Hi all.

I've been a fan of bonsai for years and have finally decided to commit to a new hobby. Unfortunately, my in-laws sort of sped up my plan by giving me a juniper for Christmas. Nothing fancy, one of the typical ones you find on Amazon. Whereas I wanted to prepare myself as much as possible with info and which would be he best tree for me and my area, I am now trying to do everything I can for this tree to survive. I know that it needs to be outside, it's sitting just outside a window right now. The hurdle is that I live in the Chicago suburbs, zone 5a. It easily pushes 100 in the summer and -20 in the winter. I have a house but no three-season room.

I had a thought that when it gets EXTREMELY cold to bring it into my garage and underneath an LED fixture. The garage never gets below 30 nor above 50. I have an extra LED fixture I was using for my reef tank. I would think that the wavelengths, intensity, and PAR values should be more than enough to assist a small tree. I'm surprised to have found little information on the net regarding anyone trying something similar. Has anyone ever given this a go? Thoughts?

Welcome to the empire and this addictive hobby. Great to hear you got started. Too bad your friendly relatives bought you something that probably is overpriced and under appreciated as bonsai starter.

Junipers are especially dificult to grow under artificial conditions. They do not take well to a life indoors, even with specific lights. If you have a spot where it will be frozen it can actually do with minimal light. I am not sure how cold junipers can take. Do you get lots of snow too? When burried in snow, the plants are actually fine with very low temperatures, as temperatures under snow does not drop so low, and the tree is not exposed to drying winds. THis is how people in Scnadinavia have their trees survive winter: Deep packed under a layer of snow. Do take care that you have some support for the snow, as a metre of snow melting, will compress a lot; Not good for your tree!

I am not sure whether we have members here with such extreme temperatures. I am assuming you do not mean it gets to the boiling point of water in your area. So I would recommend making it clear you do not use the global standard for temperature, Ceclius, but Fahrenheit?

Hi Willster,

Welcome to bonsai, I live in Michigan and have temps very similar to you. Normally for all my hardy trees, like junipers I leave out all year round. The best way to protect your tree during the winter would be to leave it in your garage or some place cool that doesn't get above 50 degrees F. I don't have a place like that, so I just let the snow cover my trees. I haven't lost one yet this way.

Just as an added note, if you received your tree for Christmas I wouldn't recommend setting it outside right now. just let it grow indoors till spring and let it go dormant next year. This isn't ideal but I have had some success keeping junipers alive with CFL bulbs when I receive them as gifts during the winter.

Good luck

Thank you both for the replies!

WuWu, you say it's best not to put the tree outside at this time. I wondered this, since I'm unsure if the tree had a chance to properly winterize before it was shipped, though I would bet it hadn't been. Despite it being outside for almost a week now, would you think it'd be better to put in my garage under the LED setup I had mentioned earlier?

The temperature is suppose to drop tonight, around 10* F I believe and stay cold for much of the week. I've heard people having success "planting" the tree in soil, with dirt mound up to the first branch, in an attempt to protect it from the harsh winters of the Midwest. They then report it in the spring after the chance of frost has diminished. Have you had any luck with this?

Appreciate the advice.

I haven't used plant and re-pot method, so I cant really say if that's better. Like I said though I haven't lost a tree yet by just letting snow cover everything.

The problem is that you can't really force a tree into dormancy there are a lot of factors that trigger it. That's why its normally best just to leave them indoors when you get them this time of year and then put them outside in the spring. I'm assuming that whatever juniper you received was kept indoors and not allowed to go dormant. For some reason stores sell Juniper "bonsai" around this time year, though they may be a way to get people into bonsai, they are rarely old enough or developed enough to do anything with.

Sorry i cant really give you anymore advice than that. Good luck and I hope it survives!

All noted. This is a great start for me. Thanks again!