Can I Leave Japanese Maples Outside Over the Winter in Pots?

In this Episode of the MrMaple Show, Tim talks about leaving your Japanese Maples outside in pots during the winter. 

A customer from Durham asks:

"In October me and my wife bought two maples and one ginkgo from your farm. We still have them in the original containers and I'd like to know if we can leave them outside until we plant them, or should we move them into the garage?"

It's better to leave them outside where they receive natural water. Inside a garage, they may heat up and leaf out earlier than expected to, or they may dry out too much during the winter. We recommend pushing the pots together and putting them somewhere that they won't blow over, somewhere that gets rain. Make sure the pots are not blocked by gutters or under and overhang or porch. The trees need rain to keep good moisture inside the pot, which happens naturally when they're outside. Inside, it's much more difficult.

Japanese Maples are good in Zones 5-9 in the ground, and in containers left outside, they're good in Zones 6-9. If you know that it will get below 0°F you might want to bring them into the garage temporarily for the extreme temperatures. Make sure not to cut it too close and put the tree back outside when the weather returns to normal. You can also mulch the containers in so the roots are in a Zone 5-9 instead of the Zone 6-9 when they're raised up in the air. 

 

 

Additional tags: Japanese Maples, Can I Leave Japanese Maples Outside Over the Winter in Pots, MrMaple.com, MrMaple Show