Hi Mark.

I'm well south of you, but not so far south that my bonsai & potensai roots
don't freeze solid in the winter-- even in a cold garage. I was surprised
that it doesn't take long before a chopstick applied to the rootball merely
hits a frozen object and stays that way. Folks with elaborate facilities
might try to avoid freeezing but it must be an oh-so-much-more-delicate
process of control than encouraging modest freezing after it truly gets that
cold.

The only potted Japanese maples I've lost to freezing were threadleaf
varieties. They were fully exposed when cold hit, & I was travelling.
Bloodgood is very winter hardy.

Then, again... my experience is that crape myrtles (the full-sized
varieties) do fine, even when exposed, if they don't dry-out during a
freeze-thaw cycle. Following Nina's advice mitigates that occuring. Your
will experience MUCH colder winters than mine-- your advantage is that the
interim thaws will be fewer. We can each be satisfied (even excited) about
our winter experience. Even Reiner... :-)))

Bonsai, btw, can be beautiful accents to your home on a moonlit night in
snowfall. Asian cultures speak of fruits (plum/apricot) coming to bloom at
the first blush of spring. J. quinces might be a safer bet in handling
cold... & they re-bloom and fruit wonderfully, too.

Best wishes,
Chris... C. Cochrane, , Richmond VA USA

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