Is it safe to use a generic heating-pad (personal-use type) for a tree?

[SU2]

I've got a recently-operated-on tree that's not taking the quick cold-snap here very well, the cold/wind has me worried about its surviving w/o real damage (or at all) and, with tonight being the last night before it warms back up, I'm intending to take it into my small screened-patio, seat it on a couple feet of concrete/ceramic tiles/etc, and make a similar 'stand' in between the tree and the screen to act as a 'heat buffer' between that screen and the tree (I'd have the tree as far from the screen as possible, and probably position the heater ~3 or 4' away from the tree)

Is this safe? I'm pretty sure it is but, given how much is at stake in a fire, I wanted to run it by others! The heating pad is the most basic, generic type, like you'd use for a sore lower-back, it's a Conair "Standard 11.5"x13.5 Heating Pad", just an on/off button and LED power-indicator light, and an ungrounded power-cable. I'm 99% sure it's fine but hoping to hear from others who've done this!

Thanks

 

[Bonsai Nut]

I'm not sure I understand what you're saying... it sounds like you start by talking about a space heater, but end up talking about a heating pad?

Are you experiencing freezing temps there? Is that what has you worried?

 

[SU2]

I'm not sure I understand what you're saying... it sounds like you start by talking about a space heater, but end up talking about a heating pad?

Are you experiencing freezing temps there? Is that what has you worried?

A heating-pad, not a space heater! It's same as this https://s7d9.scene7.com/is/image/BedBathandBeyond/5807811376088p

And it's not freezing no, it's just a recently operated-on bougie that's not dealing with the cold-snap well, it's at day 4 since operation and it's been 4 days of cold/wind, tomorrow is going to be better but this guy's shoots are drooping so much I'm worried it won't snap-back once the weather does, I've already got it in my patio but am hoping it's safe to take that little back heating-pad (11"x13" pad) and just prop it up near the tree, to kind of radiate heat (like 1/50th a space-heater's I'm sure, but it's all I've got on-hand and these low-50's, windy eves are really not helping this traumatized bougie!!)

[edit- 'operated on', I mean heavy root and trunk carving, I know it's not optimal timing but it was done for other reasons ie it was in a stationary box that couldn't stay in that location, so while re-boxing I just did the whole works at once, turns out it was at start of a several-day cold-snap, one that's even got some of my stronger bougies looking less-than-themselves!]

 

[Cadillactaste]

It's a bougie...I live up north and mine winters inside. Honestly...I would not bother the set up but just bring it in while the cold sap is about.

 

[Cadillactaste]

Unsure if carving and heavy root work at the same time wise...bonsai is patience. If anything...lessons learned are never for naught. But bougie said are tough...can saw all roots off and it can recover. Depending on just how much you carved...a photo would be great. Bougie a can self defoliate and I wouldn't be surprised if this one doesn't...shoots drooping...I've not had that experience even when my propane tank froze during an artic spell putting the sun room at 42F...it barely hiccuped.

 

[Bonsai Nut]

I don't think the cold is what is impacting your Bougie... My bougies are outdoors 24/7 and can even put up with temps in the high 30's without batting an eye. They are fine even when my ficus and citrus start to show freeze damage.

But to the point of your question - I would not use a heating pad that is intended for human medical use. First, because they get HOT. Let's face it, the average human body temp is 98.6, so for a hot pad to even feel "warm" it has to be well in excess of 100. I just checked a couple quickly via Google, and even the mildest ones get to 135-140. You run the risk that you might cause your bougie heat stress if you put the pad in contact with the pot... and if you don't have it in contact with the pot or the soil you are really not going to heat anything on an outdoor porch. Secondly, human heating pads are often not water resistant and you may run into troubles if it got wet or damp. Thirdly, many of these pads come with timers where the longest you can run them at a time is only an hour or so (for safety reasons).

If you wanted to use heat, you would be best off using a seedling heat mat like this one - they don't cost much and they are made specifically for the use.

But as I said... I don't think your bougie is stressing from the cold unless it is below 40... and even then I wouldn't be sure.

 

[SU2]

Unsure if carving and heavy root work at the same time wise...bonsai is patience. If anything...lessons learned are never for naught. But bougie said are tough...can saw all roots off and it can recover. Depending on just how much you carved...a photo would be great. Bougie a can self defoliate and I wouldn't be surprised if this one doesn't...shoots drooping...I've not had that experience even when my propane tank froze during an artic spell putting the sun room at 42F...it barely hiccuped.

It wasn't wise really (carving/root-work/re-boxing), but it had to be re-boxed and I figured I'd go for it, mostly because bougies are basically all I do and I've pushed the bounds so many times and have yet to have something not handle it, I guess I'm less worried it's going to totally die and more likely I'd lose sections (or just set it back months), it's a 1'+ trunk and they store energy in the trunk so that's working in my favor! I didn't cut any shoots' tips (as it wasn't ready yet!) and defoliated the bottom-most parts of all shoots to compensate for the root-loss - when you say you wouldn't be surprised if it self-defoliated, do you think it's wiser for me to wait and let that happen, or to just go ahead and prune the affected shoots (easily 4/5 shoots right now) back to 2-3 nodes? Am unsure if they're still getting good energy back from an area they're going to later let die (I haven't seen buds set but the stress really started showing barely 3 days ago, bougies take 4-6 days and that's through summer I've never gone through fall/winter with them only a ton of them through '17!)

I've got pics but that SD card is running a movie in another screen w/ others on it lol but will post them soon, it's very...interesting! It wasn't good stock material to begin with, and I carved the hell out of it, although after all was said and done I *do* see a final design to work towards now and I never did before, so very much hope it survives!!

 

[SU2]

I don't think the cold is what is impacting your Bougie... My bougies are outdoors 24/7 and can even put up with temps in the high 30's without batting an eye. They are fine even when my ficus and citrus start to show freeze damage.

But to the point of your question - I would not use a heating pad that is intended for human medical use. First, because they get HOT. Let's face it, the average human body temp is 98.6, so for a hot pad to even feel "warm" it has to be well in excess of 100. I just checked a couple quickly via Google, and even the mildest ones get to 135-140. You run the risk that you might cause your bougie heat stress if you put the pad in contact with the pot... and if you don't have it in contact with the pot or the soil you are really not going to heat anything on an outdoor porch. Secondly, human heating pads are often not water resistant and you may run into troubles if it got wet or damp. Thirdly, many of these pads come with timers where the longest you can run them at a time is only an hour or so (for safety reasons).

If you wanted to use heat, you would be best off using a seedling heat mat like this one - they don't cost much and they are made specifically for the use.

But as I said... I don't think your bougie is stressing from the cold unless it is below 40... and even then I wouldn't be sure.

Re it being the cold, are your bougies you refer to in-ground? Established roots and/or large pots? This thing was in an oversized box, then got maybe 35-50% of its roots hacked, and then an incredibly extensive trunk-carving (basically the entire 'necessary' carvings when you had something that had 5+ main 'trunks' that had inter-woven like bougies do - I'll post some before/afters but this thing was realllly carved-up, I had to move it and since it was such crappy stock-material (both the roots and trunk, at least as it was) that I figured, hey, I'm sure it'll survive, so I went for it - then the cold-snap + wind happened, which had some of my stronger bougies looking weak, so when I see this one weak I can't help but think the cold+wind is a large factor (I've lost very few bougies, and never one that had roots only hardwoods that were in stages of propagation/rooting)

The heating pad sucks, it's not even close to that hot, I've got it dangling from a ladder between the tree and the screen, at least it's a wind-block (that's warm!) and it's just tonight, afterward it'll be warmer and it should be fine I doubt it'd need more than a week of recovery before I can consider it 'survived' but right now it's gotta be so weak that any help is worthwhile!

 

[miker]

It's a bougie...I live up north and mine winters inside. Honestly...I would not bother the set up but just bring it in while the cold sap is about.

Bougies are tough, as long as it doesn't get below freezing it won't die. It would probably be happier in a sunny window from Dec-Feb in the Panhandle, but bringing it in when it is going to freeze will keep it alive. I never protected mine from the cold on the porch in Orlando a single time from 2011-2014 when I moved.

 

[Cadillactaste]

Bougies are tough, as long as it doesn't get below freezing it won't die. It would probably be happier in a sunny window from Dec-Feb in the Panhandle, but bringing it in when it is going to freeze will keep it alive. I never protected mine from the cold on the porch in Orlando a single time from 2011-2014 when I moved.

This tree is sulking from being over worked...still would not offer some sort of aftercare?

I have a grow cart now to keep internodes tight. It is in the 20's outside tonight at the lake...being in a microclimate. It is inside...

 

[SU2]

Bougies are tough, as long as it doesn't get below freezing it won't die. It would probably be happier in a sunny window from Dec-Feb in the Panhandle, but bringing it in when it is going to freeze will keep it alive. I never protected mine from the cold on the porch in Orlando a single time from 2011-2014 when I moved.

OMG you're exactly the type I was hoping to hear from! Kind of unrelated to this actual specimen, but pretty much all of my nursery is bougies, they were all collected or propagated (hardwood propagation only) this year and I'm going into my 1st fall/winter with them, I'm guessing it's the cold-snap + wind that had some looking so stressed and, as the season *gradually* changes, they'll adapt and be fine - you say you kept yours on the porch, was it open or screened? How much sun were they getting there? I'd been told that a freeze will kill them, but that for the past few winters here, bougies have dropped all their leaves! I don't know how much stock to put on what that person was telling me, if I should be expecting all my bougies to drop all their leaves (obviously I'd bring inside for a frost, wasn't planning to / unsure if I could possibly setup all of them in my patio!) Would really love to hear as much detail about them as they go through fall, winter and back to spring, I know orlando's not tampa but it's same zone and surely close-enough that anything you can tell me would be of great value! I put soo much time and soul into bonsai this past year, I'd hate to lose 25, 50, 100% of my trees through the winter, none are 'established' they're all various stages of growth but none are that established :/

 

[SU2]

This tree is sulking from being over worked...still would not offer some sort of aftercare?

I have a grow cart now to keep internodes tight. It is in the 20's outside tonight at the lake...being in a microclimate. It is inside...

Wait wait, what does a cart have to do with internodes? I really need to think of some better way of handling my larger specimen, the one this thread's about is >1' wide at its base, so even in a mostly-perlite medium it's still heavy as hell, I about broke my back last night trying to gently lower the thing onto a pallet in my patio!!

 

[GrimLore]

Wait wait, what does a cart have to do with internodes? I really need to think of some better way of handling my larger specimen, the one this thread's about is >1' wide at its base, so even in a mostly-perlite medium it's still heavy as hell, I about broke my back last night trying to gently lower the thing onto a pallet in my patio!!

That does not need a rack it needs a hydraulic cart...

Grimmy

 

[Cadillactaste]

Wait wait, what does a cart have to do with internodes? I really need to think of some better way of handling my larger specimen, the one this thread's about is >1' wide at its base, so even in a mostly-perlite medium it's still heavy as hell, I about broke my back last night trying to gently lower the thing onto a pallet in my patio!!

Lol something someone down south does not need. It is for us Northerners to help winter indoors. It is a double decker with trays and lights.

But ones do use hydraulic lift carts to move trees about. Helps on the back.

 

[GrimLore]

Is this safe?

Toss 2 cups of water on a electric heating element that is not waterproof. Video it and get back to me

Grimmy

 

[JudyB]

I use heat mats with good effect for my cold winter storage situation. I also use them under ailing trees, sometimes bottom heat can help. Do not use heating pad for sore backs. Use a propagation mat.
I use these with a thermostat.

https://www.farmtek.com/farm/supplies/prod1;ft_seed_starting;pg111511.html

 

[SU2]

That does not need a rack it needs a hydraulic cart...

Grimmy

rofl! Seriously the thing is a nightmare to handle, I've only moved it once so far but I've gotta move it from the spot I originally chose, it's gotta be ~50lbs and that was before adding the last ~20% substrate & watering-in!!