Really, really, cold winters? (And voles, too)

buntaro san

You folks that live in the so called temperate zones where the winter temps can get down to 15-25 below zero F, any thoughts on overwintering? I'm very hesitant to let my trees get that cold although I know they need some dormancy. I'd love a little input.

p.s. I had a vole get in my (unheated) greenhouse last winter and burrow into the pots and eat the roots of a couple of my trees, any thoughts on this as well? Couldn't figure out what to use as bait to try to trap the varmint.

Buntaro

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tom

I'm in Wis. zone 4/5 where it easily gets that cold. I overwinter my trees three different ways. I use an unheated greenhouse for the smaller trees. Unheated garage for larger potted bonsai. And lastly I put stock still in nursery containers in the ground next to the house. If the trees are hardy to your zone, cold should not be a problem- the danger is the winds that can dry out the trees, and freeze/thaw cycles that damage the roots. Provide a wind break and/or nestle them near a building. When it snows cover them with it. I water only with ice cubes or snow during dormancy since if they don't melt the trees can't use it anyways. Plus this provides insulation. If you use a greenhouse make sure its vented to keep it from getting too warm. I mainly use mine as a protection from the wind not so much to keep them warmer. good luck.

side note: I find it harder to keep tropicals alive during winter than having hardy trees survive our winter. So you'll probably do fine.

tom

One idea for the voles- I used a top dressing of slate chips to deter squirrels from digging in my pots-worked great.