What to do about frost-heaved Eastern hemlock cutting?

last year

I have a few cuttings of Eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) that I was able to root, and I noticed this evening that the roots have become exposed. We had a couple of very cold nights, and I'm assuming the culprit is frost heaving.

Any tips on what I should do next? Do you think the exposed roots were damaged/killed in the cold, or can I save the plants?

I've attached pics of the plant that was worst hit. You can see the exposed roots in the close-up. We're in the Philly area in Zone 7a, and the cuttings were taken from trees upstate in Zone 6a. I rooted them and transplanted them to six-inch containers of peat:perlite, and they're now overwintering in an attached greenhouse. The outside temperature dipped to about 9 degrees last night, but the greenhouse is usually 5 to 10 degrees warmer than the outside air temp, so I'm guessing the cuttings were not exposed to cold below 15 degrees. I watered the plants well about three or four days before the cold snap. The pots are wrapped in bubble wrap and surrounded with straw bales, so there was some insulation, but the exposed roots were, of course, exposed.

I'm guessing I should prepare some more moist peat/perlite and gently mound it over and around the roots to re-bury them when the temp thaws tomorrow (we're supposed to get into the mid-40s), but I really don't know what to do and don't want to damage them more.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

James

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Comments (8)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
last year
last modified: last year
i highly doubt there is frost heave in z7 in a greenhouse ... those roots appear to have been exposed a very long time ...

dampen some media.. and just lay it on top.. and walk away .. lets not kill them with too much love ...

i have seen many potted trees like this at production facilities.. and its not all that uncommon ..

ken

this is how heave works ... sure doesnt look like a few hours of cold in z7
BillMN-z-2-3-4
last year
You'll just have to wait and see.

I've wintered newly rooted cuttings of Tsuga canadensis in a cold frame where the temps got down to 20dF over a couple of months and had nothing bad happen.

Mine were in a 511 bark mix and when I brought them out in the spring, were thoroughly frozen like an ice cube.

I certainly would raise the soil level so it covers the roots. Roots drying would be as bad as getting too cold although 15d is pretty cold, so I would keep them a bit warmer for the rest of winter.
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tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
last year
What you see is attributable to soil shrinkage (gassing off) or settling of the soil. It's no big deal. You can add additional soil to cover the roots (but not any of the stem/trunk) if you like, or leave it as it is.

Al
HU-8905233
Original Author
last year
Thank you so much for the responses! I am still mulling what to do. There was **some** exposure of the roots even before this weekend, but the roots seem much more exposed now, and I am a little worried about damage either from dehydration or from the next cold snap.

My impression from what I've read is that the most I should do is mix up some moist medium to work gently under and around the roots so they are covered, but I am reluctant to do any more than that. Too much risk of killing them with love, as Ken says.

Unfortunately, there is nowhere warmer to put them. The house is warmer but way too dry.
BillMN-z-2-3-4
last year
last modified: last year
I think the idea here is to keep them dormant until spring. Anything above low 40'sdf and they'll start to grow. I don't know when you want that to begin in z7.

Looking at your pictures, the cuttings look so nice and green (read healthy) so I wouldn't worry about them too much. You just don't want them to come out of dormancy, then go back into the deep freeze, at least not repeatedly. Most cold zone plants can take that to a certain extent.

Good luck and come back and let us know how things turn out. :-)
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
last year
from what I've read is that the most I should do is mix up some moist medium to work gently under and around the roots so they are covered,

==>> no..no..no .. just apply topically to the proper height ...

this is not really any big deal at all.. every one of us told you that.. and you are still worrying ...

ken
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
last year
i just noticed you have the pots wrapped in red bubble wrap .... lol ... why red??? ... not really necessary in your z7 for a plant winter hardy to z3 ... and in fact.. if it restricts FULL drainage.. could be a negative ....

anyway... when i was dabbling in growing trees in pots outside.. i found.. i was best off repotting EVERY spring ... and i also found that a media that was about half peat media and half mini chunks was just about perfect for the TOTAL absolute complete drainage ALL trees prefer when trapped in pots ...

i used about 50/50.. or you can invest in making al's famous 5-1-1 mix ... [what i made was very similar to orchid mix .... ]

anyway.. THAT is when you take care of this problem...NOT really in mid winter ...

ken
HU-8905233
Original Author
last year
Ken, thanks for the follow-ups!

I ended up getting cold feet (hah), so I decided not to do anything for now. I'm too worried I will damage the roots by trying to fix something that is probably not a big problem.

I will wait until spring and then repot them as I had planned to do anyway. I think I am going to try the 5-1-1 mix.

And yes, I wrapped in bubble wrap to insulate them. Red was the cheapest color! Because of the shape of the pot, I don't think it restricts drainage. They seem to drain just fine.

Thanks again!

What to do about frost-heaved Eastern hemlock cutting?

Comments (8)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5

BillMN-z-2-3-4

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tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)

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ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5

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What to do about frost-heaved Eastern hemlock cutting?

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ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5

BillMN-z-2-3-4

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tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)

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ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5

HU-8905233Original Author

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