gripdoctor,
Hey...never give up! I do a lot of cascades and they have been over wintered in a garage, some for almost twenty years.
Another option is a cold frame. Some use raised beds but this really only works for semi-cascade types.
This is a raised bed using 6"x6" pressure treated built up to 24"-30" were bonsai are buried and mulched.
Hope this helps!

Hasaki

Awesome! I hadn't even thought of the garage. Usually just bury the pots and put up a cold frame. Any sugestions on insulating it in the garage? (keep in mind that our winter bottomed out around -40 C in January this year!)

Just for the painfully curious, the tree I just picked up is below...the photo is exactly the way it came home from the nursery. I've just cleaned and trimmed the roots, so it won't be getting any training this season. Haven't even picked a front yet!

Here is a link that might be useful: my proto-cascade

Cascades can be overwintered by laying the pots on their sides and mulching them into grow beds with the "cascade" limbs pointing skyward. You have to be a little more atentive to watering, but this treatment works. Additionally, cascade planting can benefit from being laid on their sides with the long branches pointing up during the growing season. This can sometimes rejuvenate declining cascade branches. As branches don't like to grow downwards, cascade arrangement sometimes can experience dying foliage on the longer branches.

Well, the best species for cascades are prostate or procumbent growing plants. Not only easier to train but less likely to loose bottom branches.
But apically dominate growing trees are used for cascades and may be laid on their side during the growing season. I don't do it, if there is sufficient light, the weakening or loss of bottom branches may be due to other factors.
One thing I do when developing cascades is to use the apically growing top to build the trunk while weakening the future cascade design.
The top is just a sacrifice branch and can be cut back if it takes to much energy out of the cascade. Later it can be cut back to an apex/jin/eliminated.
I made a pretty good ito-kengai this way.
................................
gripdocter,
The trees that are stored in my garage for the winter are on stands and unmulched but the temp. is kept about min. 22F. because of the trident maples.
But when I first started and didn't have too many trees they were mulched in vermiculite in a large wooden box 6'x 4'x 12" that was on a stand.
BTW, good start on your cascade.

Hasaki

How do you protect them from the polar bears?

:-)

Tim (ex tropical SE Ontario)

as i said, that photo is exactly how it came home from the garden ctr...i certainly can't take any credit for the "good start" there. it's a blue rug juniper, so its tendency is to drape and trail. this one just has such a nice form to the trunk i thought it would be a good starter to get my feet wet in the style.

as for the polar bears, i usually lure them away with some seal blubber before sicking my sled dogs on them :P

A little OT, but wasn't Nick Lenz known for his chokkan[straight trunk] bonsai using blue rug juniper?

Hasaki