Well, here is an update from my post on March 20, 2009, above. The "Russian Hardy" poms (2) did fine coming through the winter of 2008-09. They leafed out beautifully from top to bottom... then a late freeze down to around 27 as I recall came in and - killed them back to the ground. Pretty annoying since it was clearly all about the timing of it. They survived fine down to 8 degrees back in November, but got killed to the ground at 27 during leaf bud. Well, same the same story may be unfolding this year, we'll have to see. The scoop this year was we got down to around 5 or six degrees, they looked to have buds on all the regrowth just fine, and then this year they were just starting to bud in a few places - and, we only got down to 32. All the new leaves are dead. It will be a little while before I can tell if the branches are done in to the ground like last year. Its hard to complain, I'm trying to grow them out of their normal zones (6b in the 1990 USDA hardiness zone map). But, it is annoying they can survive the hard winter freezes only to have trouble with light spring freezes at the wrong time. Argh! ;)

Hi, thanks for your interest!!.. Araucaria angustifolia, Pinus strobiformis (Jalisco) and Pinus maximinoii didn't make it... cedrus deodara were just fine, they looked like Larix by late April, but doing well. surprisingly Cupressus benthamii, Cupressus lindleyii, Pinus maximartinezii, Pinus patula and Pinus nelsonii did just fine, some damage, but back on track. Pinus roxburghii is a different story, it started sending new growth by May, not from the buds, as they were frozen. There was juvenile foliage in the bottom 2/3 of the tree, with the top dead. Then, branches started to die throught the year, one by one, until it got to the botton 1/3. This year the buds started to swell early, but then we got 4" of snow in late March and -14C, which killed all the buds and the leaves. We'll see if it survives, but its future doesn't look promising....... osprey

Jose, Thanks for posting that information. I had seen it before when you posted it sometime back. It a good reminder and very applicable at certain times of the year. Some of these practices are indeed used by me the many Citrus growers in my area. They do work quite well. It is a well kept secret that Louisiana does indeed have a small (compared to Florida and California) Citrus Industry. The taste of Louisiana citrus rivals the fruit that is grown in Florida and California because it has a better sugar to acid ratio. Our farmers did a great job of protecting MANY citrus trees from the unusually cold winter that we had in our area this past season. I lost some but saved most of my citrus from the cold temperatures that we experienced. Fruitnut...... Wind chill is a function of both AIR temperature and its relative humidity level. And yes indeed, WIND CHILL CAN AFFECT PLANTS. Here is some technical information that I posted in another thread to help explain this multi variable phenomenon. [This is FYI only and for those other forum members who might want to know some "WHY's" behind potential leaf damage due to cold............it is not just about AIR TEMPERATURE. It is also about wind, leaf temperature, and air humidity level. On a windy night with clear or cloudy skies LEAF temperature will be nearly the same as AIR temperature. However, on a cold, clear night with little to no air movement.....leaf temperature can easily drop 3 to 4 degrees lower than the ambient air temperature. (It can drop as much as 8 degrees in my area.) This is because of the RADIATION heat loss of the fig leaves. The rate of heat loss of those leaves is a function of the air's humidity level. At higher humidity levels often frost will form on those leaves. So, while the ambient AIR temperature might only be 35 degrees F......the actual LEAF temperature might well be 31 to 32 degrees F. That temperature could affect tender new growth. In my area it is not uncommon for us to see frost form whenever the ambient air temperature is at 40 degrees F or below. This means that the actual leaf temperature reached 32 degrees F or below which froze the dew that condensed on the leaves as the dew point of the humid air was reached during the night. Late Spring frosts can kill fig trees in South Louisiana......especially if the outside air temperature has been cycling through several periods of warmth and cold. Yes, in my area, damaging frosts can form on fig leaves with ambient temperature as high as 40 degrees!! Ask me how I know and what I fear most at this time of year. Potential plant damage is really about leaf temperature and that is a bit harder to measure.] Dan

Steve: The only thing that I do to prepare my trees for overwintering in my unheated shed is ....nothing. They live outside, in the elements until the temps. consistently drop down into the low 30s. This usually occurs around the last weeks in December, where I live. I try to keep the trees out of the shed as long as possible, and because they are containerized, I make sure they have some water if the Fall season is unusually dry. When the time comes, the containers are rolled into the shed, and I water the trees a few weeks later, and continue throughout Jan.-March to keep the soil moist, not soaking wet, moist. By the end of March, beginning of April, terminal buds start getting very green, and I know trees are getting ready to be moved out of the shed. I move my trees out before leaves start to open in the shed, and I let Mother Nature take over, except for the watering...if the weather is dry, no late snows, no rain, etc.... I dump some water in the pots. They re-sprout every Spring, on their own schedule. No wrapping, no cardboard boxes,...nothing....I roll them in, I roll them out. Just a thought....your trees sound as if they might be much smaller than my trees, which are 6 ft. tall, single-trunk, 3" diameter at base above soil...small trees. It's possible that smaller 'treelets' might need some extra protection because of their small size and smaller container volume. Other members on the forum might be better qualified to answer this question better than I. Hope this helps. Frank