Personally I wouldn't move them. To much temperature variance.

I assume you have a attached garage not heated.

If attached I would move them to an inside wall and cover them with a blanket or other suitable material tucked in and around them. A small space heater set on low close by 10-15 ft to take off the edge is a consideration if you feel safe doing that. Just my two cents. A tough call. Your call.

-10 F. (-23.33 C.) here tomorrow night I covered a Cedrus deodara ' Prostrate Beauty' with blankets. Anything below -0 F. it does not like. Funny all my other deodara do well at -10 F.

Good luck,

Dave

If you were to move them to the basement, what would be the plan for moving them back out to the garage? How many 1 yr grafts are we talking about? What's the lowest temperature you've observed inside your garage?

I overwinter a lot of young plants in my attached garage, and I routinely monitor the temp. I've found that, while the garage temp is usually 10 deg higher than the ambient temp outside, there is a minimum garage temp at around 20 F - as long as my garage doors are kept closed the temp will not go lower than 20. Presumably, this is due to the imperfect insulation of my house. I'm zone 6 and outside low temperature hasn't dropped below -5 - -10 F during recent memory.

Another advantage is that the garage acts as a buffer the same way that the ground does to your plant roots in that, as it gets colder, there is a time delay for heat transfer and the garage temp. is somewhat averaged between nighttime low and day temp. Again, so long as the garage doors or closed. (Most of the time...the wife and I both park in the garage so the doors are opened a couple of times a day).

Last night it was -4 F outside but my garage only got down to the mid 20s.

I agree with Dave that you should try and avoid bringing them in if at all possible. Especially if your basement is 60 around the clock (with no significant temp. drop at night). It sounds too much like bringing a live Christmas tree inside for the holiday...

Alex

So they stay! Thanks for the comments.

I'll butt the pots up against an insulated wall. Gotta remember to do that.

The garage actually does stay fairly stable, pretty much like 20 degrees but haven't experienced a long and stable dip like that.

I have about 10 1 gallon pots.

Dave, are your other deodaras the cultivars like 'Karl Fuchs' or 'Shalimar'?

I buried my 'Deep Cove' in a couple feet of snow. Not the best year to try out some deodaras! -15 tomorrow.

this would have been within one of the sub-definitions of LOVING THEM TO DEATH ...

if you somehow triggered the end of dormancy... then they would be houseplants.. for the rest of the year ...

if zone appropriate.. then they either die now.. in your garage ... or next year outdoors . or the year after.. etc ...

dont forget.. with no wind.. the garage is at least one or two zones warmer than outdoors... plus any sun that hits it.. warms it.. and is retained... as compared to the pasture ...

again.. when i moved the 1650 potted hosta.. that darn pole barn... uninsulated.. and unheated.. brought them out of dormancy.. a full month early ... when taking into account later frost/freeze ...

you simply can ot.. IMHO ... compared outdoor temps.. with your garage ...

leave them be.. as you already seem to have concluded ... and i wouldnt even bother shuffling them around in such .... but its exercise.. so what the heck ....

ken