More Over-Wintering Ideas for Hardy Bonsai

Although pines and other winter hardy trees need their dormant period rest, because bonsai are kept in shallow pots there is a danger of your trees dying out.  Also some protection of the roots is best to keep the tree healthy.

One way used by many of our club members, and that has worked for my own pines over many seasons is to heel the tree into the ground, along with a covering of mulch. Good spots for heeling in your trees include landscapling areas near the house.  Such locations give you the added benefit of wind protection from the house and in between shrubbery.  Plus you may already have plenty of mulch in these areas.  I simply use a rake or garden hoe to pull away the landscaping mulch, then dig a shallow trench about as deep as the pots.  Place the trees in the trench, and rake the dirt back in and around the potted trees.    Then pull the mulch back over the pots as well. For most trees, I've typically heeled them pot and all.

However, it works just as well to slip you bonsai out of the pot, especially if you are unsure whether or not the pot will withstand winter freezing.  It is disappointing in the spring to bring the bonsai out of the ground and find that your pot has burst apart from the frost. 

Another handy spot that I use are the window wells around the house.  In these spots, I put trees that are still in nursery pots.  The sunken well is handy and well out of the wind.

I also like to use the tomato garden for some of my larger plants. It is close to the area where I keep a lot of the larger trees that I work with, so I don't have to carry them as far, and it seems to work real well for the bigger pines.  During a lot of winters, they stay coated with snow.

I keep some of the less hardy trees like my Japanese maples in an unheated garage that is attached to the house.  Because dormant trees will still use a little water, but you must be sure to check these trees occasionally. Watering them is necessary.  Be especially vigilant if your trees are in very shallow pots.  I lost two prized maples a few winters ago that happened to be in shallow pots, and were watered the same as those in deeper ones.  But at some point the moister wasn't adequate and trees had dried out. It was painful to loose two incredible maples. So keep a close eye  on them.

--Mike R.

David's Wild Tree Project & Winter Tree Protection Ideas

A wild tree like that can be a lot of fun to work with. Plus the price is right. David C.sent this photo of something wild that he has been encouraging and trimming in his back yard. He writes this of the project:

I dug this small tree up from near our property line ,5 or 6 years ago and moved it so the neighbor wouldn’t mow it down. I keep it cut back for bonsai stock, it was about 2 feet high, but a deer rutting in our back yard tore the top off, now its about 1 foot tall and the top 2 branches that he left are broken, I guess I’ll dig it up and tilt it using the bottom branch as the new trunk ,I have no idea what it is, the leaves are small and it seems to grow very slow.

It will be fun to see how this project progresses in the coming years. 

David also added this good view of a spacious cold frame that he has built to winter over some of his trees. Such a cold frame offers good protection from the drying effect of winter winds, while allowing the trees to stay dormant. 
Don't forget that plants will still use a little water while they are dormant, so b be sure to check plant periodically during the winter.  Some member let a coating of snow inside the frame to insure that the trees stay moist.