Thaddeusjd

I just wanted to get a few opinions on something I cobbled together to try and protect my trees (cotoneaster, blue moss cypress and juniper) from the Kansas winter. As an apartment denzien I had to try to get creative....
I took a large cardboard box and one the open end, taped one flap shut. I cut along the top to create a flap I could open and close and trimmed the inside flaps off. I lined the inside of the box with styrofoam on the "walls" and packing peanuts on the "floor". This I covered with plastic sheeting (and the outside of the box to make it more waterproof) and filled with a mix of clean potting soil and spag moss (60/40). I placed my trees in plastic bags around the pots and buried them slightly in the soil. I plan on removing them every 3-7 days to see if water is needed. I also added a alum cake pan in the back buried in soil that I can add heated gravel into to keep the temp up slightly if needed to protect the roots. Additionally, I have a infrared heat lamp I can train on the box. The flap is nice, when I head to work in the morning I open it up for light and air, and the plastic sheeting is such that it blocks the wind from the front. Close it at night when I get home.
Overkill? I know the cypress needs cold, but I am trying to protect the roots.

-Thaddeus

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