Zone 37??? Some people manage to grow some e.g. zone 5 trees in zone 4b, but remember than in pots, trees don't have the advantage of being warmed all around by the 'whole' earth, just a few inches at best, plus individual microclimates (like even 1/3 of your own bkyd) can make a diff... if there's a lot of other plants around for protection, or it's on a windy hill alone, etc. etc. and zone 5 can be consistently diff. in other ways (humidity, wind) in diff. parts of the country, so you can't be rigid about it, or sue anyone because of it!

thanks lucy! basically i can see what you're saying is just give it a shot and see what happens!! hehe

cheers!
choubacca

Does anyone else remember the movie, "Dumb and Dumber?" Jim Carey's character is asking the girl what his chances were with her, and I think the answer was "one in a billion." Mr. Carey says, "So you're saying theres a chance...."

Choubacca, how about a realistic question. You are in zone 6b, what trees are you trying to grow there as bonsai? Tropicals can be grown in the arctic circle if they have a protected, heated greenhouse and plenty of added light. The real question is, is it worth the extra investment to keep the tree you want? I could grow Japanese maples here in Ottawa Kansas if I had a shade house and a way to keep their root balls cooler, but three weeks of 100+ days makes it time-consuming and risky. So I concentrate on trees that are heat-tolerant and protect them in winter, which I find easier.

As Bonsai KC has said, How bad do you want it? I personally live in Middle Tennessee (zone 6b) and grow trees as bonsai that belong in zone 8 or 9. This is not to say they are winter hardy (olea europa, ficus carica, citrus) but a modest investment in a metal halide lamp and about 12 bucks a month for electricity in a finished basement means they have an artificial sun/heat lamp and they do great until spring. Not to mention I have a place to go to get light for seasonal blahs due to winter! It can be done as long as you are prepared to invest the time and money to do it. Good luck!
John

hey yall!

thanks for all you're responses!!

i live in Zone 37 west of the Hudson River in NY and I was planning to grow coast redwood trees, ginko, rockspray cotoneaster, japanese pagoda tree, and others. I know the ginko and the others like japanese pines and chinese elm will do ok in my zone with protection i think. The other ones like the cotoneaster, pagoda, and especially the redwood might not. Winter is coming and i was going to plant all these seeds in the ground and develop their trunks there for several years. Whats the best I can do to help them survive once the following winter comes? I was going to try insulate the bed with woodchips/mulch and maybe put a bench or erect a tarp over them to keep some frost off. I have a black cherry tree growing with which to experiment on this winter.

cheers!!
choubacca

Growing seeds in the ground is a very different thing. I tried mesquite here in Virginia and kept them alive a couple of years, but they never did well. In any case, you have to create the conditions your tree likes for it to grow well. Zack

I've never heard of zone 37; as far as I know the zones are 1-11. What is and where did you et zone 37?

hello!
well it automatically says im zone 6a when i log in. I live west of the hudson river in NY. I got zone 37 from this bonsai book called "sunset bonsai". Basically it had over 30 zones on a map of united states. I guess it was its own little zone map. It says in the book that that where i live is warm hot humid during summer and can get to -5F during the winter unless artic air moves in. It seems to generally be accurate but ive noticed that it is colder on the west side of the hudson than on the east side like in Westchester county, which is still (according to this book) in the same zone. I guess that ties back to what Lucy said about there being many different climates everywhere even in your own garden. Well, i guess if i Do live in 6a, and the trees im ordering say things like "for zones 4-7 or 6-9 i guess i should be ok right?

cheers!!
choubacca

There are different zone-mappings... USDA zones, and sunset zones. I think from there you can see the confusion that has ensued...apples and oranges being what they are.

WF

Bonsaikc,
You're not growing Japanese maples in Kansas? You are really missing out on a great bonsai. Nothing looks better next to a nice pine. I grow Japanese maple bonsai down here in La. with no "shade house" so you should be fine there. Give them a try! Just keep them in the shade once the temps get into the 80's.

Tim

Does anyone know how to figure out if a coast redwood seed is defective or not? It would be very useful to be able to rule out the infertile seeds as I'm trying to grow a bonsai coast redwood at the moment. Please tell me if you know!

I've never heard of these zone things! What do you think my zone would be? I live in England and it seems everyone here lives America.

If you live in the south of England, you're likely our zone 8 or even 9 (Cornwall possibly... tho' I know it's another country), but further north, you'd more likely be in 7, and in Scotland, possibly even 6. As far as seeds go, an old trick is to float a few in a glass of water, and what doesn't sink may not be viable, but it's not cut and dried. I doubt if you can tell anything much by looking at a seed unless it really does seem different to what it should be.

Yes you can grow things out of your zone. Read about bald cyprus. Its seedlings can only sow/grow in warm climates, but once the tree matures, 3 years or so, it can grow as far north as Canada with out any protection from the weather. What ever tree your trying to grow, reasearch it. If it can not handle your zone by any means, then you will have to invest some money to make an artifical climate for it.
-Bill

Thanks for the tips and info people! Although all the redwood seeds I have floated in that glass of water test, but still I'm not sure if that test is infallible or not though. I'll just have to find out whether or not they'll grow I suppose.

Did you do it Choubacca?