Winter watering: How you YOU do it?

[We're all Mad Here...🎩]

Don't put them under your deck. Put them on the ground (on top of a layer of gravel) in a garden bed that doesn't get afternoon winter sun (or any sun for that matter) and is protected from the worst winds. Pile shredded pine or hardwood mulch up and over the tops of the pots to about three or four inches. Before you mulch, make sure the bottoms of the pots have an air space underneath (I use paver bricks to set trees on to allow for this). Air space underneath is important to allow for drainage. Again before you cover them up, water each plant well, then water the mulch that goes over top.

The garden bed should be exposed to the elements. Pray that temps drop below 40, and into 20-30 F, or even lower on occasion.

The trees in that mulch pile probably won't need watering for some time, if at all. I have never watered my trees in winter storage. Snow rain, sleet whatever, allow it. Don't try to keep your trees out of it. The species you have are well capable of weathering a lot worse. I've been overwintering trees like this for a long time here in N. Va. haven't had many issues over the years. For your maples, Your enemy is Feb. warm temperatures. If we get days that top 65 in early Feb., keep an eye on trees for bud elongation. Be ready to bring trees inside if they start leafing out.

BTW, the wet mulch tends to deter rodent activity since it's wet and freezes. Mice don't like that. They DO like overprotected trees that have been sheltered to keep them out of the elements.

Perfect, thanks!

 

[We're all Mad Here...🎩]

I’m now in Delaware, not Maryland, but the climate is identical. In most of Maryland, the temperature will fluctuate between just above freezing and just below freezing throughout most of the winter. Sometimes in January and more often in February, there’ll be a week or two of colder weather, but the low temperatures at night are almost never under ten degrees Fahrenheit and generally around twenty degrees. Maryland is colder than the Deep South, but it’s still technically a Southern state. It has a mild enough climate and a long enough growing season that Maryland residents historically were part of the Southern slave-based agricultural economy. Winters are cold but not brutal. Snow is normal but infrequent.

Trees that come from northern climates (e.g. northern red maples) I keep on benches throughout winter. The pots sometimes freeze solid, and they thrive in spring. More sensitive species (like beeches) I set on the ground, and I insulate the pots with straw. The trees on the ground almost never need water in addition to rainfall. It’s perpetually moist under the straw. The trees on the benches get more dry, so I water them once per week or so when ambient temperatures are above freezing and when it has been a while since the last rainfall. In a prolonged cold snap, I would probably move my bench trees to the ground to prevent them from drying out, but generally the winter is mild and wet.

Great info, thanks!!!