Course 02 · Quiz 1 of 2 · Matching a tree to a place

Quiz 1: Matching a tree to a place

Reading a growing place, finding out what a tree is, choosing between indoors and outdoors, and checking the light, applied to decisions about where a tree can thrive.

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Before you start

8 questions, each worth one point. Some ask for one answer; others ask you to select a stated number of answers.
For questions with several answers, each correct choice earns an equal share of the point.
Pass with 80%: at least 7 of 8 points.
Untimed and open book. Revisit any lesson while you work.
After you submit, you will see every correct answer with an explanation. Retake it as often as you like.

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Question 1 of 8 ScenarioThe west balcony: in May, its owner sees a healthy trident maple in fresh leaf at a garden center and would love it by the balcony door. Trident maples are a staple there, in stock all season. The owner has not yet written a site profile for the balcony.What is the best decision today?
Wait a week, noting the balcony's sun, shelter, climate, water, access, and time, then decideBuy it today and profile the balcony this week, since a maple in May is at no risk meanwhileBuy a ficus instead, and bring it indoors each winter, away from the balcony's freezing nightsBuy it today, since a trident maple is hardy to about zone 5 and the city is in milder zone 7a
Question 2 of 8 ScenarioThe west balcony: its owner would like to grow a temperate tree that a reliable reference rates hardy in the ground to roughly zone 6. The balcony is in zone 7a, where the coldest night of a typical winter is about −15 to −17 °C (0 to 5 °F), and its pots stand in open air four floors up. The owner's site profile still lists winter protection for the pots as unknown.What is the best next step before deciding on this tree?
Plan to winter it in the warm living room, since one zone to spare is too small a marginCompare its rating with the city's average January nights, about −5 to −10 °C (14 to 23 °F)Ask the local bonsai club how growers winter it in pots, since one zone to spare is thinCount it as safe: zone 6 is colder than 7a, so its pot can stay out all winter unprotected
Question 3 of 8 ScenarioThe small backyard: in November, a neighbor gives the household a small potted tree bought at a supermarket. Its tag reads only “Ficus · Indoor bonsai,” with no species. Figs are Ficus too, the neighbor points out, and the figs in their own garden stay outdoors all winter, so they suggest the unheated garage. The household's own ficus is Ficus microcarpa.What is the best next step?
Set it outdoors with its roots protected, since trees tagged “indoor bonsai” are often temperatePut it in the unheated garage by the window, since figs come through winter in gardens hereKeep it beside their own ficus for the winter, and ask about its species once spring comesKeep it bright and above about 10 °C (50 °F) for now, since a genus does not settle its care
Question 4 of 8 ScenarioThe small backyard: on a mild day in mid-January, the household walks round their trees, all outdoors since last spring; on the coldest nights, the pots go into the unheated garage. There is a Japanese larch from a local nursery, a Chinese elm, a boxwood, a juniper on the patio bench, and the trident maple.Which two observations call for a response now? Select two.0 of 2 selected
The bare trident maple's pot feels light, and its root zone is dry well below the surfaceThe larch has lost every one of its needles, leaving bare twigs dotted with knobby spur shootsThe boxwood has shed most of its leaves since the hard frosts began, leaving its twigs bareThe Chinese elm has dropped nearly all of its leaves since the hard frosts began in DecemberThe juniper's foliage has turned a dull purplish bronze since the cold nights began in December
Question 5 of 8 ScenarioThe gift juniper: after weeks in a heated shop and home, it waited out December's hard frosts in its owner's cool, bright bedroom with the heating off, then moved out to the west balcony in a milder spell. In its ten days outdoors, the coldest night has been about −3 °C (27 °F). The forecast now shows a clear, still night of −12 °C (10 °F) tomorrow. The owner plans to bring it into the cool bedroom for that night and put it back out the next day.Where should it spend tomorrow night?
Out on the balcony, its pot sheltered and insulated, as a hard freeze calls for root protectionIn the cool bedroom, since it is not yet ready for that cold, then back out the next dayIn the warm living room for just that night, then back out on the balcony the next dayIn the cool, bright bedroom from now until spring, so that it meets no more frost this winter
Question 6 of 8 ScenarioThe small backyard: the ficus has spent the winter in a bright window of the house. It is the last week of April, around the usual date of the last spring frost in the example climate. The ten-day forecast shows no frost, sunny days near 18 °C (64 °F), and nights of 5 to 9 °C (41 to 48 °F). The owners want to carry it out to the yard this weekend, since the frost season is over.What is the best decision?
Carry it out this weekend into bright shade, then step it up into the sun over two weeksCarry it out this weekend into full sun, since days near 18 °C (64 °F) cannot scorch itKeep it in its window until the first of June, the usual date to put a ficus out each yearKeep it in its window until nights stay above about 10 °C (50 °F), then start it in shade
Question 7 of 8 ScenarioThe bright window: its owner's ficus has spent the winter on a plant stand one step back from the glass. Its new shoots have come out long and thin, with small, widely spaced leaves, and it leans toward the window. To the owner the stand looks as bright as the sill, but their phone, held flat at foliage height, reads about three times more on the sill, out of direct sun, than on the stand. The apartment has no outdoor space.What should the owner do?
Move it to the sill and add a grow light, since its stretched shoots point to too little lightLeave it on the stand, since the stand looks just as bright to the owner as the sill doesCompare the stand's phone reading with a published lux figure for ficus before moving itSwap it for the nursery juniper, which copes with dim indoor light better than a ficus does
Question 8 of 8 ScenarioThe small backyard: its owners want a summer spot for the trident maple that gets morning sun and afternoon shade, and have one spot on the lawn in mind. In early June they checked it twice at noon, both times under heavy overcast, and the shadow test showed only soft shadows. They plan to rule it out as too shady.What should they do next?
On clear days, check it every hour or two from morning to evening, standing at eye heightRule it out as too shady, and look elsewhere in the yard for the maple's summer spotOn clear days, check it every hour or two from morning to evening, at the height of its leavesTake a phone reading there at noon and compare it with a published figure for full sun

0 of 8 questions answered