Alberta Spruce Didn't Get Planted

10 years ago

So I let my daughter talk me into buying this really cute live "Christmas tree" from Costco back in November.

Suffice it to say, I didn't get it planted before the weather went to pot and now it is January and the ground is frozen. The tree now lives in my 60-degree basement.

What should I do with this thing? Everything I'm reading says not to try to plant it when the ground is frozen. Makes sense.

I've been watering it about once every two weeks and it looks healthy and the needles are soft and not shedding, though it is getting no sunlight. I'm thinking this is the wrong thing to do.

Should I place it outside and stop watering it so it will go dormant? I can stabilize the pot so it doesn't tip in the wind then (hopefully) plant it in the spring. I also have a south-facing sun porch that warms up (above freezing) during the day where I can put it and keep watering it, or I can leave it in the basement and keep doing what I'm doing.

Let me know what you think. I would hate to lose this thing due to my ignorance.

I'm in rural Kansas City by the way.

Thanks in advance,
Michael

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Comments (4)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
10 years ago
do you have a garage ... any structure outdoors??

are you giving it any light right now??? it shouldnt need much.. but they arent cave plants ....

i would be worried about hardening it off, before blasting it outside .;.;.

i do not think i would favor trying to put it in the ground ....

BTW.. what is your soil type ... how fast does it drain ... when not frozen ...

how do you know when it needs watering .... just a schedule??? or do you check???? i like how infrequently you are doing it.. but i would still check with my finger... and by pulling it out of the pot IF YOU CAN .... checking both top and bottom ...

how much humidity is in the house??? ... forced air furnace????

total speculation.. at least into the garage,presuming temps have become a bit more normal for winter ... the house is probably too warm .... even the basement .... i await the thoughts of others ....

ken
edlincoln
10 years ago
I'd put it in the sun porch for a few weeks and water it, then move it onto the front steps. Let it get used to the outside by degrees. If you get a warm stretch in February or March plant it then. I have had some luck planting my Christmas Holly in the ground outside in January, but less luck with little Christmas trees.

The air inside in the winter can be very dry, and can dry out pine trees.
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bnjmik
Original Author
10 years ago
Soil is more sandy than clay. Drainage is okay, a hole will dry up in a couple of hours if it has not rained recently. Site is on a mild slope going downhill to the south. No windbreak so quite breezy at times. I have the sun porch and some chicken houses with east facing windows.

The tree is in the pot container it came in, the kind with water holes in the bottom. About every other week, I will put enough water in the pot for it to start coming out of the bottom, then stop. It gets about three hours of light bulb light every evening (incidental light).

It's dryer in the basement now than in the summer, but still more humid than outside or on the porch. Forced air furnace, but the basement is not vented.

The sun porch can get into the 60s during the day if it is sunny and gets up to 40 or so during the day. But lately it has been much colder and cloudy so the porch will stay below freezing.

Does it matter if the temps on the porch bounce above and below freezing?

I definitely want to wait until spring to plant. I just want to make sure the tree makes it till then.

Thanks for the help.
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
10 years ago
its fully winter hardy.. much beyond your z6 ... its a tree for crying out loud ... its belongs outside ... anything in the 30's should be just fine for it .... perhaps we should give you props.. for foreseeing the blistering cold we had last week .. lol .. that was your plan all along.. right???? ... lol ...

but now that it has been babied indoors ..... you have to acclimate it back outdoors ...

an unheated garage or shed would be fine .... or the sunporch.. etc ... as long as the porch doenst get too warm on sunny days ... especially in a month or two ... the issue is the opposite from your thoughts ... cold is not the issue ... it might get too hot ... the real key is to get it dormant.. and keep it dormant.. and not have it come out of dormancy.. a month before you can plant it ...

if it were here in my z5 MI ... i would put it in the attached garage for a few days... then wing it into the pole barn for two months... then before the barn got too warm in mid march on sunny days.. it would go against the north of the house ... and i would plant it.. as soon as the ground thawed near 4/1 ....

sand is just fine for it.. do not amend the planting hole... see link on how to plant it ...

one thing for sure.. many of this plant are grown much too long in pots.. make sure you take a little time.. to tease out/cut any circling roots ... as you are planting it ...

ken

Here is a link that might be useful: link