Crystal ~ I thought to post this *OverWintering* album to show as well as ask in this Clems Forum, if my efforts w/ Hydrangeas (in my zone) would be sufficient for Clems in containers left outdoors. These pics demonstrates part of the step by step I do to protect old canes. Since Clems are pruned down it would not be as meticulous as protecting Hydras. My front faces NW & get blizzard/damaging winds wrapping around the back so I decided to wrap landscaping (black) fabric around the cages to help cut damages. Snow is a great insulator but we don't always get enough. The Nikko w/ a rose-cone-hat is a tall shrub & I needed to cover the bundled top. The black portion you see at the bottom in just the same landscape fab wrapped around the cage. As mnwsgal posted, she uses the dry leaves-filled bags & is sufficient in her z 4. It works very well for me as well. I've also used thick cardboard boxes filled w/ leaves turned upside-down held down w/ bricks on top (rose cone style). In your z 3 added bubble-wrap around the container might help. Let's wait for others' comments. I'm adding a few more Clems & Roses in Spring but have to keep them in containers over this Winter & am trying to learn as well, how to protect them. Thanks for viewing the album!

Kind of difficult to determine the size for me anyways since I don't grow those varieties and don't know how large they will get over time, especially since they are going to be growing in shady parts of the yard. The shade may limit their eventual size due to lack of light for photosynthesis. I would start off with 5 gallon sized pots and then see how they do. They will let you know if they need bigger pots over time. I like drilling holes near the bottom of the pots I grow anything in. When the roots fill the pot, the drainage holes tend to get blocked and I don't get as much water flowing out of the holes. Then I know I either at least need to drill new holes or pot up into a larger pot.

Lucky you!! B or S is right about needing to bury pots to protect them from temperature extremes and freeze thaw cycles. I have found that if I bury the whole pot in soil, I often have drainage difficulties when the soil in the pot freezes and then just the surface melts, floods and refreezes during what is referred to as "mud season" in this part of the country. I guess if you have a slope you could bury them in soil there so that any melt water will drain away. I usually bury pots to the rim in mulch that won't pack down, most often wood chips or shavings since it seems to allow better drainage. I usually give the surface of the pots a lighter layer of mulch as well. I've heard of other folks putting all their pots in one area and surrounding them with bagged leaves. Since I live in a really cold area where it rarely thaws until spring, my goal is to keep things from heating up and going through more freeze-thaw cycles, so I usually put them where they have a northern exposure and so get no direct sun. I've heard others in slightly warmer areas who place them near a warm foundation to prevent freezing. I guess you have to figure out what will work best for you to prevent freeze-thaw cycles which are likely to damage your plants.

I grow all my tomatoes in containers, as I'm restricted to my fire escape in NYC. I face east, so I don't even get optimal sun. It is actually quite easy but I will never get the same results as soil as I cannot fit anything larger than a 5 gallon out there. So I agree with everyone that the best containers to use are 10-25 gallon. My main issue was quantity of fruit. I had Sungold and Sunsugar do great, stay healthy, and produce, but I was bring in small bowls of fruit rather than the buckets my friend was from his backyard. The only large variety that did really well was Black Krim, and it did really well. I got about thirty heirlooms off of one plant while it was outside, and have gotten about 10-15 indoors under a grow light. It was very tolerant to weather diseases and cold for me. The tomatoes were smaller and the most the plant could handle at once was 16, all of which were even smaller than when it had 3 or 4. The bigger the roots can get the better your harvest will be I tried two determinates Bush early girl and Containers Choice with pitiful results. I also tried dwarfs with bad results. All died after setting fruit. So for me with pretty poor conditions, Sungold, Sunsugar and Black Krim were winners. Husky cherry red did pretty good too. That being said, NYC is actually in zone 7a (unlike upstate) so we get a pretty long season. We were having 60 degree plus days until December. The key is to make sure you have good potting mix(never use soil!!!), plenty of nutes, and the time to care for them. Oh and start indoors and make sure to harden them off once the days get up to 60, taking them in late afternoon. The ones I had from seed were 1 foot before I put them out to get a good head start. I was able to squeeze two seasons this way after pulling the crappy ones( Yellow pear..yuck). Best of luck!