Bonsai Winter Shelters and Protection

Bonsai Winter Care. Building bonsai winter shelters for northern conditions. Build this kind of shelter and keep it in your garage an your bonsai tree will have a good chance of surviving the winter.

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People & Blogs

Tags:

• Bonsai
• Winter
• Shelters
• Protection
• Care
• heat
• cable
• roots
• Snow
• Garden
• Tree
• Green
• wolfmeditation

[aramanamu]

i think it should be said that this is usually not necessary if you use species native to where you live. i have had trees frozen solid in their pots many times, and last winter they endured -15C (5F) with no ill effects. seems to me healthy, fully hardy species can take it... they should be protected from wind though, especially if the humidity is low. from what ive seen i think this is the main cause of die-back

[wolfmeditation]

@aramanamu Not usually. This winter I only used the shelter for about 2 days. This set up works for me. (garage against wind, an heating cable just incase of really cold weather.)

[severusjsnape]

Your close, but there is an important distinction to be made between the soil freezing solid and the trees roots themselves freezing. If the water in the soil freezes it does not harm the roots, BUT if the temperature gets low enough  (teens say) the water held within the dormant roots actually will freeze and rupture the root tissue, this distinction will be an important part of providing proper dormancy for other species you may acquire in the future, Like Azalea, Chinese elm, or Trident maple

[wolfmeditation]

@severusjsnape Still, The roots can freeze, and thats what I'm preventing.

[severusjsnape]

The best approach with bonsai is to allow the soil to freeze, yet not allow the outside temperature around the bonsai or its pot to fall below 20F it's at this temperature, and lower, that the water held within the roots of the tree can actually freeze, expand, and rupture the root tissue from within. Heating cables would thus be unnecessary, remember that at any temperature below 32F ice forms in the pot, heating cables or not, the idea is to keep the roots themselves from freezing.

[wolfmeditation]

@severusjsnape Yes, thats what I said in the video. If the water in the soil freezes, it tears up the roots. The shelter I made here prevents the roots from freezing. Heat cable is very useful. Without it the risk of freezing roots it very high. I don't see why not to use it. It's cheap and a good method to prevent freezing.

[TheCrankinguru]

your voice is so deep it seems u got a subwoofer in ur throat...lol nice video, thanx!

[OrlandoBonsaiTV]

Nice video. I can't tell you how many times I am asked about protecting trees in the winter. I'm in Florida for Pete sake!

[severusjsnape]

Do what works best for you is almost a proverb in Bonsai culture, All your trees look healthy and that is a tribute to your good stewardship and caring for them!

[Iggynawcio]

where are state are you in? I live in texas, we usually get temps in the low 20s for coldest, and 110+ hottest