Hello everyone, this is my first post on this forum. I recently purchased a Juniper Bonsai tree. I noticed they glued rocks to the soil which after some research I took it off, anyway I love in Illinois, where the weather can easily get 20 below 0, and I recently realized that you have to place these little plants outside. My question is: for those who stay in cold places like myself, are we just not allowed to keep them alive because our temperatures and climate? I checked the water levels the soil is currently moist, and I have a porch where it can receive direct morning sun, my main concern is what to do when it begins to snow and get sub-zero. Sorry for all the rambling.

You will not keep it alive inside.Junipers are hardy to -10C at least. Snow is an insulator so if it was covered with snow it would be protected. A porch would be ok, the main thing to avoid is drying out. You have th usual very youg untraind plant in a poor quality pot that needs a lot of growing. If you put it in a porch then it must go out as soon as conditions start to change.

Understood, so should I invest in a better pot and then just place it lutside until the really cold winter sets in?

No you need a differnt pot in the future. There is no point in changing the pot whilst it is un trained.

Akyi wrote:

Understood, so should I invest in a better pot and then just place it lutside until the really cold winter sets in?

No, you place it outside. Period.

are we just not allowed to keep them alive because our temperatures and climate

You "are allowed" to keep any plant alive that is suitable for your climate...

www.illinoiswildflowers.info/trees/plants/red_cedar.htm
How do you think these survive in nature?

Thanks for taking the time to reply, so long story short I should just take it outside. While it's out there do I Still water it the way I normally would, dryish water it throughly? Also when it does get extremely cold outside and it's dormant should I not water it at all Really?

My junipers stay on the bench yearround. -20 they survived without damage a fewnyears back. In winter i let nature take care of the water. Typically i do not water my trees from mid october to march or april. I just put away all my wateringhoses last week.

leatherback wrote:

In winter i let nature take care of the water. Typically i do not water my trees from mid october to march or april.

With all due respect, are you saying you do not water any of your trees during six months? No watering at all? In small pots?

leatherback wrote:

I just put away all my wateringhoses last week.

Which means yes, you do not water them for six months in a row. I am amazed. Never read any bonsai literature suggesting this, and believing it works for you I wonder... What if it never rains in winter (as it happens here, for months in wintertime)?

Clicio wrote:

leatherback wrote:

In winter i let nature take care of the water. Typically i do not water my trees from mid october to march or april.

With all due respect, are you saying you do not water any of your trees during six months? No watering at all? In small pots?

I recently wrote the same. I will not be watering my trees for the next couple of months. There will be no need. Even if there is not much rain, it will be sufficient. It is colder, there's less sun, the days are getting shorter. The soil dries much slower now. The deciduous ones are not using water, the everygreens are not using much. Theoretically, we could have longer dry periods, but I cannot remember having such long dry periods that I needed to water my trees in this season.

Quite right, from now on until probably early February I will not be watering any trees apart from some under over and then only once or twice. No sun lower temperatures equals not drying out.Deciduous trees are dormant so only need to be damp, conifers like to be drier anyway.