Bonsai beginner with questions on overwintering and other...

[arborrelli]

I'm fairly new to the whole Bonsai business, but my dad used to be into it when I was a child and he gave me his books to read.

After researching a bunch of plants, I've obtained a small collection of trees. I want to make sure that they survive over the winter, because we have a tendency to get a lot of snow where I live in New York (and it doesn't look all that promising this winter either...).
I was thinking of moving them into my dad's workshop (unheated), to protect them from at least the snow element, and obtaining some mulch to insulate the plastic pots that I have them in and the ones that I have planted in the ground. Would this be a good plan of action?

Also, I was wondering if anyone had any experience with growing and training a Japanese Wisteria? I managed to find some vines that were starting to root, and I placed them into some sand to hopefully grow stronger. I've killed at least two via root rot (though I had used a too moisture retentive mix) and lost one to a creature. Can anyone give me any advice for them?

Thanks!

[rainbowgardener]

Welcome to the forum! Glad you found us, hope you find it friendly and helpful. I'm not a bonsai person, but while we are waiting for one to come along, can I suggest you tell us what kind of trees you have? I'm sure it makes a big difference. Some trees are much more cold hardy than others. Also where in New York are you? Do you know what USDA hardiness zone you are in? New York state has a big range from zone 3 in the mountains to zone 6 in New York city and even a bit of zone 7 in Long Island. That's the same as the range from Minnesota to Georgia...

If you provide this information, when a bonsai grower comes along, they will be able to help you a lot more.

[arborrelli]

Depending on the map, I am usually in zone 6.

Most of my trees are found from our area (mainly my yard and some from my grandma's house).

I've got potted: a few maple saplings, some sort of ornamental cherry seedlings, a bunch of rooted wisteria cuttings, some sort of conifer (I plucked all but 2 needles off), and a hawthorn. I am also seeing if I can get a cutting from our pine to take.

In the ground I have: weeping willows, a japanese white spire birch, and some hawthorns.

Hope that helps.

[Gnome]

arborrelli,

Congratulations, I think this is the first official 'overwintering' thread this year. Trees native to your locale should do well for you. Tender species require much different protection. I have two main strategies for the winter storage of hardy species.

Everything stays out until around Thanksgiving. Allowing them to experience the shortening days, colder temps, and a few hard frosts ensures that they are dormant. Evergreens need some light, at least until temperatures really drop, at which time photosynthesis slows greatly and full sun can even be detrimental. Once dormant deciduous trees require no sun and can be stored safely in a garage or garden shed.

I place the trees on the ground in a semi-sheltered location and mulch around the pots with shredded leaves. Most quality pots will withstand the low temps although some may not. Plastic pots are obviously not a problem. Trees that are established enough to be removed from their pots can be buried without them, this works well. The roots are the part that needs protection as the woody tops, once fully dormant, are very hardy, just as in nature. There is a lot of heat in the Earth and by mulching, the pots will stay much warmer than if they were exposed. Once snow falls I cover the whole area, this is an excellent way to insulate the pots/roots.

I am also lucky enough to have an unheated garage. It has a gravel floor, not concrete (same issue as above, the ground provides more warmth than you might imagine) and is on the North side of my home which avoids the possibility of the space heating up early in the Spring. I try to keep everything dormant as long as possible in order to preclude the necessity of moving budding plants back and forth.

Seedlings, cuttings and things in very small pots are more vulnerable than larger, established specimens. Anything newly rooted/potted is also at risk.

Don't overlook the need to occasionally water anything stored under shelter. Watering will be greatly reduced but don't ignore it. Things outside under snow are pretty much on their own until spring.

If you search the forums for bonsai overwintering you should find more as this comes up every year.

Norm

[arborrelli]

So it would be better to leave them outside next to the house on some earth than bring them into the workshop that has cement flooring?

That would probably be the easiest thing, so I could potentially mulch with leaves. Would these leaves be the ones that I would rake up from the yard?

Thank you for the information. I felt that it would be better to ask someone more experienced than try to find it in a book and get frustrated.

[Gnome]

arborrelli,

So it would be better to leave them outside next to the house on some earth than bring them into the workshop that has cement flooring?

Not necessarily, with such young material I might err on the side of caution and opt for inside storage. Concrete outside would be much more of a problem than concrete in a more moderate situation. How cold do you expect it to get in the workshop? You could always provide some sort of thermal break, perhaps in the form of a sheet of rigid insulation. If the shop is in use a lot then excess warmth might be more of a problem than cold. I usually struggle to keep plants stored in my garage dormant late in the season. You really want to avoid them breaking dormancy too early.

Norm

[arborrelli]

It gets pretty cold in our garage. We had to get a fridge in there - no for summer use, but to keep the soda cans from exploding due to cold.

I should probably find a way to keep our dogs from knocking them over, and in some cases, eating them. Though I will cross that bridge when I come to it.