maybe need help

I am not sure I'm doing this right. I found this site while researching Italian stone pine. By the time I registered and joined. I may not be in the right place for this topic. I read a few posts drone those who have this wonderful little pine and like those, I also rescued a few from an after Christmas sale at a Lowest store. They were just $1.00 each. I just bought a house with a barren yard with hopes of a green house this spring. Here is south Dakota like many areas it has been unusually warm. People are huddled around seed counters instead of fireplaces. But it won't last. I have been babying these 5 Italian pines in my sunny moist kitchen window hoping they will last til your green house comes. I have never seen these here in south Dakota but our weather is very mild here like in Denver. Perhaps they would have a chance outdoors here? Or should I just consider them a green house plant? I know we will sooner or later have colder winters but the garage would be too cold . What can I do for them for their needed dormant time.? I wish stores like this would know what they are selling. These poor little pines will all end up in the trash I'm sure. They shouldn't be allowed to sell potted outside plants that are out of zone. Francey in South Dakota

A kitchen window is not a good place for any plant. The cooking /cleaning fumes are bad for them. I don't know how cold hardy these are and I know Dakota can have terrible winters. A bathroom is a better place if they must be indoors an outdoor situation would be best unless the temperature goes below 32 F.

Sorry, but they probably won't work. I tried them twice myself. If you Google, you will see very few if any bonsai. Even growers in their native Israel report that they are not a successful bonsai subject. Too bad.
No, they are not hardy in the Dakotas; they are a Mediterranean species, listed for Zone 8.
They are sold in the North around Christmas as a disposable subject, like poinsettias.
Iris