Show Us Your Alpine Houses, Please!

This year I indulged in a number of conifer seedlings and young trees, but last winter this zone 6 garden took a beating. So I am digging my very first Alpine House to overwinter the pots as safely as possible. Although the largest pots of the most sturdy trees will go directly into the ground, something more is needed for the smallest and most tender plants. What do you think of this? It is only started, but I thought I'd share. Perhaps it is Rosemary's Folly to think zone 6 plants can overwinter in zone 6 this way. Please show what you do to overwinter conifers outdoors in northern gardens.

We started with a hole as close to two feet deep as I could get considering my DH was slave labor. The ground underneath is yellow builder's sand. We lined it with cardboard boxes and gave it a couple of inches of pine bark mulch on the bottom. The outer edges got the benefit of some plastic packing bubbles around the outside edge. Once the plants went in, we put mulch between the pots as well. It is still not finished but we had to stop. I think we probably have to build up the sides and construct a wire top so a cover can go over on the very coldest nights.

I am interested in hearing comments on this plan :)

I'm definitely in the north, but I'm sorry to say I won't be of much help to you. I did carry over several small container-grown conifers last winter that were given to me by a broom hunter based in Duluth, MN, but all I did was to crudely bury them in the ground and wait for spring. They did fine, but they were also under several feet of snow. The only recommendation I have is to be very good to your husband. ;)

Hokey Dokey. DH deserves a lot of credit, no doubt about it. But I also do listen to long stories about computer systems design and buy the groceries.

Snow cover is not something we can count on here, but some years we do get it. March and April thaws are the most cruel with the wildly changing temperatures that killed off a number of the survivors last year.

Temperature issues aside, I'd invest in rodent control to the max - since you are creating a Shangri-La, Club Med, and DisneyWorld buffet bar without ever having to leave your yard.

Hmm, good thought. These babies are rather small to wrap their trunks. Rhodents love all the tasty plants elsewhere in the yard already, so I suppose I can hide some traps in there for the hotel guests that might climb through or over the sides. Perhaps tall sides are meant to aid in detering rhodents? Hey maybe this will keep them out of our house!

How about the contraption's weather resistance?

Continuing with VV's thoughts, I have purchased Mouse Magic repellant which my local produce market says they swear by.

Ha Ha! It's not the Magic Kingdom. That's the actual name of a retail product with lots of mint and Bonide :)

i would still be concerned about mice

The great hunter will also be lurking.

There you go -- problem solved! Is that a German Wirehaired Pointer?

No. He's a 109 pound first generation labradoodle. He seems to have inherited the labrador sniffing and hunting instincts, and he knows how to drive rhodents out of their holes by stomping his feet when he can't dig.

Just a comment about terminology... The term "alpine house" normally refers to a type of greenhouse intended for growing alpines, and usually used in wet climates (particularly the UK; rather a rarity in North America), where the main function is to keep water off of plants that require sharp drainage, and would otherwise succumb to the problem of wet soil.
It sounds like you're building a structure for heeling in potted plants over the winter... more of a cold frame?

Here are some examples of alpine houses (click on the photos in the link to enlarge them):
http://www.srgc.net/forum/index.php?topic=11781.msg306451#msg306451
http://www.srgc.net/forum/index.php?topic=9445.msg253143#msg253143

This message was edited Oct 18, 2014 9:23 AM

Thank you for sharing that. I got the "alpine house" terminology from some of the blogs of members of the American Conifer Society. Some of the members described what I'm doing in their blogs, but they have milder temperatures than here. They called it an alpine house when you dig a banked hole in the ground and cover it for winter protection of young seedlings, which I intend to do. Course I'd love to have a full greenhouse, which would completely fix the problem.

Ugghh, just what's needed... more confusion, caused by taking an established term and using it to refer to something else. ;-)

Begging your pardon. I'm not sure I understand which thing you mean to be something else?

I'm referring to the point I mentioned, which is that the term "alpine house" normally refers to a type of greenhouse intended for growing alpines, and usually used in wet climates (particularly the UK; rather a rarity in North America), where the main function is to keep water off of plants that require sharp drainage, and would otherwise succumb to the problem of wet soil. Now, another group, according to your message, has apparently co-opted the term "alpine house" to refer to a banked hole in the ground, a sort of a cold frame, for wintering young conifers. Sorry if I lost you somewhere along there... ?

That said, people will do whatever they want to do, needless to say. I noticed this thread because you mentioned alpine houses, and I am interested in alpine gardening. When I read the thread, I was surprised to find that you were talking about something other than a traditional alpine house. No biggie. Just noting that I wish folks would make a conscious effort to avoid such confusion of terms.


This message was edited Oct 19, 2014 11:29 AM

Sorry I couldn't offer help with your particular gardening need. Good luck with your alpine gardening. At least we have that interest in common.