How about a hydrangea or a dwarf alberta spruce,small cutleaf maple. I planted the realitively new hydrangea "Sun Goddess" in a large pot with dark purple wave petunias and dusty miller. The lime/yellow leaves of Sun Goddess look great with the purple. This pot is in a front bed for all the world to see in semi shade. Love potted plants ... plant everything from cacti and succulents to cannas, and even have a monster brugmansia TREE about 10' high in a very large pot that comes in every winter to go dormant ... and now I have babies from it in pots. Every garage sale I go to am always looking for unique pots and always find them. Really like the Tuscan/European porch look. Enjoy the summer!

i would suggest.. if i understand your muddled facts ... that you completely skip the pots ... give us some facts.. you want to take them out now.. and not replant until next spring???? how big are we talking.. what kind of tress ... do you know how to ball and burlap .... and finally ... do you have an area where you can put a temporary nursery .... i might suggest potting.. and sinking the pots in mother earth ... so she can temper them during winter .... if you have clay soil ... i would group all the pots.. and bury the pots entirely in mulch ... like i see at nurseries all summer ... if you insist on pots.. in our zone ... in late november.. move to full shade .... tip them on their sides ... so water wont accumulate over winter.. plus PROPER media ... and no fert ... and you should be all set ... the key is not to create an ice cube in the pot ... and to not allow the pot to thaw at anytime during winter ... especially due to sunshine on a black pot ... so what do you have going.. and how can we be more specific ... ken

Re: the bamboo - we put one in a large pot which was also lifted by building blocks. The roots came out the bottom and were snaking their way across the area to a water supply - Bad idea! Penny

There are some nice Catalpa trees in the Portland metro area as well as Milwaukie. they are pretty, but you do have to re shape them every few years or the limbs sort of self prune from the weight of the leaves. They are really nice old trees and you can shape them to some extent. Be prepared to have to prune extensively every other year or so. The "Hazelnut" or Filbert, to this 3rd generation Oregonian has some draw backs as well. It is not a tree that makes a long standard trunk, then branches out, rather the crotch of the tree is naturally about 3 ft off the grond frequently. You may find some that are more to a taller standard, but they tend to limb out wide and low. this makes them good for a kids fort, or an orchard, but not tall and narrow, unless you can train up a "sucker" which will shoot up tall and straight off the base of the trunk. These are usually not seen as desirable, and removed, how ever, if one does "get away from you" they tend to be taller than the parent tree. these trees must be trimed, suckers cut, sprayed for bugs, unless you never intend to eat the nuts, but leave them all for the birds, and I am not sure if you can find anything in an organic for this. It is a beautifull tree, but I doubt its what you want. Elderberry trees that are nice, but so far the crab apple seems like it might be your best bet. you can get a dwarf, and that will help some.