Texas to East Tennessee

[Windyrockybonsai]

Hello all,

I just moved from Texas to East Tennessee and brought my 30+ trees with me. Built a special platform in a 26' Uhaul to increase the vertical space used to store the trees since I still had a lot of boxes to fit in the truck as well!

For those in the region -- How do Yaupons do in Tennessee? I'm in the Tri-cities area. I was paying really close attention to the temp our first couple weeks here, but apparently we occasionally get icey wind and a couple of my yaupons had all their leaves (but not roots) freeze and now all of their leaves have turned brown (but branches still green to scratch test). I feel like I've seen a few yaupons around commercial buildings without damage so I wasnt sure if they did just fine with the colder temps/winds when in the ground but are a lot more sensitive when in pots.

Looking forward to making Tennessee Bonsai friends! I'll be at the BRBS learning symposium this June!

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

I have found them to be more cold-sensitive in pots than in the ground. Here they are everywhere in the landscape, but I have killed several in pots without protecting them from very cold (below about 26f) conditions. It may be that the leaves are still transpiring while the roots are frozen and cannot rehydrate them. You might mulch them in on the ground against a wall, sheltered from wind and strong sunlight.

 

[Bonsai Nut]

Yaupons are native to NC. "Yaupon" is a Catawban native American word... and I live on the Catawba River That said, I had a Yaupon holly for years in Southern California where it did not seem to need cold weather. I moved to NC and lost it in a deep freeze in 12/2022 when temps dropped to 7F and I left it on the bench. Even now I'm not 100% sure whether the cold killed it, or whether I let it dry out.

Otherwise I have a new one that I've owned for just over a year and it is sitting out on the bench with my Japanese hollies and (at least so far) has not been negatively impacted by the winter temps we have had so far this year (low of 15F for a single night... but otherwise very mild)

 

[rockm]

Here in Va Zone 7 they’re marginally hardy and can require a bit more protection from the worst cold. Below 25 f can be an issue. Repeated exposure to those kind of low temps can cause dieback of top growth and roots.

Mulched on the ground or in a cold pit is a good solution.

Further south in Southern Va and tidewater they’re more reliable without much protection other than putting them on the ground and making sure they don’t dry out.