North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

["Doreen Howard" <doreenh@ticon.net>]

Tom Olenio wrote:
>>Is ther any way I can keep apple/quince seedlings in pots for the winter
>>above ground?  These are 2 gallon plastic pots with this season's whips.
>>
>>I am in Canadian hardiness zone 6a, which is much like northern
>>Massachusetts zone 5.

I live in Zone 4b where the temperature during the last two weeks of Dec.
2001 averaged -25F.  I had an number of woody plants in cans buried in a
nursery bed.  They made it through the winter in great shape.  The key is to
bury them in mulch completely so that the root systems never thaw until
spring.  It's the thawing and refreezing that kill plants, not the bitter
cold.  I buried the 1 and 5 gallon cans in soil and then heaped a foot of
shredded leaves on top of the entire bed.  When the snow started to fall, I
shoveled another two feet of snow on top.  It was cold enough all winter to
maintain the snow blanket.  Hope this helps.
Doreen Howard






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