RootTrapper bags over winter?

[cs26k]

Anyone do anything special for wintering apple trees grafted this past spring and planted in roottrapper bags? Could bury them in mulch I guess, but I don't see how having the bags above ground is much different than roots being in the top 6 inches of soil except for the brief 20- and 30- below zero nights we can get.

All B118, will get the window screen and chicken wire treatment to keep the rodents at bay this winter.

Thanks!

 

[Jhoss]

I would bury, and bury deep. I have air pruned in root bags and they (the internet) warn against freezing / getting them in the ground before they freeze. Planted mine (cut out of root bags) last Nov 9th, 2018. They did great this summer.

 

[homerj]

I would bury, and bury deep.

Yep, seconded

 

[yoderjac]

The key is keeping the roots from freezing hard and the tops from breaking dormancy over the winter. There are lots of ways to accomplish this depending on your zone. I have a basement room that I seal off from the rest of the house. I open a window to keep the temperature low enough that they don't break dormancy. They don't need light, but they do need water on occasion. Some folks bury, some much deep, some do both.

 

[BuckSnort]

I have some younger trees in pots that I will be burying in mulch before winter. A couple years back I grew some smaller rootstock in a large plastic container thinking it would be fine but they all froze out over winter and died. Lesson learned!

 

[chummer]

I bury the bottom third in my garden box. These are 7 gallon bags. I have done it for the last few years with no problems.

 

[cs26k]

Thanks everyone. Sounds like I should make some time to get the bags buried in the vegetable garden just to be safe.

 

[Ben.MN/WI]

I also live in MN and had the same issue a year ago. Last year I had a few potted apple trees that I didn't get a chance to plant before the ground froze in the fall. I just set them in the garden and covered everything with a few inches of compost and they did fine. Last winter the temps were in the -30 air temp range and they had no issues.

I'd also recommend putting aluminum screen around the trunks if you haven't done so already. You don't want the mice or rabbits getting to your young apple trees.

 

[TreeDaddy]

What is Winter?

bill

 

[chummer]

I put tree tubes on them for the winter to keep the Voles and rabbits off them.

 

[Appleman]

We grow Franklins in the root bags buried to ground level. Trees are protected from voles with aluminum screening.

 

[yoderjac]

I took a bunch of apples I grafted this spring to the farm to plant. I got tied up and did not get them in the ground before freezing temps came our way and it is the middle of hunting season. So, I decided to wait until after the season to plan them. I decided to over winter them in our barn. I built a table to hold them and put an electric oil filled heater under the table and then wrapped it with a tarp:

I need a little more tarp to finish it. The top has pairs of 2x2s spaced 5" apart and the pairs 4" apart. The table is about 4' x 6' and I can get about 24 3 gals on the table. I only have 18 of them. I simply used clothes pins to tie the tarp to the tops of the 3 gals. When I finish the tarp most of the heat produced should bottom heat the containers enough to keep them from freezing but the tops should not break dormancy.

Thanks,

Jack

 

[yoderjac]

Here is the finished version:

 

[Suburbhunter]

Here is the finished version:

How often are you watering using this method?

 

[yoderjac]

How often are you watering using this method?

As needed. I never water on a schedule. I typically water by weight. I just lift a container and have a feel for how much moisture it contains based on weight. Fortunately, we have untreated well water at the farm, not city water, so I can use it to water them. Typically, in the winter when trees have not top growth, they don't use much water. I'll check them every couple weeks. If I soak them, they will easily go a month or more in my cold room at home before they need watered again. I would presume it will be similar with this method in the barn at the farm.

Thanks,

Jack