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| Was at the local nursery trying to round up some bulbs, and they were having a 70% off sale. Got a Crimson Queen Japanese maple marked down from $399 to $120!
It is too big and heavy for me to be able to unload it from the car by myself, so I walked it home on a hand cart - probably looked like a doofus but who cares this thing is going to be gorgeous! Will store in garage over winter, deal with planting in the spring. Got my bulbs, too :0) Now I'm off to walk the cart back to the store... |
Follow-Up Postings:
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| Hey congrats! All those people were probably watching and wishing they could have gotten it. JM's are worth any effort to own them. Must be nice size already for that price. I have one also that is young and love it. Cher |
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- Posted by ken_adrian z5 (My Page) on Sun, Nov 4, 12 at 17:01
| if your soil drains well.. goodly.. i would plant it.. pot and all ... right into mother earth ... and not mess around inside a garage ... especially if attached ... i swear my attached.. unheated garage is at least z7.. if not more ... on zero degree days.. with blinding sun.. the closed garage can get to 30 or 40 degrees .. and if that pot/media starts going in and out of dormancy.. you will rue the day.. you kept it in the garage ... if the plant is otherwise zone appropriate.. then leave it outside ... and ma earth.. will keep that darn pot frozen solid ... like it supposed to be.. in metro detroit in winter ... as always.. the key is: get it dormant... and keep it dormant.. ALL WINTER LONG.. and yes.. walk back to get the cart.. if you cant get burly man to move it to the hole you dug .... KEN |
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- Posted by gardengal48 PNW zone 8 (My Page) on Sun, Nov 4, 12 at 17:11
| Ken, you worry too much :-)) I live in zone 8 (probably closer to a 9) and the temps in winter are routinely 30-40F. No issues with the tree coming and going out of dormancy! There ARE issues with the container soil freezing, however. JM's can experience fatal root damage at 26F so you want to avoid situations that will expose the root system to these temps - like in an unprotected container. Nothing wrong with sinking the container in the ground, tho. And nothing wrong with an unheated garage, either :-) |
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| Wow, nice job. Must be awfully dangerous living so close to a nursery, though, lol! Geez, walking distance no less... ;) |
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| I've overwintered too many things to even remember in the unheated attached garage over the years - shrubs included. So, I have no worries that storing her in the garage over winter will be a problem. If for some oddball reason it suffers fatal damage, well - there is a one-year guarantee so I won't be out any money. |
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| Congrats on your new tree! That's a great mark down. I'm planning to overwinter a whole tray of Salvia Black & Blue, Asclepias curassavica, and a few seedlings that are still in pots, and perhaps not quite established enough to endure whatever winter throws at us. I've had good luck with overwintering plants in the garage! |
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| deal with planting in the spring mxk3 I take it from your statement that there are issues that are causing you to delay planting this tree right now? I say this as planting it directly in the ground even this late in the fall is what I would do (assuming I knew exactly where it should go). |
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| Must be awfully dangerous living so close to a nursery, though, lol! Geez, walking distance no less... Assuming that nursery is quality it would not be good for my finances being that close! |
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- Posted by gottagarden z5 western NY (My Page) on Mon, Nov 5, 12 at 18:00
| If possible, I'd plant it now. The tree will be happier getting its roots established, even in winter. |
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- Posted by christinmk z5b eastern WA (My Page) on Tue, Nov 6, 12 at 16:03
| Congrats! Ever notice how end of season sales sure do make you buy things you wouldn't even have considered when they were full price?? Least that is always how I feel, lol! For what it is worth, last year the nursery I work at overwintered tons of Japanese Maples in an unheated garage. They did fine. We are overwintering more (and very $$$ ones at that) in the unheated greenhouse for this winter. I think the only thing I might warn about is mice. What?! Yes, mice ;-) Several of the trees were stripped of the bark at the base of the trunk by them over the winter. So might not be a bad idea to put a few traps out just in case! |
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| Over the weekend I bought a Deutzia "Nikko" marked down from $19 to $4.75 (I hadn't realized I needed one, but there you go). It went in the ground pronto. |
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| Another score! "Nikko" is a great shrub, lovely in bloom in the spring and makes a nice compact mound. |
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| Have to just LOVE those fall sales, 70% off, $16.95 perennials for $2, etc., etc. It's better than shopping at a flea market or garage sale. |
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- Posted by ken_adrian z5 (My Page) on Sat, Nov 10, 12 at 10:06
| hey .. been thinking about this one .. chuckling on the searchable title.. and the tree post in the perennial forum.. i know.. you just want to hang with your friends ... the absolute bottom line .. IMHO ... two things.. GET IT DORMANT, KEEP IT DORMANT .. UNTIL THE PROPER SEASON ... it does not matter where you store it ... in the garage.. outside.. tipped on its side.. heeled in.. properly planted ... etc ... just dont let that pot accumulate water so as to freeze the roots into an ice cube here in MI ... [also ... in the garage.. once a month or so.. put a snowball or some ice cubes on the media surface.. so on warm days.. they will melt and add a LITTLE moisture to the media .. i would not trust a watering can .. its a dormant plant.. it doesnt need water.. but a dry soil will desiccate dormant roots .. think frozen chicken too long in the freezer] the 2nd is a corollary to KEEP IT DORMANT ... your biggest risk ... IMHO .. come in late winter.. IN OUR AREA ... when your garage ends up being z7 or 8 ... AND IS HITTING 60 AND 70 DEGREES ON SUNNY MARCH DAYS ... triggering spring root growth ... if this thing leafs out in the garage in mid to late march.. and your last frost free date is late may.. you will start getting into trouble ... so what i suggest.. is that come 3/1 ... when the worst of z5/6 winter is past.. you drag that chucker out of the garage.. and let it naturally come out of dormancy .. when its supposed to in what.. late april in MI???? [its the cold march nights.. that will keep the roots dormant, regardless of the day heat.. presuming the big black pot is not in sun] when i moved here and had 1650 potted plant in a pole barn.. the nightmare started.. when in mid march.. 1500 hosta started coming out of dormancy.. a full 2 months.. prior to when i could put them outside the barn ... and that is when i lost most of what i lost .. and that is your problem time period... as always.. take care ... ken |
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| What great bargains, mxk3. I have considered trying to grow a Japanese Maple in a pot and wintering it in my unheated garage. None of the ones I find especially attractive are hardy here. |
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| What great bargains, mxk3. I have considered trying to grow a Japanese Maple in a pot and wintering it in my unheated garage. None of the ones I find especially attractive are hardy here. |
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| I know this stuff, Ken - been doing this a long time. I'm not the least bit worried about the tree. I am worried about getting a lecture from DH about buying things we don't need when he sees said tree :0) (I don't think he noticed it yet on the side of the house). |
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- Posted by ken_adrian z5 (My Page) on Sun, Nov 11, 12 at 9:36
| I know this stuff, Ken - been doing this a long time. ==>> i know you do.. but you are not the only audience to your post ... those of us with vast experience [read that: we have already killed everything at least 3 times].. can 'get away' with stuff others cant.. because we know the variables.. and they are not just winter storage .. but we often fail.. when asked in a post.. to remember the 'gut' things.. we do later... like getting them out of the garage .... before they leaf out ... etc .. the storage in winter is the minor side of the equation ... its the spring side where the problem might be.. and perhaps.. maybe... msnwgal ... needs to know that.. maybe she doesnt .. whatever ... i dont know what to tell you about DH .. lol ... ken |
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| True - others might be reading and interested in the info. Bear with me, I'm cranky lately and prone to taking things the wrong way (dealing with death does that to people...) Well, if DH doesn't notice the tree before I haul it in the garage for the winter, I can use the old "I've had that a while" line LOL! |
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| While I am an old pro at wintering plants in my garage and try to get them back out before they break dormancy I agree that there may be readers that need that information. Also my garage is well insulated and stays cool even on hot summer days and does not have extreme temps in the spring. I already winter a small maple (one that may or may not be a J.Maple started from a mix of seeds given to me several years ago) which is growing well but smaller than expected as was pruned by critters last spring. Also several potted clematis, roses, and not quite hardy in MN perennials. I appreciate others experiences as it might add another aspect to my thinking and may result in a tweaking or change in my practices. |
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