Kentucky Coffee Tree Seedlings Dug In For Winter - October 2021

Back in September, I showed off a partial flat of some viable Kentucky Coffee Tree Seedlings that I had collected and germinated from seed this Spring.   In that post, I talked about how to overwinter them and explored various methods.  With our climate (Zone 5b), it seemed that the best way was to dig them into the ground to provide insulation over the harsh Winter.  So...that's what I did.  I found a fairly sunny, but protected spot in one of our beds and dug a trench.  I put the flat in the ground, covered the seedlings up with dirt and then put a layer of mulch over the top.  

Then I went in for the night.  What happened next?  The damn rabbits ate a bunch of them.  Now, these Kentucky Coffee Trees have - for a long time - a bare trunk and leaflets off of them, so I can't tell if the rabbits ate down the trunks or just the leaflets.  

When I figured out what was going on, I grabbed some chicken wire and made a little perimeter fence.  Below, you can see the seedlings (or what is left of them) inside the chicken wire fence after I dug them in.  There are SOME viable, fully-leaf'd-out ones remaining.

And, here below, is a look at one of the trunks that have been gnawed off by the pesky rabbits.  Jerks.

I'm not hopeful that these couple of seedlings will make it, but maybe...just maybe...they have stored up enough energy in their rootballs this season to weather Winter dormancy and spring back to life with new green growth come Springtime.