Maple bud break disaster

[Velodog2]

So the "small palmatum" I'd posted about last fall is breaking buds. Only that one. In Maryland. In February. It's been kept w the other somewhat delicate deciduous as always in an outside basement stair well that has been dark and stable at 37-43 Fahrenheit. All the buds are cracked open and showing a sliver of green.

I'd wanted to transplant it this spring. Will it stop if I put it outdoors? It's only marginally colder there however. I'm panicking a little here. I've never in twenty tears had anything break this early. Any advice from experienced palmatum keepers is appreciated.

 

[Steve Kudela]

So the "small palmatum" I'd posted about last fall is breaking buds. Only that one. In Maryland. In February. It's been kept w the other somewhat delicate deciduous as always in an outside basement stair well that has been dark and stable at 37-43 Fahrenheit. All the buds are cracked open and showing a sliver of green.

I'd wanted to transplant it this spring. Will it stop if I put it outdoors? It's only marginally colder there however. I'm panicking a little here. I've never in twenty tears had anything break this early. Any advice from experienced palmatum keepers is appreciated.

I'm a good bit south of you, I've got some of the same thing happening. Please don't panic, it's been my experience that once a tree becomes active, there is not much that you can do about it. Just keep a good watch on it and protect it from freezing. You don't want frost in those opening buds. In 1989 a friend of mine went to Japan for the First World Bonsai Convention, while he was gone there was a freeze. He had a fine 3 tree hornbeam group that had just begun to open buds................it was devastated. Again, please remain calm.

 

[Dav4]

When I stored trees in an unattached garage in MA, some of the maples would start to move earlier then I'd like, usually in March. As soon as I noticed swelling buds, I'd move them to a protected area outside and mulch them in. The swelling buds can easily handles temps below freezing until you can actually see the leaf edges, but the roots are moving and can't freeze again. I wouldn't let this one see temps below freezing without the mulch and below 25F with, though you could cover it with a trash can for additional protection.

 

[whfarro]

I think we are going to see a bunch of posts like this one this year. Been somewhat mild in the Notheast and MidAtlantic. And maples and other deciduous buds are really swelling up.
And we have a few months to go before we are out of the danger of a deep freeze.

 

[Random User]

... not sure if this would help, but fruit growers, etc, can prevent frost damage by using LARGE fans to keep the air moving... I'm pretty sure that the same would apply (to a degree, depending on how cold it dipped to) for an early bud break... but running a fan for a couple months many not be the answer either.

 

[Velodog2]

Not even quite mid February means we are likely to get a lot of freezing weather and certainly significant snow is possible as well. "Managing" this thing with leaves in basically the dead of winter seems nearly impossible as it could well be indoors for long stretches. It's 44 outside now and supposed to drop to 35 by morning. It's not supposed to get below 28 at night for the rest of the week but back up into the 60's next weekend. I will try to expose it to the lower temps as much as possible while trying to keep it from freezing, I guess. I can try the mulching as suggested also. It doesn't seem likely I'll be able to stop it for long with the weather continuing to be like this. I have no idea what to do about repotting and am not even thinking about development plans at this point.

Damn this sucks. I literally am angry at all the idiots in charge who have refused to do anything about climate change for decades. Who cares about Miami drowning when my tree is in danger! However, in reality I've kept this tree warmer in the winter than this before and it still lasted till March. And it's the only tree budding. So there is something going on with it beyond the temperature.

 

[BunjaeKorea]

You cant sto bud break its a hormonal response to temp and light in sone cases. I personally would move it to where it can get some light but in a cool area. But a well protected area. Had the same prob with my quince cant stop it . The tree should be fine though. Before setting it outside make sure to harden it off

 

[0soyoung]

bud break its a hormonal response to temp

Yes, indeed, once the chilling hour requirement has been satisfied. But, it can be stopped by keeping them (the buds) chilled below 40F. This very well may be difficult to do without a fairly large refrigerator (maybe your local florist will rent space ) or old fashioned ice box of some kind.

A little 'sciencey' tidbit is that chilling time requirements are determined is by putting dormant trees in refrigerators, pulling them back out and seeing if buds break. If not, back into the refer for a while and repeat. Sum of hours below 40F in the refrigerator = chilling time requirement. Buds don't break when they are in the refer. They only break at T > 40F (outside of the refrigerator) after the chilling time requirement has been met. Keep them below 40F and the buds will never break. Simple stuff anybody could do but for the problem of having a refer/ice-box suitable for trees. But, if you do, you probably just keep your trees inside it until you are convinced the danger of freeze has passed before you take them out.

 

[BunjaeKorea]

Yes, indeed, once the chilling hour requirement has been satisfied. But, it can be stopped by keeping them (the buds) chilled below 40F. This very well may be difficult to do without a fairly large refrigerator (maybe your local florist will rent space ) or old fashioned ice box of some kind.

A little 'sciencey' tidbit is that chilling time requirements are determined is by putting dormant trees in refrigerators, pulling them back out and seeing if buds break. If not, back into the refer for a while and repeat. Sum of hours below 40F in the refrigerator = chilling time requirement. Buds don't break when they are in the refer. They only break at T > 40F (outside of the refrigerator) after the chilling time requirement has been met. Keep them below 40F and the buds will never break. Simple stuff anybody could do but for the problem of having a refer/ice-box suitable for trees. But, if you do, you probably just keep your trees inside it until you are convinced the danger of freeze has passed before you take them out.

Indeed though KEEPING them chilled is the problem.

 

[whfarro]

I heard somewhere (maybe on this forum) that someone used dry ice packed around the pots to keep the rootbase sufficiently cooled. Ant thoughts on this tactic?

 

[Velodog2]

I tried the fridge method years ago for some forgotten reason and the result was similar to what happened to Mach5. Severe desiccation even though I kept the soil moist. I won't be going that route.

The below-grade stairwell is really pretty good for winter storage generally because it acts like a cave to moderate temps. It never gets quite down to freezing, and regardless of the outside temps never gets much above 45. Generally it has worked well. I built an insulation lay over the top and under the doors out of slab foam. I've removed part of that now and opened one door. I will have to actively manage it to keep above freezing, and if the buds continue to develop I will have to bring it outside of course.

 

[JudyB]

Could you put it under grow lights in a warm environment and allow it to go ahead and continue the waking up?

 

[VAFisher]

I'm a little south of you and all of my Chinese Elms are waking up. The Maples haven't started yet though thankfully. I am planning on doing the 2 step until they can all go outside for good. My concern is that I leave the house in the morning at around 7am when it's still pretty chilly. Will a newly leafed out tree be ok as long as it doesn't freeze? It was 34 this morning and I left them inside to be safe - but I want to get them as much light as I can.

 

[Velodog2]

Chinese elms are a different proposition than maples as they are generally tougher I think. I'm sure either will be fine if kept from hard freezing but I'd guess new elm leaves may be able to handle that better than maples. The trick is monitoring and predicting the weather consistently accurately. The overnight lows are difficult because if the sky is clear instead of cloudy it can suddenly get much colder than the official forecast predicts. It's hard to be 100%.

I'm over the panic I guess. My tree is not likely to die but hope for meaningful development this year is low.

 

[VAFisher]

I'm planning on keeping mine in the garage at night. My fear is putting them out in the morning when temps haven't risen yet.

 

[Djtommy]

Yes, indeed, once the chilling hour requirement has been satisfied. But, it can be stopped by keeping them (the buds) chilled below 40F. This very well may be difficult to do without a fairly large refrigerator (maybe your local florist will rent space ) or old fashioned ice box of some kind.

A little 'sciencey' tidbit is that chilling time requirements are determined is by putting dormant trees in refrigerators, pulling them back out and seeing if buds break. If not, back into the refer for a while and repeat. Sum of hours below 40F in the refrigerator = chilling time requirement. Buds don't break when they are in the refer. They only break at T > 40F (outside of the refrigerator) after the chilling time requirement has been met. Keep them below 40F and the buds will never break. Simple stuff anybody could do but for the problem of having a refer/ice-box suitable for trees. But, if you do, you probably just keep your trees inside it until you are convinced the danger of freeze has passed before you take them out.

So what happens to a plant actually when the chilling hours are not met (fa only 2/3 of the species requirement ) and the temps go up and stay up?

 

[Velodog2]

However another question is if I should attempt to repot as I'd intended. If buds continue to move I will have to do it soon, which could further weaken the tree and possibly make the roots more susceptible to inadvertent frost damage I'd guess. Argh.

 

[rockm]

... not sure if this would help, but fruit growers, etc, can prevent frost damage by using LARGE fans to keep the air moving... I'm pretty sure that the same would apply (to a degree, depending on how cold it dipped to) for an early bud break... but running a fan for a couple months many not be the answer either.

This will kill your tree. The only answer is to bring it inside until the danger of frost is over. FWIW, when buds break--even if only the tiniest of leaf edges are visibly pulling away, the tree lost almost all, if not all, of its ability to withstand freezing temperatures. A cold cold night below 32 that freezes the rootball solid will kill the tree.

That's just the way it is. I've got similar problem with my maples and hornbeam. None have broken buds yet, but they pushing quickly. I've got to find room for them inside my poorly lit, forced air heated house for them. They won't be happy, but at least they won't die immediately...Good luck

 

[ysrgrathe]

... not sure if this would help, but fruit growers, etc, can prevent frost damage by using LARGE fans to keep the air moving

Note that this technique only applies in the specific case of a temperature inversion and it's unlikely that a backyard grower will have appropriate equipment.
http://modernfarmer.com/2015/04/how-to-use-giant-30-foot-fans-to-save-a-chilled-crop/

 

[Dav4]

However another question is if I should attempt to repot as I'd intended. If buds continue to move I will have to do it soon, which could further weaken the tree and possibly make the roots more susceptible to inadvertent frost damage I'd guess. Argh.

I would proceed as if the tree was breaking dormancy at a more appropriate date, and assuming you keep the tree from freezing temps, I think the tree won't skip a beat and you won't be losing a year of development. The key will be giving it as much sun as possible once those leaves are open... which is why you want to slow it down as much as possible now.