Winterizing Bald Cypress

St3v9

Does anyone have advice how to winterize a bald cypress? I live in NE PA - zone 5a where it gets down to -20 F. I keep my other trees, spruce and maple, in the garage where it shouldn't get below Zero Degrees Farenheight and they are protected by the wind. Will my bald cypress live well there or should I keep it indoors with my sub-tropical trees?
Thanks.
Steve

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rockm

In the garage with the other temperate species should be fine if you proetect the roots a bit. Bald cypress is NOT a tropical and is hardy well into the Northern U.S. Trying to keep it indoors will kill it.

If by "winterizing" you mean winter protection--sink the pot with the tree into a box filled with moist shredded pine bark mulch so the trunk's bottom third is covered. Don't let it dry out during the winter. Don't worry too much if the whole thing freezes solid even for a month or so. As long as the temperatures near the root ball stay above 20 degrees or so (and they probably will in an enclosed space with a mulch covering) you won't have any problem. I keep my BC outside here in Va. wiht only a mulch covering for ten years or so. It has weathered nights with temps down to -13 F and had no problems.

Dale Cochoy

A picture, even a crummy one, tells a thousand words

Zone 5 NE Ohio

Attached Images

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Dale Cochoy
Wild Things Bonsai Studio
Yakimono no Kokoro Bonsai Pottery
Hartville, Ohio