I have tried and failed at hardwood cuttings of deciduous. I would probably do what you plan and do some air layering. I have had more success with that. It is not something I do a lot of so I can't claim expertise.

It is hard to tell from the photos. I have lost a big juniper like that over the winter because small mammals chew the bark around a trunk. That tends to be pretty obvious assuming you can actually get in there and investigate. I would prune out all the branches where the foliage is crispy. Junipers can still be green even when dead. Then see if it continues to die. Opening it up to the light is good as they like full sun.

I have had problems with scale, spider mites, and mealy bugs. Until 2 winters ago I would treat all trees coming inside in the fall with Bayer systemic a couple of weeks before they came inside. I started after having a sever scale problem one year. For the last 2 winters I have not done that. I have localized problems still but I try to jump on them quickly. I stopped because I didn't want to kill everything in the substrate every year.

I use alcohol indoors. 50/50 alcohol/water spray. It is easy enough to hit a single spot or larger sections of the canopy if needed with a spray bottle that can tune the output. I don't really have problems with mealy bugs outdoors.

@Josh Stewart I can't advise on that. My assumption has always been if it is a broad spectrum light in the 5K range it will work. I have seen a lot about what spectrums to use at what parts of the growth cycle but nothing on whether different species do better or worse..

Josh, as to your question. I suggest looking to some of the pot forums or one of the hydroponics equipment companies. Those folks discuss these questions in great detail. Think about it from the standpoint of growing a crop where you want to grow the plant to maturity quickly (veg cycle) and then force it to flower (bud flower cycle). The light spectrums are different. If you are forcing the veg cycle you may be forcing rapid growth which may mean longer internodes etc.

Here is the last LED light I bought about 1 month ago. It is a little pricier than the T5 in Mike's post but the fixture is smaller and lighter. It does cover the same plant footprint. So far I am satisfied with it. I use Spider Farmer for hydroponics and it works well. Looking at the pot grow sites for reviews spider farmer usually comes out rated as the best lower cost LED light. You can spend much more than this and if you are a commercial grower it might be worth it. https://www.amazon.com/Coverage-Sunlike-Spectrum-Hydroponics-Efficiency/dp/B08NWXLD71/ref=sr_1_5?crid=2Z0A64FBR6IMF&keywords=SPIDER+FARMER+SF-600+LED&qid=1640542426&sprefix=spider+farmer+sf-600+led%2Caps%2C209&sr=8-5

Here is an update as of 12/26/21. It is a little denser and some of the branches have grown out. I did some mild pruning after the photo cutting off the longer wild hairs and thinning out some of the sprouting branches I don't need.

Here is an update after 6 weeks indoors. It has been inside under lights in a room where humidity stays above 40% and temperature stays in the 70s. I pulled it out to do some light pruning. After 6 weeks I figure any leaves that drop because of the move indoors have done so. So I can pruned to eliminate more of what isn't needed.

I could be a tiger bark. Its lineage is unknown. I took a lot of cuttings and wasn't to meticulous around the documentation. Could also be a green island. It is not a small leaf variety. So there is a long future of growing. I was inspired by Paul Koenning's ficus and how rapidly he grows them. I like cascades but just haven't done many of them.

Mine are on the ground where they spent the winter. With fast draining soil they should be okay. I don't have the ability to do anything else. Plus with the weather bouncing between spring and winter I think it is best to leave them alone until it actually warms up a bit more.

I can't speak to what is going on with this Lodgepole, but whenever I plant a multiple tree group with seedlings I plant more than I actually want long term assuming I may lose one.

In general once seedlings start to have buds swell or push leaves I don't let them freeze. Put them out in the sun during the day if it is warm and sunny, >40 degrees. Bring them in at night if the forecast is for the the 30s. This is kind of generic for seedlings that did not winter on the ground last winter. For those I would leave them out and only bring them in if they have leafed out and there is going to be a hard freeze <30 degrees.

I ended up going with trident maples. We will see how it goes. I also collected seeds last fall. So far none are showing, but once they do maybe we do a seedling swap.

I ended up going with trident maples. We will see how it goes. I also collected seeds last fall. So far none are showing, but once they do maybe we do a seedling swap.

Thanks, I like the idea. That is what I am going to do. I think if I place the rods across the bottom, one one each end, and then vertically down the middle, top-middle-bottom they won't be visible and so allow for one or two failures over the long term. I realize that if eventually I have roots coming from above cascading over the outside of the stones they will hold them together. My current decision is whether to use soil or long fiber sphagnum moss to fill the gaps. I plan on using tinfoil to encase them to force the roots that develop to grow against the stone and downward. Leaning toward sphagnum as I don't think it will stain the stone like soil might. Probably either will work. Final task is to find cuttings of a small leaf ficus to use. I have a couple and just need to decide if I sacrifice part of them for this project.

I am spending the time shuffling trees in/out of the garage, potting seedlings as they arrive, inventorying materials for potting and the rest of the year to prepare, planning, and a lot of anticipating.

I am interested in how your ginkgo are doing overwintering outdoors. I have one about 38 years old that was gifted to me a couple years back by someone who said they kept it in a cold garage but didn't let it freeze. I did a bit or reading and some of it said that because of their fleshy roots not to let them freeze. So it spends the winter in the garage. I am not willing to use it to see if ginkgo would survive mulched in. I know they survive in the landscape in CO.

Looks like there is enough interest to warrant ordering again. I know you already filled in the form. Thanks.

@Andrew Scheck Here is the Zoom info Rocky Mtn Bonsai Society is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting. Topic: Monthly RMBS Meeting Time: Mar 2, 2021 06:30 PM Mountain Time (US and Canada) Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86014790611?pwd=OHR2UmNrNkY2U011VG9hVnpyUEM4QT09 Meeting ID: 860 1479 0611 Passcode: 740869 One tap mobile +16699009128,,86014790611#,,,,*740869# US (San Jose) +12532158782,,86014790611#,,,,*740869# US (Tacoma) Dial by your location +1 669 900 9128 US (San Jose) +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma) +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston) +1 646 558 8656 US (New York) +1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC) +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago) Meeting ID: 860 1479 0611 Passcode: 740869