It's mid-Nov. and we haven't had a killing frost/freeze yet. The Japanese maples in containers are still outside, but most have lost their leaves. It was a really wonderful fall and they all colored nicely. My question is, is there a benefit to leaving them out in the weather, as long the temps are moderate like this, rather than bringing them into my garage for storage for the winter? Do they benefit from the additional time outside, even though they are dormant now? Usually by now we have had some 25 degree days and I have brought them in. I feel like I should wait until cooler days are predicted. I'm thinking that they need those cooler temps to be sure they are fully dormant before I take them in. Does anyone have any thoughts about this? Kay
Once the leaves have dropped they can be put into storage. If they get caught by cold and suffer root damage this is worse than anything that might happen in storage, except for them getting dried out and shriveling over the winter. All the newer, outermost roots may be lost to temperatures that do not affect the top and inner, older woody roots. November is when commercial growers dig bare-rooted stock and put it into damp cold storage for the winter.
