Advantages Of Unheated Garage Storage

Jay

Hi all... in the words of an old (OK realllly old) song, "Baby, it's colds outside"... I know our members in the northern mid-west may not think we get 'real' cold in the east but.... Last night was down to 18 F with a high today of the upper 20's. Tonight may get near 10 F. All my trees are nicely put away, some in my unheated garage, some in a coldframe type struture and some with just some wind break.

Let me give you an example of why the unheated garage is so good for those trees needing a little extra help. The Temps are moderated... when it gets warm out, the garage is slow to heat. But when it gets cold, the garage is slow to get cold. My garage shares a northern wall of the house, and although I hope to keep all the heat in the house, I'm sure some makes it through the foundation. Last night with the temps at 18 F the garage only got down to 30 F. As the winter comes on the garage will slowly drop to about the upper 20's, which has in the past been perfect for my trees. Just a thought for those looking for a place for their trees..... admittedly next year!

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A Bonsai student living with his trees at N 44.37 W 77.49...
Think before you act... then think again... no good comes from rushing

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freakwent

Jay,
Do you do anything to make up for the lack of air circulation. I was wondering if I should keep a fan on low or do you think my drafty windows would do the job?
freakwent

Jay

I think this is an example of do what I say but not what I do. My garage is active, door is opened several times a day and car in... car out... is happening. This gives a bit of air flow and I have not had any problems in the past. My trees are somewhat seperated and there is air coming in through the (leaky) window. That said, you should have a small fan to move the air. You can get them at a Radio Shack or equal. Small little computer type fan. You do not need to make much air flow, actually if you have large amounts of air you will dry out the trees. You are looking to just have a minimum of air flow, I might even direct the airflow over the top of the trees.

__________________
A Bonsai student living with his trees at N 44.37 W 77.49...
Think before you act... then think again... no good comes from rushing

freakwent

Thanks Jay,
I think my window may be leaky enough to provide that along with my door opening/closings.

jimmygreen

Is there any way to check for signs of poor health during the winter when your outdoor trees are dormant? What about checking to see if the roots have frozen? Is there any way of doing that?

(haha, Jay, you must think i'm the world's most paranoid bonsai enthusiast)

Jay

Jimmy, you ask, "you must think i'm the world's most paranoid bonsai enthusiast" my answer.... no, just a concerned one. I find that the roots will freeze over the winter. This is not bad for the hardy trees.What is bad is a freeze/thaw/freeze/thaw etc etc type thing. I can only speak of my trees and my wintering arrangement. I havew had no problem or loss in the past. Doesn't mean I will not have loss in the future! Sometimes too much attention is not good. Do the right thing, keep an eye on them regarding mice etc and water when needed and they should be fine.... if they are hardy!

__________________
A Bonsai student living with his trees at N 44.37 W 77.49...
Think before you act... then think again... no good comes from rushing