggestions or ideas that would help.

 

[TwilightTrees]

Sounds like a good idea. Try to combine with leca Stones, you can see how in this video (not my youtube channel) the video is in danish, but the pictures explain a lot.

 

[Colorado]

I have several deciduous trees including chinese elm, gingko, black pine, cedar, hemlock, junipers, willows, american elm seedlings, and maples. the question is I live in an apartment and I have a balcony outside on the second floor. I had to take down my greenhouse. I was thinking of placing some seedling heat mats under some insulation to keep their roots from freezing this year. Does anyone have any suggestions or ideas that would help.

I think the heat mat is a good idea for an apartment balcony. I’d also keep them as close to the building as possible. And out of direct sun/wind as much as possible.

 

[papkey5]

The important factor is this. Are all those trees cold hardy to your USDA zone? for Example if you have a genus of tree that is cold hardy to zone 7 and you live in zone 5a there is nothing you can do to keep that tree alive outside overwinter. If any trees aren’t hardy to your zone than you need to start researching and preparing how to best mimic their dormancy requirements. That is a process that takes trial and error and you will loose trees in the process.

For the trees that are cold hardy to your zone, even the seedlings. Do not place them on any heat. It is normal for the root zone to freeze and thaw overwinter. Trees die when the soil doesn’t stay moist. Water them well before a hard frost and cover them with a 6 mil white plastic. These ideas come from mikesbackyardnursery.com. Put hoop house in the search.

I live in zone 4 and did his hoop house recommendations last winter and it worked phenomenally.

 

[Taste]

I also keep trees on a balcony, and unless i recently repotted them, theyre in a super small pot, or otherwise susceptible to the cold/freeze. i leave them out all winter, i water normally, and will wrap the pots in old shirts/towels if it is going to be below 35F(ish and this is conservative, but i do it because of wind). this has worked well for me albiet mild winters here.

 

[rhawes]

I am getting very nervous the temps here have been around 7 degrees F at night. My trees all look ok but am still worried I have them all against the building but hope they are wintering ok. No greenhouse this year because I was told to take it down. I thought of putting them in my garage but I think the garage is too warm the water boiler pipes go through the garage and keep it pretty warm. Anybody else worried in PA?

 

[BrightsideB]

I am getting very nervous the temps here have been around 7 degrees F at night. My trees all look ok but am still worried I have them all against the building but hope they are wintering ok. No greenhouse this year because I was told to take it down. I thought of putting them in my garage but I think the garage is too warm the water boiler pipes go through the garage and keep it pretty warm. Anybody else worried in PA?

I know you listed the tree’s. But don’t know the number how big or heavy they are. How warm is your garage? If it is in the 30’s or lower 40’s you should be fine I would think. If it is 7 degrees outside I can’t imagine a garage being more then 30. You should experiment if you are up to it. Do some research on what prolonged temps will take your tree species out of dormancy. Get a thermometer for your garage. But I think your trees will be ok. Are you worried because you have already lost trees from winter?

 

[rhawes]

yes last winter I lost some maples. I think that might have been because I repotted too soon and had a dip in temps last spring. My junipers are in 6 inch training pots and 1 in 4 inch cascade, and the last in nursery pot, My gingkos are in multiple sizes from 10 inch pot to 6 inch and maples in 8 inch to 6 inch and I forgot to mention quince in 9 inch and 6 inch pots and the seedlings are in 2 inch pot (American Elm), Hemlock is in a nursery pot.

 

[BrightsideB]

yes last winter I lost some maples. I think that might have been because I repotted too soon and had a dip in temps last spring.

I see, it makes sense for you to be concerned. Do you know the fluctuation of temps in your garage. I feel like that could be a good place for your less cold tolerant trees. Or ones you are just worried about. It may be wise to keep them there during the coldest of times. Because it seems like your only other option is a heat mat next to your house. The late freezes in spring prompt me to just bring my tree’s in for the day or night but it’s always the jm’s because of their eagerness to break dormancy lol.

 

[rhawes]

That is a good idea!!!

 

[Deep Sea Diver]

Interesting.

On the surface it seems if these species of trees are mulched in well and protected from wind and direct sun, each appears cold hardy enough survive… given no later work was done. That’s a stretch though as most folks work some of these trees in the late fall, like JBP.

I‘m sure you’ve piled on any snow too to help insulate the roots/trees.

One thought would be to get some basic data on the day - night garage temperatures before making any moves into it. If it’s like mine there will be areas in the garage where conditions are optimal for winter storage… and one to avoid. For example, In our garage the best temporary or long term storage is near the garage door on the side and near the floor.

cheers
DSD sends