Please help restore confidence

TinyTree

I've been confident until today that I have a great system working here.
I've got a maple,elm,3junipers all in dormancy right now. I've kept them in an old refridgerator(still works) that when warm(50's) will keep my trees below 45degree's. Worked great with 2 junipers last year.
We had a cold snap, well, winter-like conditions here and all my tree's have frozen in the fridge. They've been dormant since Thanksgiving.

-Is this O.K for the tree's? They had frozen a month ago, then thawed for several weeks and now frozen again. Never has the temp inside the fridge exceeded 45 degree's. Tree's still 'seem' alive.

-'Spring' here doesn't really come until about April. Is it O.k to leave my tree's in dormancy until then to reduce risk of late frosts? That will have been 4 or 5 months dormant period.

I say confident until today because of course, the lady at the local nursery, told me it was not a good idea. That the maple may die because of it. I do have a non-heated garage I can move them to but then the temps won't be so stable.

Thanks in advance

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KenDuncan

I think your trees should be fine.
The North Carolina Arboretum keeps some of there collection in a walkin cooler all winter until there is not a threat of frost. Great idea if you can do it.
Bill Valavanis in Rochester New York keeps his trees in his garage with a heater set on 27 degrees F., so they stay frozen all winter.
Here in South Carolina all I can do is leave them outside on the ground all winter with the freezing and warming up, that is not so good but they have survived for over 30 years with these conditions. We have had temps. from 24 degrees F to 75 degrees F. this winter.
I have had some damage in past years to azaleas and some other tinder plants when we have had temps. in the teens and single digets.
In the spring after the new growth comes out and we have a late frost, that seems to do the most damage.

Ken

tachigi

Tiny, out of curiosity why would some one in Denver need a fridge for trees. A cold frame, mulch, burlap,or garage might work with out the worries.

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Tom

Shady Side Bonsai
Bonsai Vault
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Vance Wood

That's a head scratcher ain't it? I have been asking myself the same question. The guy lives in Colorado what does he need a refrigerator cold house for?

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The only finished bonsai is a dead one; me 1992 MABA Des Moines Iowa

TinyTree

Well, I didn't think that would come up but I was under the assumption that if the tree's see temps in the day 50 degrees over a period of a week or two, that they might break bud. temps in my garage/shed fluctuate alot more than in the fridge. This year has been a freak year as far as temps go, but usually,despite what everybody thinks, it's stays pretty mild here on the front range. I'm new to dormancy and I read this idea(fridge trick) and thought it would work since I had an old fridge laying around. I don't have a cold frame, but I do have a shed and a garage both unheated.

Could someone please help me understand dormancy? What happens if I had my tree's in the shed and the temps got 40's and 50's for 2 weeks. The shed would heat up during the day. Would the tree's break bud?

Is it O.K to leave the tree's dormant for 4 or 5 months?

Thanks

KenDuncan

I think that the temps would have to get above the 40s or 50s for the trees to break bud. More like the 70s for a few weeks.

Ken

rockm

Go to EvergreenGardenworks.com. Read the articles on onverwintering and how it works.

Dormany depends greatly on the species. Temperate trees have to meet genetically encoded chilling requirements before they can break dormancy. In some species, this period is rather short in cumulative hour of chilling. In some species, it's longer. Depends. This requirement prevents trees from breaking bud too early if warm spells are around in winter.

Dav4

The short and sweet answers; 1) Temperate plants need a period of dormancy, brought on by shorter days and cooler temps. It is part of their metabolic cycle. 2)Temperate trees such as yours, including the maple, can freeze solid for months with no ill effects come springtime. The hardiness of each tree species will dictate the degree of winter protection you will need to provide. 3) An unheated shed is a good place for overwintering, though as you say, sunny days in mid-late winter can cause elevated temps. Leaving the doors open to ventilate is paramount, as is mulching the pots to decrease temp fluctuations at the root zone. Definately go to the evergreengardenworks site for more complete info/explanations. Good luck,


Dave

tachigi

Tiny, Go to home depot spend about 35 bucks on lumber and an afternoon of building it. You'll have a kick a$$ cold frame. The important thing to remember with cold frams is that you need to dig up about a foot of ground up on the interior. so that you have a type of well. I have one that I can fit about 18 shohin trees in. They stay comfy and snug all winter long and everyday I walk by and watch them snoozing.

The best part is next year the winter prep is cut in half since you have the cold frame ready to go.

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Tom

Shady Side Bonsai
Bonsai Vault
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