Conifer trees can be taken care of in terms of winter care the same as Deciduous Bonsai. They go dormant the same and once they are in heavy dormancy do not need any light. For care of my outdoor bonsai I keep them in the garage after they have gone dormant. I prefer this method since you can control the temperature better and protect the tree more from unusually warm days or ones with extreme temperature drop as well as cold drying winds which can force the tree to transpire too much moisture essentially drying it out and killing it (which is a prominent problem for me because I have a field in my back yard). If you decide to do this make sure to store them off the ground and to keep them twords the outside facing wall of the garage and not by the connecting wall to the house. when you water make sure you do so more sparingly and to not saturate the soil as you might during normal growing conditions. You will only have to water a fraction as many time as during the summer also. Ideally a dormant bonsai does best between 30-50 degrees. They can withstand short time periods bellow but if they are in these conditions too long the root ball can freeze. As far as enjoying them inside you could bring one of the Procumbens nana bonsai as an indoor bonsai to enjoy it during the winter as they can survive up to zone 9 conditions. This does raise some problems though that need to be taken care of properly for the tree to stay healthy and happy. The tree will need to have adequate sun and that it receives a lot of humidity which can be supplemented by the use of a humidity tray. It would also be best to keep it in a room with a higher humidity like a bathroom (if possible). Keep in mind This is just my opinion and experience since I live in the Chicago land are (zone 5) and can have quite harsh winters some times dropping to -10 degrees. I'm not familiar how the weather is in your zone but I'm sure you will have to be less vigilant as the weather in your area is more mild. Hopefully some on closer to your zone can help with some better suggestions. Good luck. -Mike

There are quite a few plants that will tolerate sun OR shade, such as Heuchera and Columbine, which should work out just fine. I have both of these in full sun, but lots of people grow these in the shade. I would think anything that says it does better if shaded from hot afternoon sun, would do well there, such as Astilbe, Lychnis, Lobelia, and some types of Euphorbia. Because the time of year that they will be receiving full sun is early in the year, when the sun is not as strong, they should be fine. I'm sure there are many other things that would work there, these are just the ones I could think of off the top of my head. Hope this helps, Bonnie

I'm in 10A in SW Florida. That means I have wet summers and dry winters. In the summer I move jades under the overhang because I need to protect them from the heavy rains. They get full sun from Oct. thru most of June and do well. No wilting and no burning. They survive the shade well, but it is a bright shade with plenty of reflected light. My elf has grown in both full sun and shade. It has done very well. All of my Aeoniums have died. I love them, but seem to kill them, so I'll offer NO advice on that. LOL I have used containers so I could move plants easily if I found that the spot I had chosen is not working out. The changing direction of the sun during the various seasons has surprised me more than once.

if you want pix of cones.. find a 'birder' .. a person who has a camera made for taking pix of small birds at distance and height .. i do not have the knowledge to take said pic against a sunlight blue sky.. i bet a filter was involved.. as well as a ginormous telescopic lens ... pix from my friend carol wolf ... seriously.. i have no clue how she got such clarity.. while standing on the ground.. and snapping a shot 10 feet above her head [2 of the pix] ... lets just write it off to having a real camera.. and experience ... and of course.. talent took me 2 days to find them in the Picea folder.. whats that all about ... lol ... these are not the pix i referred to previously.. again.. those are for another day ... its too early.. and my pupils are vibrating from coffee.. to tell if they are duplicates .. or double shots.. to insure a clean pic ... ken