Inside would be better if below 45F, under 40F better. That's not likely in a basement even in MN. Warmer than that and it will start growing. Then you may have spring freeze issues.

Outside will work if you can protect it at least some. Say dig a pit, lay tree down in pit, cover, insulate over that, and keep dry with water proof tarp. Under this condition water before covering and it will be OK all winter.

Hmmm. burying the whole thing won't work, I don't have that much room in the garden. just a space big enough to sink the pot. I think I'm going to try and keep it outside in its pot wrapped in bubble wrap, and when it gets below -20, I'll bring it into the vestibule that's between our apartment door and the outside door. It's not heated, and since the door that leads outside is just a hollow metal door it gets REALLY cold in there. (There's a door leading directly outside in the basement too but it's generally much warmer just on principle). I'll put a thermometer in there to keep an eye on it. Am I correct in my understanding that -20 is the limits of what the cherry can handle?

It also sounds like lighting isn't an issue (If burying the tree is a suggestion) but the vestibule is also always lit, if it matters. I will have to see how cold it gets in there. The doors leading to the actual apartments are nice and insulated so the heat doesn't seep out.

That cherry should survive around the Twin Cities in the ground...if you are at all within the city, you should be fine. Minneapolis has a very strong heat island effect in the winter and a lot of times the lows are warmer then down here in La Crosse... I wouldn't even mess with the pot if it was mine, given you have room for it somewhere.

Don't put it in the basement. I have an uninsulated, unheated basement and mine still doesn't get cold enough to be storing trees. The tree will wake up down there or not get enough dormancy time. I actually take trees (i grow 20+ trees in large pots) from my garage (where i store them) to the basement to force them to wake up early.

I'd also take a look at the Carmine Jewel and some of the newer sour/sweet cherries out of Canada. Evans Bali is another one that is very hardy and grows/produces like crazy. Ive grown both Northstar/Meteor/Evans here and i'm ripping them out and moving towards the Carmine Jewel line of cherries. I even grow sweet cherries here (Lapins/Kristin) and even after last winter they had a small number of flowers and i actually harvested (well my kid picked it and ate it!) one cherry off Lapins...

It will make it through in the ground? I am in the city of Saint Paul, but the house is kind of on the edge of a big bluff overlooking the Mississippi, so it's not really actually in a midst of a bunch of buildings. It does stay warmer here than outside the cities by a few degrees, but it still can and does dip below -20. Wondering if it would be insulated enough if I put the pot in a box filled with something insulating like hay and bubble wrap.... Gah. A few years from now and I can have a more logical setup for the cherry when I've got my own property and a theoretically unheated garage! Probably should have waited a year.

thanks for the cherry recommendations, too! I bought the North Star because I had a bunch of store credit for a website that I had ordered a bunch of plants from (and they all died) so I winged it and bought a cherry tree, and the Northstar was the hardiest one in terms of both temperature and pest/fungus resistance they offered. I see I can get MUCH cheaper trees elsewhere, but between the 50% off sale, the store credit and a coupon I got the tree for $20, just the shipping price. It was a cherry tree or grapes, and for the grapes I wanted to hold out and buy some MN hardy varieties. Some day I will have a little orchard in my backyard. For now, it's in pots on my porch!

That tree would be fine in the ground. I had -24F this past winter here.

I'd try to bury the pot as much as possible...then when the snow falls, just bury it..but watch for mice/voles ...wrap the trunk with hardware cloth. Snow is a great insulator..and msp usually gets plenty of it.

I don't mean to keep this going to be tenacious, but we do get colder than that. We can get to -30 or below, even if it's not super common. This last winter was brutal (the winter before, not so much). If it stays mild that would work out but if we get any of those freak cold days, will it not kill the tree, even if it's bundled up before wrapping?

I used to live in the Twin Cities, so I understand the temperatures you get. I live in zone 5, not as cold as your area. For our area, we had our worst winter in 50 years. -20F several days, below normal nearly every day for months. Severe damage to fruit crop throughout the state. For the most part, cherry trees survived, but the buds were killed and did not bloom. Pretty much no cherries, peaches, plums, etc. in the state.

I grow several fruits in pots. For the winter, I drag them all together and bury the pots in leaves. I pile the leaves a few inches above the pots because the pile will settle lower over the winter. This brutal winter, my plants seem to have suffered the same damage, no more, no less, than similar fruits planted in the ground. Among other fruits. I have a Stella Cherry tree. It is rated to zone 5. The rule of thumb is that potted plants must be rated 2 zones lower to survive the winter unprotected. So, unprotected, my Stella would probably have died. Like other cherry trees planted in ground, the winter killed the fruit buds, but my tree looks healthy.

It is clear that it gets colder in your area. However, in my limited experience, it appears that burying the pot in leaves works out the same as in ground. (My zone 5 Stella Cherry probably would not survive your weather either way.) Just my observation. Don't bet your plants on my input alone.

Also, as franktank noted, another forum member lost several plants to voles when she buried them in leaves. So far anyway, I haven't had a similar problem.

It appears that North Star is only rated to zone 4. Zone 3 weather may kill it even if its in ground. (That doesn't mean you shouldn't try it.) I have no personal experience. Maybe some of the other forum members do.