Getting a sapling through the winter

8 years ago

I've got a little 4" sugar maple sapling that has been sitting a glass of in water in my window, and I've recently potted it in a 4" well-drained clay pot with potting soil. It's got, like 4 leaves on it, several of which have browned, but not fallen off.

I'm not sure what it needs to survive a Toronto winter.

Should I just keep it inside? Or does it want to be exposed to winter so it can hibernate?

Can it manage outside if I keep it sheltered? Or can I keep in it my coldroom (which occasionally can drop below freezing.)?

Featured Answer

FrozeBudd_z3/4

8 years ago

last modified: 8 years ago

On the Canadian prairie, one would use this method in July and leave the little branch be until late autumn and then snip off (with a very sharp clean cut) and pot up in a somewhat coarse starting medium and tent over with plastic. Never over water the cuttings, just keep the medium slightly moistened! During winter, it would then be kept in cool frost free conditions to further encourage callousing and hopefully come spring would begin to develop roots. I'd tend to want to maintain temps on the cooler side even during spring until one is certain the plant has rooted. A real no-no, is to be pulling cuttings up to observe if they have rooted, doing so can often prove fatal, use clear plastic cups to allow you see when roots have formed. I can't say that you will undoubtedly have success with this method, though will give a higher chance with hard to root hardwood cuttings.

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Comments (7)

peren.all Zone 5a Ontario Canada
8 years ago
Sorry no one has answered previously. Your cold room could work but it really should be outside. I would heel it in. Dig a hole in an empty spot in your garden and place it at a slight angle so that snow/ice/water does not collect on the surface. Replace the soil just up to the rim of the pot.

If you have a permanent spot picked out you could just plant it.

Clay pots and winter don't get along so you could change the pot to a plastic one or be prepared that the clay pot may crack.
Dave Collins
Original Author
8 years ago
Right, Thanks for the tip about clay pots.
I think I'd rather keep it on my unheated deck where it will be cold but won't suffer physical molestation from what winter can bring.
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ianna
8 years ago
did it root in the water? The roots would be exposed in colder temperatures and the swings of thaws and freezes far more on a deck. If you do this, your plant will likely not survive. Peren.all is right in his/her suggestion. The main killers of roots in winter are the very deep temperatures and the temperatures swings. The way to avoid or minimize the effects is to bury the plant inground. To do that is to pot up the plant, and bury the entire pot in ground and topped with mulch or topped with a cloche (which is a mini cold frame).
User
8 years ago
I would like to know if you rooted it in water and if so, how did you accomplish that? I am in a very cold zone 2b and my son 6 miles from me has a sugar maple that is at least 15 feet tall. I would like to take cuttings of it since it seems to be fairly hardy.
FrozeBudd_z3/4
8 years ago
Ubro, you might want to attempt the toothpick method as described in the below Houzz link. Just do so earlier in the season because our summers are short. I have yet to try this for myself, though it appears to have good success.

[Toothpick propagation method [(https://www.houzz.com/discussions/toothpick-rooting-technique-august-dsvw-vd~4794292)
User
8 years ago
Thank you, I have never seen this method. I will certainly try it, maybe on some other harder to root varieties. I am a little worried about the time line, if I wait till Oct/Nov. we can have some really frosty days. But I guess it may be no different then budding fruit trees in August, they survive thru the winter before they break the next year.