I'm not sure that the A. palmatum - Bloodgood - will survive being
outdoors. Other's in YOUR area certainly know better, but I protect mine
-here- from excessively long cold spells, a phrase which here means, more
that a few days in the mid to upper 20's. I'd freak out if I had to leave
them in the snow.

What say you frigid folk?

I have a couple of pre-bonsai ones in nursery pots sitting on the ground in
a sheltered location. They have survived winters here in Klamath Falls
where we typically have a couple of weeks of HIGHS in the teens (F) each
winter. They have survived pretty nicely, and if they come through this
winter, they will start real training this spring.

The problems I have found are as follows: Wind will dry out leaves and even
twigs it seems, but once the tree is truly dormant, that is less an issue.
Bad cold snaps with wind in early/mid autumn are problems. When we have
good snow, it seems to do better, as this protects from wind. The second
big problem is that our springtime comes in spits and spurts, and if the
tree begins to bud out and we (typically) have another 2-3 months of
sub-freezing spells (days to weeks), severe die-back occurs.

So my findings is that they can survive cold pretty well, but the drying
effects of wind, and the stress from freeze-thaw cycles or being tricked
into thinking it is springtime prematurely does the real damage.

Sam Crowell
Klamath Falls, Oregon
Zone 5 ? I still can't find sources that agree, and the local extention
office has even said we are zone 1....sigh

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