Maple tree seedlings - stay outside or come inside for winter?
Madchen L
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
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Botched Winterizing of Jap Maple Seedlings- Help?
Comments (8)14* is generally considered the industry standard as the lowest temperature mature roots of A palmatum can tolerate. This means that the entire organism would be expected to succumb to temperatures that low. I agree wholeheartedly with Pam re her assertion that root damage can/does occur in A palmatum at temperatures as high as 24-26*, and I might even consider a couple of degrees warmer than that as a favorable lower limit, just as an added margin for safety. Even though our trees might survive root exposure to lows in the neighborhood of 14*, they sure won't like it. Roots don't all die at the same temperature, they die incrementally as the temperatures drop. While it varies by species, and genetically by individual plant within that species, all roots on the same plant don't have the same tolerance to cold. These numbers may not be accurate, but it gives you the feel for what I'm talking about. We say that maples are X hardy because they tolerate low air temperatures, but what about root temps? Most temperate trees, even in zone 4, never see actual 6" soil temperatures much below 27*, with 25* being unusual. This is true, even in bare field agricultural conditions. Half of Michigan's upper peninsula, under cover of forest canopy, never even sees frost in the ground. We know that the finest hair roots - the most succulent and the ones that do the lion's share of the work are the first to die. In many woody plants, these roots begin to die as soil temperatures drop below 28*. As temperatures drop further, larger and larger roots succumb to killing low temperatures. The point is - that many trees that SURVIVE are left with only the largest roots to support them in spring because much of the rootage has frozen. These trees are slow to flush in the spring because they need to utilize stored energy to regenerate lost rootage before they can move sufficient water and the nutrients dissolved in water to support either growth or the flush of foliage that makes the food that allows the tree to grow (this, in the case of deciduous material). So, while some trees might survive at extremely low temperatures unprotected, we KNOW it is better for the tree, especially from an energy management perspective, if we give them protection that ensures actual root temperatures don't drop low enough to kill even the finest roots. For most temperate trees, that means we should strive whenever possible to keep low root temperatures in the upper 20s at their lowest, and below 42* to inhibit the onset of growth until spring, when we can get them into good light w/o worrying about frost/freeze. So, what the tree might tolerate and what's best for it are two distinctly different perspectives. Al...See MoreYoung Jap Maples including 2 Seedlings Advice Sought please.6 Pictures
Comments (19)I'm from The Netherlands and live about 20 miles from van Son & Koot. They are one of the leading Japanese maple propagators over here. An innovative company with a good reputation. It propagates many of its Japanese maples through cuttings as this is much cheaper than grafting (labour is expensive over here). How they exactly propagate JM from cuttings I do not know but my guess is that a misting system, additional bottom heat and a rooting hormone are required. I've seen Acer palmatum Atropurpureum, Katsura and Wilson's Pink Dwarf from cuttings and they do very well. In one season they grew from 1 foot to 3 to 4 feet with very good branching. Propagation of Japanese Maples Through Seed -- collect fresh seed in the fall as samara's go from green to brown -- I prefer sowing JM outside for natural stratification and not via the artificial method (putting seeds with slightly moist sowing compost in a zip lock bag in the fridge) as I experienced seeds germinating in January/February in the zip lock bag in the fridge and having trouble growing them on. -- cover the sowing with grit to prevent weeds and mosses like liverwort. Cover the pot with chicken wire or something like it to prevent animals or birds from having a go at your seeds (mice like JM seeds). -- Put outside in a somewhat protected spot but where the weather elements can reach it (probably incorrect English but I hope you understand what I mean!) -- Just wait. -- More waiting ... -- In (early) spring with rising temperatures a big amounts of the seeds will germinate. Don't expect that all the seeds will germinate because this does not happen in nature either. Some seeds will germinate in the second year after sowing. If you got 'old' seeds (i.e. not from the current season) more seeds will germinate in their second year than in the first year (but you can be lucky of course) This is one I did earlier: Japanese maple seeds that started to germinate in the zip lock bag in the fridge:...See MoreDo you grow your Citrus trees inside in winter and what's your set up?
Comments (48)Bklyn, it looks like you are using the same lights as I. Nice. Are those L.E.D light bulbs? Socal very nice. I love that reflection. It looks very bright in there. NO wasted light for sure. Kvetch, you are not kidding there. I can't believe how LONG we have had this cold, snow, and below average temps, and it's not even winter yet. I keep looking at the ten day forecasters outlook and now I see 30's . no 40's. I think I am going to be sick. The ones on the porch I have to water often if I use a fan. If I don't use a fan, it can take a few weeks before they need watering, but they only stay moist thank God. The one in my all season porch, I have to water those every few days because it's much warmer in there, much more sunlight, and I also use fans. LOl. I hear you about window hogging..lol Right now my tree and orchids are competing for the best spot. Jenny, very nice. One of these days I am going to get an Australian lime. Does it produce lots of flowers that smell nice? I would go after the fragrance more than anything.. Laura, didn't it seem like yesterday when we were growing them all outside? Boy do I miss the days when all you had to do was use a hose..((( Yes, all the twist and turns one has to take to get around each tree can be such a pain. Very nice looking too.I hear you got a couple of scale? That's easy to get rid of once and for good. Let me know if you need a suggestion.)...See MoreDoes anyone else stick their trees back outside in winter?
Comments (24)Denise, sorry, I have been so tired of being sick. My brain is brain dead and I can only keep up here and there. Dam 'pregnizone' can wreak havoc on even a young body. Me too. My weather does the same exact thing. When it clouds up it usually rains and is lousy out, but warm. Once the storms pass, then comes the arctic air, the only time I ever get blue skies this time of the year. It's pretty depressing. It has been frigid for day, but not a cloud in the sky. I don't know which is better, cloud warm days and no sun, or blue skies and sun? You are so right! When the west is warm, the east freezes to death! I can't wait to catch a break around here. What a pain it is to unhook the hose and drain all the water out and then hook it back up again to water all the plants in my greenhouse. Kvetch, I see you dug them up!! I am so glad you did that. Ha. I was hoping you would not just let them die of hypothermia..lool Good to see you my friend. Mike...See MoreMadchen L
6 years ago
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
6 years ago
Matthew Vanderloop
8 months agolast modified: 8 months ago
Brenda Bauer
12 days agolast modified: 12 days agocecily 7A
12 days ago
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Madchen LOriginal Author